The Premier League Panel: Our panel pick their top four for the 2024/25 season
Will Manchester City reign supreme again? Can Arsenal or Liverpool bridge the gap? Join our panel of expert guests to see how the new Premier League season will unfold.
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00:00I mean, Michael, I'll come back to you first to ask about what other teams might be able
00:04to launch a bit of a challenge. I mean, we obviously saw, you know, Villa and Spurs scrapping
00:08for top four teams like Manchester United, Newcastle, Chelsea, spending a lot of money
00:12over the last couple of years. They're good teams. Can anyone sort of break from the sort
00:16of chasing pack and have a crack this season?
00:20I don't think so. Sorry to say, I think I think the top two from last season will be
00:25the top two again this season, probably by a little bit of a distance. I think if one
00:29team are going to challenge Spurs, maybe could. I think they obviously made a lot of positive
00:33steps last season with Posta Koglu and it tapered away a little bit at the end of the
00:38campaign. But I think that made some good signings. I think Solange will bring a lot
00:43more attacking impetus for them. I think that Gray, who's got his first name, from Leeds
00:50will be a good signing as well.
00:52Archie Gray.
00:53Archie, yes. Archie Gray will be a good signing for Leeds. And so I think they could have
00:57a good campaign. I think Villa will fall away a little bit from last campaign. I think
01:16the implications of Chelsea football will affect them as well. I just think it'll be
01:23a lot more for the squad to contend with. So, no, I don't think there'll be anyone
01:26that will step up. But I think, I mean, I mentioned earlier that I think it will be
01:29top four. I think Arsenal and City will be as well. I think Spurs will be the fourth
01:34team in the top four and could be potentially the closest to the top two.
01:40What about you, Roman? Do you reckon anyone can sort of bridge that gap? Because for starters,
01:43you probably know who plays for Chelsea at this point, seeing as you reported them on
01:46the regular. But because I don't, Planty doesn't, you know, does Enzo Maresca know who plays
01:51for Chelsea?
01:53I think you do and Planty does, but he's just being sarcastic.
01:56I've got a problem because I'm going to Stamford Bridge on Sunday. So I'm going to have to
02:00Google who plays for Chelsea ahead of time.
02:02That'll be like three pages deep on Google and you'll still be getting new players.
02:08But mate, you guys are laying down Newcastle. Newcastle without Champions League football
02:15is a massive start. I think Newcastle will try to challenge for the league title. Mate,
02:20last season, one of the things I really took Newcastle out with was injuries. They didn't
02:25just have the squad, they have to come. I think that Champions League football stretched
02:29them to the limit. It was the first time and they had a really difficult group. They were
02:33in the same group with Milan, PSG, Dortmund, like it was the most difficult group you could
02:39get. So I think Newcastle will be up there. Villar, it depends on how far they want to
02:45go. Spurs have a chance, but then it's their history. They just tend to fall away when
02:56everybody expects them and that kind of thing haunts them. And don't rule out Chelsea,
03:00especially on top four. I know this is quite really silly, but I saw Chelsea play against
03:06Inter Milan over the weekend. I thought they played quite really well. And sometimes because
03:11of what's happened in the last few years, everybody tends to say, oh, Chelsea don't have
03:14a chance. But if they hit form, they've got quality enough to be able to go on and do really
03:20interesting stuff. So yeah, these are the things. But yeah, Newcastle for me, don't ride them out.
03:26Well, I'll put you on the spot then, Rahman. What's your top four in order?
03:32Yeah, that's a really tough one. City, Arsenal,
03:37Newcastle, Chelsea.
03:40Well, you've just earned yourself quite a lot of new followers up in the North East, I suspect.
03:45I mean, again, Man United. But yeah, yeah.
03:50I mean, Michael, I'll ask you quickly as we're running out of time, but any sort of quick
03:53thoughts on Manchester United? They've obviously spent quite a lot of money already this summer.
03:57And by the time people watch this, it might well be a little bit more. Do you think they've done
04:00enough to make a difference? Do you think there was enough encouragement from the performance
04:03in the Community Shield to think they could at least crack top four?
04:08I think the encouraging thing from the Community Shield was that they weren't laid open in the
04:12middle. I think obviously last season that was their Achilles heel and they were just so
04:15vulnerable through the centre. Casemiro played better. But I do wonder if that's a specific
04:20approach for playing against a team like City. So I don't know. I mean, Fulham on Friday night
04:24would probably be a better indication. I mean, United, listen, by the time this video goes out,
04:30they'll probably complete the signings of De Ligt and Masraoui. I think there'll be at least
04:36another one that comes in, maybe two. I think they'll bring in a midfielder. They need a left
04:42back, urgently need a left back this season. I know Masraoui's been brought in to play there
04:46as well, but they need another option. What do I think this season? I don't know. I don't know.
04:53It's a common theme for me. I don't know. I think they'll be better than last season.
04:58And because, you know, last season was a bit small for Man United. In my opinion,
05:01the worst Premier League spot, in my opinion, and actually statistically the worst Premier
05:05League season ever. I think they'll improve on that. I think they'll be in there in the top four
05:09race, but I don't think they'll be anywhere near the title or anything like that. I think that
05:14Ten Hag just needs to get a bit more of his style on the side and needs to improve in terms of
05:21just the way they play week in, week out. They need to vastly improve on that compared to last
05:25season.