#5 Crystal Palace
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While the Premier League is trickier to predict than say, La Liga or the Bundesliga, it is true to say that it’s usually one of the bigger sides that wins it. That theory was blown apart by Leicester in 2015/16, and so every season the question is now “which smaller side could do a Leicester?”
My pick for next season? Crystal Palace. Their 2016/17 was somewhat disappointing – after replacing manager Alan Pardew with Sam Allardyce in December, they finished 14th in the league although they safely avoided relegation. But Allardyce – a strong, dependable Premier League manager but never a world-beater – has since left and today the club have appointed Frank de Boer as their new manager.
While de Boer has had mixed results in his career as a manager, he could be a good fit for Palace, particularly as the squad is still pretty strong – they’ve still got the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Christian Benteke, Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha on their books – and their board have proven in the past that they’re willing to splash big money if it’s needed.
If de Boer can shore up a somewhat shoddy defence – Palace leaked 63 goals, but actually scored 50, more than all but the top seven and Bournemouth – and keep the likes of Benteke and Zaha ticking over, then a miracle could well be possible, ala Leicester just two seasons ago.
