2012-13 Barclays Premier League Predictions

The amount of soccer on this blog has increased exponentially from the start of this 2 years ago. Here are my predictions for the 2012-13 Premiership.

1. Manchester City 91 pts: When world class isn't even enough to get you a starting position, you know a team is really, really good. The UCL is a bigger challenge for City.

2. Manchester United 86 pts: Prolific scoring force as well as a solid defense, but lack of creative midfielders hurt.

3. Chelsea 76 pts: From the midfield on, they might be one of the best in Europe. Their back 4 could be a stumbling block.

4. Arsenal 73 pts: No Van Persie hurts, but what would hurt more is the loss of Alex Song. They need to hope their back 4 stays healthy if they want to challenge for a title.

5. Tottenham Hotspur 70 pts: Once they find a quality striker, they could overtake the Gunners. But since we don't know who that is yet, it's hard to put them above their North London rivals.

6. Liverpool 65 pts: The long climb back up to the top has begun, and Brendan Rogers has made good progress towards achieving that. But they still have too many holes to challenge the North London clubs for 4th.

7. Everton 60 pts: This club honestly deserves better. Whether they are poor (money-wise) or not, they have a quality side. They don't have enough to truly challenge the big boys.

8. Newcastle United 54 pts: They are going to take a hit this year because they haven't brought in the quality to challenge up. And, they have been torn apart by injuries.

9. Stoke City 51 pts: They might be the most annoying defensive team to play against. Doesn't mean they offer too much in attack, though.

10. Fulham 48 pts: If Clint Dempsey leaves, they could fall further. But, they have a decent side and Martin Jol can be counted on to produce some results.

11. QPR 47 pts: Spending tons of money doesn't usually guarantee good results, but they've added some interesting players this summer. It should make them a better side.

12. West Ham United 47 pts: Sam Allardyce will make it tough on any team they play this season with his style. Whether he has the quality enough to help the Hammers overachieve is debatable.

13. Aston Villa 46 pts: They have a much better manager in Paul Lambert and have made some interesting purchases this summer. I hope they can find the goals somewhere though.

14. Sunderland 44 pts: The Black Cats have some deficiencies in many places, but are strong enough in some that they should avoid the second tier.

15. Southampton 43 pts: Their spending has been marked, and offensively, they should produce tons of goals. They might also allow just as many.

16. Swansea City 41 pts: They have sustained too many major losses to keep up their remarkable pace from a season ago. But, Michal Laudrup's style should suit the players at Swansea well enough to stay up.

17. Norwich City 39 pts: A championship side that did really well in the Premiership is usually odd enough, but for them to do as well as they did is pretty remarkable. Losing the manager that helped them do that is a big blow.

18. Reading 37 pts: Anton Zingarevich has tons of money to spend. He might have needed to spend more of it on his club in order to keep them up.

19. West Bromwich Albion 35 pts: Last year under Roy Hodgson was an aberration honestly. They lack quality in most places, even though they have a very good strike force.

20. Wigan 30 pts: The magic of Roberto Martinez has to run out at some point, doesn't it? This might be the season it does, with teams 9-20 so crunched up together.

I'm probably wrong, but it can't hurt to try.