Studs Up Soccer prophecy: European soccer preview

1. Manchester City
2. Liverpool
3. Tottenham Hotspur
4. Manchester United
5. Arsenal
6. Chelsea
7. Newcastle United
8. Everton
9. West Ham United
10. Wolverhampton
11. Fulham
12. Leicester City
13. Burnley
14. Southampton
15. Bournemouth
16. Crystal Palace
17. Brighton and Hove Albion
18. Watford
19. Huddersfield Town
20. Cardiff City

Player of the Year: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Top goalscorer: Harry Kane (Tottenham)
 
Last season, Manchester City ran away with the Premier League, winning the league by 19 points over their city rival, Manchester United. Heading into this season, Manager Pep Guardiola and City have the same expecation, winning the league. City didn’t make any changes, simply because there was no need to. Liverpool made a flurry of moves, trying to strengthen their Champions League finalist squad. Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool staff have done an incredible job in bringing in the talent to challenge City for the league title. 

The battle for the Premier League seems to be between Liverpool and City. The other question is who will round out the top four? Manchester United has been incredibly quiet and things don’t seem to be too positive in the red part of Manchester. Jose Mourinho is seemingly setting himself up to once again leave a top club in a blaze of glory. If Paul Pogba gets his wish and departs for Barcelona, United will be in a heap of trouble and their quest to stay in the Champions League will be in serious jeopardy. Tottenham Hotspur has always been the bridesmaid, but never the bride. Will that change this season? It isn’t looking too likely with the massive talent upgrade from Liverpool.

One of the biggest battles this season will be from the 13th position all the way to the relegation zone. Things will be very interesting for many of the teams involved. The relegation battle is always one to keep an eye on and this season will be no different. Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town and Watford all seem to be headed back to the Championship after what looks to be a tough season in the Premiership. Joining those three clubs in the relegation battle could be a few others as the battle to escape relegation will be hotly contested. Two teams not expected to be in the relegation battle are two of the teams that have come back to the premier league, Wolves and Fulham. Both clubs have done some serious work in the transfer window and will look to push for a European position. You can check out the Premier League on the NBC family of networks.

Serie A

This summer has seen arguably the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo join the top club in Italy, Juventus. The seven-time Serie A champions, Juventus are in a solid position to add another championship to their trophy case. Ronaldo scored an amazing 450 goals in only 438 appearances for Real Madrid. The battle for the Champions League positions will be one to watch in Italy. Juventus is certainly guaranteed a spot, however, the other three spots will be up for grabs. Napoli, led by Carlo Ancelotti will once again be a team to be there in the end but will have to hold off very talented squads in Roma and Inter Milan. Like their local rivals Inter, AC Milan were once a powerful European side but have fallen on hard times. Those times have changed and both Milan clubs are back and looking to knock the Bianconeri off their perch. Even with Juventus winning seven straight Serie A titles and the odds on favorites to win an eighth, the Italian giants will have to stay strong all season to resist the push from their rivals. ESPN has acquired the rights for Serie A, so you can check out Ronaldo and company on the ESPN family of networks.

Bundesliga

The Bundesliga has been dominated by the Bavarian giants, Bayern Munich. While they haven’t won the impressive seven straight titles like Juventus, they have managed to capture six straight Bundesliga titles. Bayern will have to work hard to bring home a seventh, as the challenge from the other top clubs could be too much for Bayern to overcome. This offseason has seen Bayern lose Arturo Vidal to Barcelona and Robert Lewandowski looking to exit the club as well. Bayern did bring in some talented reinforcements, mainly Leon Goretzka. Even with an aging squad, Bayern is supremely talented and will look to lean on that experience to bring home another Bundesliga title. Dortmund, Schalke and RB Leipzig all have lost more than what they have brought in. Dortmund lost Michy Batshuayi to Chelsea as he returns from his loan. Schalke lose Goretzka to Bayern as previously mentioned, while Leipzig see Naby Keita head to Liverpool. The race for the Bundesliga title should be fun and exciting as the league looks to knock Bayern off their perch. As always, you can check out Bundesliga matches on the Fox Networks here in the United States.

La Liga

The 2018 season will look and feel a little different without Ronaldo battling it out with Messi for La Liga supremacy. The loss of Ronaldo will be much greater than many expect and could cost Real Madrid a serious chance at La Liga glory. Barcelona once again comes into the season, locked and loaded. Barcelona brought in Arturo Vidal and Malcom during the summer transfer window. Their rivals, Real Madrid lost Ronaldo, Mateo Kovacic and stunningly, Zinedine Zidane. The departure of Zidane shocked the soccer world and left Madrid in a scramble to find his replacement. In comes Julen Lopetegui. Lopetegui joined Madrid amid a lot of controversy. Just before the World Cup, Lopetegui was relieved of his position as manager of the Spanish National Team, when it was revealed that he was going to take the Madrid job, after the conclusion of the World Cup. 

Even with the addition of Lopetegui and Real bringing in some solid talent, the pressure will fall on Gareth Bale and Luca Modric to pick up the slack that was left with the Ronaldo departure. If Bale can play to his potential and get help from his Madrid teammates, they could have enough to knock off Barcelona.  Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid will have enough to be in the Champions League spots but doesn’t seem like enough to challenge Barcelona. Even without Ronaldo and Zidane in the picture, the El Clasico will still go a long way in determining the La Liga champion. You can check out the La Liga on Bein Sports.