Manchester City: Previewing the 2019-20 Premier League

Though Manchester City will be no where near the drop this season, several other Premier League sides figure to be battling for survival.

Beyond the three newly promoted sides, a few of the surviving teams from last season figure to be in the mix for relegation this upcoming season.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton had what could only be described as an extremely nervy season in 2018-19.

Brighton made a run to the semi-final of the FA Cup, where they lost to the eventual champions, Manchester City. However, while they were making that run, they found themselves in the midst of a battle to avoid falling into relegation.

To avoid a repeat of that second half collapse, Brighton have gone out and spent well in several different positions. They brought in talented winger Leandro Trossard from Club Genk, and forward Neil Maupay from Brentford. Both should help them address their profligacy in front of goal last season.

They also brought in two solid central defenders in Matt Clarke and Adam Webster. Both give them depth behind Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy, two of the better center backs in the League.

They also brought in Huddersfield star, midfielder Aaron Mooy, on a season long loan deal. Mooy was one of the few talents to shine in an atrocious Huddersfield side last season. He gives them at least three well-rounded options in midfield this coming season.

Brighton have a talented squad. Matt Ryan is a fantastic keeper. Martin Montoya and Bernardo are both solid full-back options. Yves Bissouma and Davy Propper are both EPL quality midfielders. It’s just a question of whether their new signings will be enough to take their offense up a level.

If everything clicks, Brighton have the best chance of any of these sides on this list to challenge for a top ten finish this season. Whether it ever does remains an open question.

Burnley

Last season was a massive struggle for Burnley. For the first two thirds of the season, they struggled to move away the relegation zone. However, they did find some significant success over the final months of the season, moving them up to 15th and finishing six points clear of the drop.

Burnley hasn’t done much, however, to improve on their talent from last season. They spent just £8.46 million this summer, one of lowest amounts in the League. Their big signing was forward Jay Rodriguez, a player who’s struggled for fitness since tearing his ACL at Southampton a few seasons ago.

On deadline day they have also added Danny Drinkwater, the ex Leicester midfielder who has joined on loan from Chelsea.

As has been the case for several seasons now, Burnley’s success will be dependent on their extremely talented back-line. Goalkeeper Nick Pope is one the better keepers in England. In front of him is one of the best center back pairings in the league in Ben Mee and James Tarkowski, both of who could compete to start in a top six side. Only Spurs, Liverpool, and Manchester City can boast a better pairing at any given time (sorry Manchester United!).

In front of the back-line, they’ve retained virtually their entire midfield and forward line. Though they struggled to score goals last season, players like Matej Vydra could be much better this season given that they’ve now had a season to acclimate to the team. They do have several players capable of posting respectable goal tallies.

Burnley’s ability to score goals will decide their fate. If they play anything like how they did for a big chunk of last season again, they may find themselves out the Premier League. They need to better in attack if they’re going to avoid relegation.

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace have not had a great summer. While others have gone out and improved in a significant way, they’ve largely stood still.

Palace have spent one of the lowest totals in the Premier League this summer on incoming transfers. Their lone signings were midfielder James McCarthy, and winger/striker Jordan Ayew, neither of which cost more than £3 million. They also brought in midfielder Victor Camarasa on loan, a solid addition, but not a game changer.

This summer, Palace have also seen a few key talents depart. They sold their promising young right-back, and arguably their best player last season, Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United. They also lost forward Michy Batshuayi, who returned to Chelsea after his loan expired.

There are many reasons to worry about this Palace side. Their best player, Wilfred Zaha, asked to be sold this summer, but was denied the opportunity to leave (for now). Where his mind is at and how he plays could be a huge determining factor in their season. Much of their goal-scoring and creativity flows through him. If he’s not firing, they will struggle massively to score goals.

Their back-line is also vulnerable. They may have EPL quality starters in Mamadou Sakho and Gary Cahill in the center of defense, but just one injury could leave them extremely vulnerable at the back.

It could be a long season for Palace. They may be the most vulnerable team of the 17 teams to remain in the league after last season.

Newcastle United

Newcastle United has had a roller coaster summer.

At one point, it looked like their hated owner, Mike Ashley, would be selling the club to billionaire foreign investors. That move looked like it would keep their fan-favorite manager, Rafa Benitez in charge of the team.

Instead. the deal fell through, Benitez departed, and they replaced their manager with an extremely unexciting signing in Steve Bruce, a manager who’s now on his fourth different side in just three years.

Not all has been awful though. Newcastle did sign one of the most exciting talents to move anywhere in Europe this summer in Brazilian forward, Joelinton, from Hoffenheim. Joelinton is easily the most talented forward to lead their front-line since Andy Carroll, Demba Ba, or Papiss Cisse at the beginning of this decade.

Interestingly on deadline day Andy Carroll has returned to the club as a free agent, signing a short term deal.

Newcastle also brought in talented young winger, Allan Saint-Maximum, from Nice. He and Joelinton should give Newcastle of one the better forward lines in the league, especially with elite attacking forward/midfielder Miguel Almiron staying.

The big question mark here is whether Steve Bruce is good enough to replicate or build on the success that Benitez brought out of the team. They are a bit vulnerable at the back due to injuries in the center of their defense. Their midfield is okay, but that largely comes from having Almiron in it. If they’re not careful, they could find themselves in a deep hole pretty quickly.

Newcastle United may be the most uncertain of these teams given their precarious situation with their manager, ownership, and the fans. They have the talent to be a mid-table team. But they could just as easily collapse in on themselves and end up being relegated this season. There’s a lot of variability here.

Southampton

One final team that could find themselves in a relegation battle this season is Southampton.

Southampton is a team that has a very solid base of talent, especially in the midfield. Mario Lemina and Oriel Romeu are good options in the defensive midfield spots. They also boast James Ward-Prowse and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, the former of which made substantial improvement towards the end of last season.

Their biggest weakness last season was, like many of the teams to appear on this list, in front of goal. To address that, they signed Danny Ings on a permanent transfer, a big move given how crucial he was to their goal-scoring last season.

They also signed talented young forwards/wingers in Che Adams and Moussa Djenpo. Both will improve the depth of the team in the forward positions.

They were poor in defense last season, but will have a few of their good defenders, like Cedric, returning to the fold. The health of their back-line and holding midfielders will be critical.

Southampton has the talent to be a comfortable survivor, especially given their strength in midfield relative to most of the other teams to appear on this list. However, there’s still enough uncertainty here beyond the midfield that they could find themselves in relegation.