Manchester City? Luton? Sunderland? Leeds? Wigan? Wrexham? Yup, it's early prediction time. Very early in fact. So early that the FA Cup final is still to be played, but the dust has settled in terms of all four of our leagues and we now know the make up of each division for the 2023/2024 campaign. With my tin hat firmly on, and apologies at the ready, I took a look and tried to predict who may finish where.
The Premier League looks almost like it has three, maybe four leagues within a league. Will Manchester City dominate again? Surely Liverpool and Chelsea will be stronger? Can Brighton maintain their incredible upward curve? And what does the future hold for Luton Town after their remarkable promotion? It was tough to call, but I have put together what the table might look like a year from now.
In terms of the Championship, it looks the strongest that it has been in many years. What exactly is the situation with Leicester's finances? How will Leeds cope with dropping back into the second tier? Watford will surely be stronger, particularly if they can find the right manager, and I'm hoping Sunderland will be up there again. Ipswich will look to motor on after coming up from League One. There is always a surprise package in this division; who will it be? This one was hard to call, very hard to call.
With regards to League One, this was the division that I struggled with the most. It looks extremely tight to call at both the top end and at the bottom. The league looks extremely competitive and I think it will go right to the wire, in terms of both the promotion places and relegation. Derby will be many of the bookies favourites and I expect them to challenge strongly for the league title. Starting on -8, Wigan have a huge fight on their hands. Will Burton survive again? Calling what will happen at the bottom will be very tough, as it always seems to be within League One.
All eyes will be on Wrexham in the fourth tier when the season kicks off in August. They look a good bet for automatic promotion once again. As do Notts County. If any clubs are capable of pulling off back to back promotions, then those two certainly can. Inevitably it will be tight at the bottom, but I expect Harrogate and Crawley to struggle at the foot of the table.
In Scotland, it will once again be a shootout between the Old Firm giants. I think Celtic will triumph once again.
See below for what I have gone for currently. I will be revisiting these predictions as the summer trundles on, and I may make some small changes! Having said that, I will firmly lock in my predictions before a ball has been kicked.
Premier League
1 Manchester City
2 Manchester United
3 Newcastle United
4 Arsenal
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5 Liverpool
6 Chelsea
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7 Spurs
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8 Brighton
9 Aston Villa
10 West Ham United
11 Brentford
12 Fulham
13 Crystal Palace
14 Wolves
15 Nottm Forest
16 Burnley
17 Everton
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18 Luton Town
19 Bournemouth
20 Sheffield United
League Cup: Manchester City
FA Cup: Liverpool
Championship
1 Middlesbrough
2 Southampton
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3 Norwich City
4 Leeds United
5 West Brom
6 Sunderland
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7 Watford
8 Leicester City
9 Swansea City
10 Stoke City
11 Millwall
12 Ipswich Town
13 Blackburn Rovers
14 Preston
15 Coventry City
16 Sheff Wed
17 Bristol City
18 Hull City
19 Plymouth Argyle
20 QPR
21 Huddersfield Town
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22 Birmingham City
23 Cardiff City
24 Rotherham United
Play Offs Winner: Sunderland
League One
1 Derby County
2 Bolton Wanderers
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3 Barnsley
4 Portsmouth
5 Peterborough United
6 Blackpool
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7 Charlton Athletic
8 Wycombe Wanderers
9 Reading
10 Oxford United
11 Leyton Orient
12 Northampton Town
13 Bristol Rovers
14 Lincoln City
15 Port Vale
16 Burton Albion
17 Exeter City
18 Shrewsbury Town
19 Fleetwood Town
20 Wigan Athletic
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21 Cambridge United
22 Cheltenham Town
23 Stevenage
24 Carlisle United
Play Offs Winner: Blackpool
League Two
1 Wrexham
2 Milton Keynes Dons
3 Notts County
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4 Stockport County
5 Bradford City
6 Gillingham
7 Salford City
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8 Mansfield Town
9 Doncaster Rovers
10 Tranmere Rovers
11 Accrington Stanley
12 Forest Green Rovers
13 Swindon Town
14 Morecambe
15 Grimsby Town
16 Newport County
17 Walsall
18 Barrow
19 Colchester United
20 AFC Wimbledon
21 Crewe Alexandra
22 Sutton United
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23 Crawley Town
24 Harrogate Town
Play Offs Winner: Stockport County
Scottish Premiership
1 Celtic
2 Rangers
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3 Aberdeen
4 Hearts
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5 Hibernian
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6 Motherwell
7 Kilmarnock
8 St. Mirren
9 St. Johnstone
10 Dundee
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11 Livingston
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12 Ross County
Scottish League Cup: Celtic
Scottish Cup: Rangers
