The Premier League's back! Let's predict how each team will finish by analyzing how Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man United and all the rest look.
'Walking out of there, it was a weight lifted off my shoulders': Why Malachi Nelson sought a fresh start at Boise StateRyan O'Hanlon is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He's also the author of"Net Gains: Inside the Beautiful Game's Analytics Revolution."
As always, there was plenty of off-field drama, though. Much of the day-to-day yelling was saved for issues such as point deductions , profit and sustainability rules, Manchester City's looming legal fight over 115 allegations of financial breaches and, of course, efforts to get rid of VAR. There's a fascinating question of the push-and-pull between Arsenal's defense and its attack: Is the defense as good as it is because there's a limit on how good the attack can be? Or can the defense maintain its level while the attack potentially improves? If it's the latter, Arsenal will win the league.
Was that performance the result of a kind of teamwide ''Last Dance'' mentality -- a collective emotional thrust that almost got a less-talented team beyond Arsenal and Manchester City? Or was it the result of some regression to the mean -- surely, they were better than the sixth-place finish in 2022-23 -- and a midfield revamp?would finally end the club's two-year-long search for a holding midfielder.
The prior year, Newcastle relied on 10 players to appear in at least 70% of league minutes. Last season, just five broke the 70% barrier. And so, if injuries are to blame for the decline in performance, then there's plenty of reason to believe that Newcastle will have a bounce-back season now that they're out of the Champions League. If not? It might be a long time before Howe is managing another team playing on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.Spurs allowed just 8.
However, Villa seem to be aware of this, as they've given Chelsea a run for their money in terms of the number of players added this summer. Plus, Unai Emery, unlike Howe, has a long history of managing clubs in multiple competitions. Unfortunately for Villa, though, their underlying performance could very easily improve next season -- and still lead to a finish somewhere lower down the table.
On paper, Brentford were fine last season -- they were eighth in xG differential, just as they were in 2022-23 -- and we know that club owner Matthew Benham isn't likely to panic when things look right on paper. Frank is returning, and the roster is mostly unchanged. Eventually, it became clear that Dyche's teams were doing something that xG models couldn't pick up on. They always had a ton of players behind the ball, and early xG models were not able to account for player positioning, so Burnley would concede fewer goals than their xG totals suggested. Once the models got better, Dyche's teams became less mysterious. But now, it's happening again -- just in the opposite direction.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
2024/25 Premier League season preview: Team-by-team breakdown, odds, moreThe largest soccer league in the world, England's Premier League, is back after an eventful summer filled with transfers and the international tournaments of
Read more »
How to Watch Boulder Little League Team in the 2024 Little League World Series QualifiersThe North Boulder Little League Wildcats need to win two more games to make it to the Little League World Series.
Read more »
WATCH: Kentucky's 2024-25 basketball team scrimmages alumni team La FamiliaKentucky's current basketball team scrimmaged some Wildcat legends.
Read more »
WNBA All-Star Game 2024: How to Watch Team WNBA vs. Team USA OnlineThe WNBA All-Star Game Weekend 2024 begins on Friday, July 19 with the game itself on Saturday, July 20. Here's where to find and watch online.
Read more »
WNBA All-Star Game 2024 FREE live stream: Team WNBA vs Team USA start time, channelThe 2024 WNBA All-Star Game gets a little publicity boost with the additions of rookies Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, as they and Team WNBA battle Team USA Saturday night in Phoenix.
Read more »
Team USA women's loses to Team WNBA ahead of 2024 OlympicsArike Ogunbowale set the WNBA All-Star scoring record with 34 points and Caitlin Clark made the most of her All-Star debut as the WNBA team beat the U.S.…
Read more »