EPL: 12 Things To Expect in 2012 This Season | Thebigtip

 So 2012 is finally here. 2011 was a great year for the EPL. Manchester Untied were crowned the champions for the record 19^th time, Manchester City’s lavish spending is finally bearing some fruits and instead of the Big 4, now it’s about the Big 6. Here are the things that we’ll most likely encounter this season:

1. A Busy Winter Transfer Season

Well super-rich clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea in the league; you’ll surely except a busy transfer season. But this time around I expect amore busy transfer season and I expect some big signings from clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal too, who otherwise are usually quite during the winter season. United are being linked to a big money move for Wesley Sneijder and Arsenal are set to sign Theirry Henry on a loan. Big spenders Chelsea are set to sign Gary Cahill from Bolton and if rumours are to be believed  Manchester City are bracing themselves for January bids for promising young striker John Guidetti after Spanish side Espanyol admitted their interest in the young Swede. Clubs like Blackburn, Liverpool, QPR, Sunderland and Fulham are also among the clubs making headlines.

2. But Tottenham Manage to Keep Bale and Modric

I don’t feel that Bale and Modric would even think of leaving Spurs this season. There are two reasons: The first being that Spurs are enjoying the form if their life and for the first time in many years, they actually have a chance of winning the EPL. The second being that even though Bale and Modric have been heavily linked to Chelsea and Barcelona respectively, Modric has already proclaimed that he is not going anywhere and I seriously don’t think that Barcelona have enough funds to meet his 40 million pounds price tag.

3. And United Keep Berbatov

Yes. United won’t sell Berbatov for sure. The Bulgarian is in fine form and has scored five goals in his last three games. Even though he has spent most of the time warming the bench this season, the 30 year old is still, in my opinion, one of the most creative players in the EPL. Even though he was been linked to a move away from Old Trafford, it would Untied  who will suffer from his departure as none of their strikers, except Rooney, has been in good form this season.

4. Martin O’Neil Helps Sunderland to a Top 12 finish

Okay, this is may be a bold prediction and the chances of this happening are far too low, but I have this feeling that Martin O’Neil will change the fortunes of the faltering team. The 59 year old is an experienced manager and had a successful stint with Aston Villa and at one point time, he was also seen as possible replacement for Rafa Benitez at Liverpool. O’Neil is a brilliant manager and can surely help Sunderland to a Top-12 or even better, a Top-10 finish.

5. Relegation Battle to be More Interesting than the Championship Battle

Well this happened last season too. This season, the relegation battle will surely be the interesting as a total of nine teams, as of now, have a chance of getting relegated. This includes Bolton, Wigan, Blackburn, Wolves, QPR, Sunderland, Swansea, Norwich and Fulham. Out of these, I feel Sunderland and Fulham will surely stay afloat and so do QPR. Seeing the current form I feel Blackburn, Bolton and Wolves are going to get relegated. But as they say, in football you can never predict anything.

6. United, City, Chelsea and Spurs Make the Top 4 This Season

Okay, now this one will surely raise some eyebrows but I can’t see any other team except them in the Top 4. Even though Arsenal are currently in excellent form, they will surely suffer from the departure of their winger Gervinho and if Wenger feels that 34 year old Henry is Gervinho’s perfect replacement then he has surely got it wrong. And as far as Liverpool is concerned, with Suarez ban, they don’t have even one percent chance of finishing in the Top 4.

7. AVB, Kean, Owen Coyle and Mick McCarthy to be Sacked

Whenever a team performs poorly, the manager is usually the first one to be blamed. Chelsea, Bolton, Blackburn and Wolves, all have been below par this season and their managers are surely having a tough time. Steve Kean, even after Blackburn’s win over United, I fell is going to be the first one to be sacked and with Bolton and Wolves, both struggling in the bottom half of the table, I feel Coyle and McCarthy, too, would be sacked before the season ends. Now let’s talk about Chelsea. Even though AVB has been trying hard to get the best of his player, but I don’t think that Chelsea are going to win any trophy this season. This would result in, most probably, the sacking of AVB as we all know Roman Abramovic  has a tendency to sack managers if they don’t win a trophy or two every season.

8. Whereas Newcastle Only Manage a Top 10 Finish

And this is not a bold prediction. Newcastle started off the season with some impressive wins and at one point of time, were even looking good for a Top 4 finish. The Toons have won just one game of their last 8 and are currently languishing in the 7^th position. I still expect them to drop a lot more points and just settle for a Top 10 finish.

9. Van Persie Stays Fit for the Whole Season and Wins the Golden Boot

Van Persie is currently the best striker in the EPL. His goal-scoring exploits have made him the most feared striker in the EPL. The 28 year old has netted 16 times in the league and I’m sure that he’ll break the 30 goal mark this season. His nearest rivals currently are Rooney, Ba and Aguero; out of which only Aguero, I feel is going to give him a good challenge.

10. David Silva Will Be Named As the Player of the Season

Silva has been the reason behind Manchester City’s success this season. The Spanish international has been in excellent form this season and was even voted as the EPL Player of the Month for September. He has scored 6 times and made 11 assists this season to help City reach the summit of the EPL table.

11. Manchester City to Falter In 2012

Okay this may be a bold prediction and this may not even happen but I have a sneaky feeling that City will drop a lot of points in the second half of the season and fall behind in the title race. I feel that this slump will start with the match against Liverpool on Tuesday. Even though they have been terrific this season, I don’t expect them to continue their form into the New Year and with Yaya Toure leaving for the African Cup of Nations in January, the likelihood of their slump is very high.

12. Manchester United will be crowned as the Champions for the 20^th time.

Yes, come this May and we’ll see Alex Ferguson’s team lifting the trophy for the 20^th time. Even though they lost to Blackburn yesterday I still expect them to be crowned as the champions. The reason being that their closest rivals, City, will surely drop allots of points in the second half of the season. United on the other hand, I feel are slowly getting back into the groove and with a good winter signing, they can surely have a great ending to the season.

Thanks for reading and a happy new year to all!

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