Bold predictions for Chelsea and the Premier League in 2022/23

3. Who will win the Premier League’s major awards? (Manager of the Year, Player of the Year, Playmaker of the Year, Golden Boot, Golden Glove)

Abhishek: Jurgen Klopp, Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, David de Gea

Anthony: Pep Guardiola, Kevin De Bruyne, Mason Mount, Erling Haaland, Ederson

Barrett: Antonio Conte, Raheem Sterling, James Maddison, Harry Kane, Edouard Mendy

Bryan: Jurgen Klopp, Harry Kane, Mason Mount, Harry Kane, Alisson

Caden: Jurgen Klopp, Son Heung-min, Kevin De Bruyne, Son Heung-min, Alisson

Gabe: Jurgen Klopp, Mohamed Salah, Mason Mount, Darwin Nunez, Alisson

Leighton: Pep Guardiola, Kevin De Bruyne, Kevin De Bruyne, Harry Kane, Edouard Mendy

Mike: Pep Guardiola, Kevin De Bruyne, Son Heung-min, Erling Haaland, Alisson

Nate: Antonio Conte, Phil Foden, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Hugo Lloris

Olaoluwa: Pep Guardiola, Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Edouard Mendy

Tom: Jurgen Klopp, Mohamed Salah, Mason Mount, Harry Kane, Edouard Mendy

Travis: Pep Guardiola, Kevin De Bruyne, Kevin De Bruyne, Harry Kane, Alisson

Varun: Jurgen Klopp, Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Darwin Nunez, Edouard Mendy

Yi Hao: Antonio Conte, Gabriel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Hugo Lloris

4. Who will be the first manager to be sacked in the Premier League?

Abhishek: Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers has been flirting with an unceremonious ejection from the managerial seat at Leicester City for a while now, barely hanging on to his job by Christmas. If the Foxes were to sell their prized assets this summer and reinvest that money in the squad, Rodgers can have no excuses for his team languishing in the bottom half of the table at any point during the season.

Anthony: Ralph Hasenhuttl. I do not know who is going to score goals for Southampton. This team lost Armando Broja and Shane Long, and it has not brought anyone in that has a proven goalscoring record. We finally saw Burnley get relegated last season and I think it will be similar for Southampton this year with Hasenhuttl being sacked in the new year.

Barrett: Jesse Marsch. I don’t see much of a tangible plan at Leeds United and I think Marsch will pay for that. Leeds is a tough club to manage, and a big and important one that takes a huge amount of understanding and experience to harness. I don’t know that Leeds has that in the management structure.

Bryan: Frank Lampard. This will get me in hot water with our audience, but the reality is that I’m not sure that Lampard will be properly backed by Everton’s front office. Nor do I think he’s able to adapt his system to optimize Everton’s very scarce talent. I expect the club to struggle out of the gate and consider a a change at the mid-season break.

Caden: Frank Lampard. Tough to say, but Everton frankly is not that good, and Lampard will receive the brunt of the blame.

Gabe: Marco Silva. There were 14 PoL writers who made predictions here, I honestly cannot believe that I was one of two to make this prediction. The reality is Silva’s track record in the Premier League—scratch that, everywhere—stinks. The Portuguese coach hasn’t stayed in a job for more than a year since his first managerial position, Estoril (2011-2014). Factor in Fulham’s terrible history with the English top flight, it’s yo-yo status as a club and mix it with Silva’s CV. Now you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Leighton: Frank Lampard. Last season under Lampard, Everton never looked to have improved. The Toffees were dreadfully close to relegation and seemed to live off moments to see them safe for another season. Another poor start for Lampard could see him be the first managerial casualty.

Mike: Jesse Marsch. Unfortunately, I think Marsch will be the first managerial casualty of the 2022/23 season. Americans never last long in the Premier League, and considering Marsch just lost his two best players in the same transfer window, I don’t have much confidence in the Whites improving on last year’s great escape. Expect Leeds to be in the relegation zone and Marsch to be in the unemployment line before Christmas.

Nate: Frank Lampard. This will have less to do with Lampard himself and more to do with a panicky board trying to salvage a club that can’t afford to be relegated.  Ultimately, it will be too little too late, and Everton will be welcoming Championship sides into its fancy new stadium in no time.

Olaoluwa: Frank Lampard. Lampard seems not to have learnt much from his time as Chelsea head coach. Everton barely survived relegation and the team is worse now. Other teams around Everton have tried to improve and Lampard still doesn’t know how to get a team to be defensively solid. Recently, he has recently gone to his tactic of insinuating the problem is from the players. We’ve seen this one before, and it ends only one way.

Tom: Frank Lampard. I don’t think the Chelsea legend has or will be backed sufficiently at Everton. Then the undeservedly poorly run club will sack Lampard. He and the Toffees deserve better.

Travis: Ralph Hasenhuttl. It’s a World Cup year with a midseason break, so most clubs likely hold out to see who becomes available then. That being said, the Ralphaloution at Southampton will likely end beforehand with Saints pulling the plug on Hasenhuttl and running with an interim until the World Cup shake up. This likely comes after a heavy defeat sometime in October.

Varun: Marco Silva. The lad just won’t catch a break in the Premier League. Definitely the first to be blamed for Fulham being winless in 10, given his marching orders during the World Cup.

Yi Hao: Frank Lampard. The Everton manager just has not been backed enough this window. A couple of poor results could very well spell trouble for the Englishman.