The Premier League is the top English professional league for association football clubs that was established in 1992. This means that the coming 2017-2018 Premier League (11 August 2017 - 13 May 2018) will be on its 26th season - 26 years of joy and heartbreak for fans.
The defending champions, Chelsea, will surely try its best to retain its title. If you try to guess where each team will end up in rankings this coming season, it is likely that you won't get too far. It is also easy to predict that Chelsea and Tottenham will end up being somewhere on top, with the low ranking ones still at the bottom half.
As far as prediction goes, the table is actually quite different when betting is taken into account. Apparently, Ladbrokes have done some number crunching and Chelsea is still favoured to stay on top while Manchester United is second. The second placer from last season, Tottenham, only managed to get up to seventh. The last on the table, according to bets places, is West Brom, the 10th placer from last season.
You can check out the 2017-2018 Premier League Outright Odds at 888sport.
Breakthrough Players
Twenty players are ready to make a breakthrough in the 2017-2018 Premier League.
Arsenal: Reiss Nelson - Since his initial appearance for Arsene Wenger's first team against Sydney FC, he became a trending topic last Thursday on Twitter due to this notable pace, power and trickery. The 17-year-old attacking midfielder played in an unusual right wing-back role with his steel determination. Arsene Wenger hailed him as a "natural". Will Wenger award him his professional debut this season? He says Nelson is "very very close".
Bournemouth: Connor Mahoney - Mahoney, an England youth international, is a 20-year-old winger and a teammate of last season's top scorer for Bournemouth Joshua King when he was at Blackburn Rovers. On the other hand, there's high expectations for the 19-year-old midfielder Matthew Worthington who finished the season by making his Premier League debut at Leicester City.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Solly March - The 23-year-old midfielder scored the goal that secured his promotion at the end of last season, something he deserves given his patience over the 11-months' worth of recovery time after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament. The ex-Lewes youth-team winger made his senior debut in 2014 and has started 35 league games. Inventive and fast, he is a player crucial for a team who might find themselves defending for prolonged periods.
Burnley: Chris Long - In 2015, 22-year-old Chris Long joined Burnley and has already made 10 appearances in the Championship but hasn't yet made his debut on the Premier League. As a striker, he scored goals wherever he played, including Milton Keynes Dons, Brentford, and many England youth teams, but hasn't yet been given enough games to make himself stand out. He may not have a huge role to play this season, but he's hopeful to at least make his debut at the Premier League.
Chelsea: Ruben Loftus-Cheek - The 21-year-old midfielder's career with Chelsea has six Premier League starts, but none of these was secured in last season's championship victory. Still, he has been considered to have high potential. Under new manager Antonio Conte, Loftus-Cheek now is deployed as a striker.
Crystal Palace: Luke Dreher - The 18-year-old talented midfielder had certainly impressed Alan Pardew enough to earn himself a spot on the bench in a Premier League match in April 2016 at Manchester United, and if not for his hip and calf injuries, he may have progressed even more. His injuries may not get him his first-team game time at Crystal Palace, but he still has the chance to prove his prowess on loan at a Football League club.
Everton: Jonjoe Kenny - It seems like things do not look too well for the 20-year-old at Everton given the recent absence of a squad number and the coming of Cuco Martina on a free transfer, but Kenny definitely has the opportunity and capability to make it to Ronald Koeman's plans this season. With Seamus Coleman recovering from a double-leg fracture, the right-back has the chance to rival Mason Holgate and Martina for a standard role.
Huddersfield Town: Kasey Palmer - Having impressed David Wagner last term prior to a serious hamstring injury that ended his campaign in February, the 20-year-old comes back for a second consecutive season on loan from Chelsea. He showed flair, dynamism and a goal throat from an advanced center midfield role.
Leicester: Harvey Barnes - The 19-year-old is regarded as Leicester's brightest prospect. Football runs through his veins - Paul, his dad, played for Burnley, Birmingham and Huddersfield - and Football League clubs are surely keen to always take this teen on loan. Barnes won the MK Dons' young player of the year award. He also made his mark at the international spotlight, finishing as top scorer in last month's Toulon tournament. Leicester's manager Craig Shakespeare said that he sees ‘a real hunger and desire' in him to succeed at the club.
Liverpool: Rhian Brewster - When he substituted to play against Crystal Palace last season, the 17-year-old striker almost became the first player born in the 21st century to appear for Liverpool's first team. His continuous hot streak had him fast-tracked from the club's under-18s to the under-23s squad.
Manchester City: Jadon Sancho - This 17-year old is considered as the brightest prospect at the club. He was named Golden Player at the European Under-17 Championship. Pep Guardiola asked the under-17 starlet to join his first-team squad for a training session last season. This was a huge morale boost for the youngster as this was his ticket to entering the uncompromising world of professional football. Although there are other clubs who are reporting interest, it is unlikely that Manchester City will let of go of such talent.
Manchester United: Axel Tuanzebe - Tuanzebe's role is mainly as a defender. Even so, his prowess in the game does not limit him to such position as he performed an impressive midfield when the team played against Crystal Palace in the fourth of his senior league appearance last year. United's manager, Jose Mourinho, praised his performance, saying "10 minutes is enough! The potential is there, you see it immediately!"
Newcastle: Freddie Woodman - Woodman's performance shone in South Korea during the Under-20 World Cup, with his save from the penalty kick, to which he was named the goalkeeper of the tournament. The attitude and professionalism of the 20-year old goalie has left a good impression with Rafael Benitez. Having won the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship and 2017 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, the promising young goalie is bound to make a serious breakthrough in the sport next term.
Southhampton: Sam Gallagher - The 21-year old has signed a four-year contract with the club. Playing as a striker for Southhampton, he will need to impress Mauricio Pellegrino in order to get more game time. The young striker has been loaned to Milton Keynes Dons where he played impressively, providing an assist within four minutes during their game against Rotherham United. He also had a season-long loan deal with the Blackburn Rovers. The team's manager had expressed his desire to sign Gallagher on a permanent contract after he scored five goals in nine starting appearances.
Stoke: Ramadan Sobhi - Sobhi made his professional debut in February 2014 with an Egyptian club where he attracted the attention of European clubs. In July 2016, he joined Stoke City and became the first teenager to start a game with the team in nine seasons. Even if Stoke City still has seasoned players, his quality of play has definitely impressed. The 20-year old can certainly fill in gaps within the team. The only worry is that other bigger clubs may track his progress.
Swansea: Oli McBurnie - The 21-year-old has already had 5 Premier League appearances. A tall and slender striker who prefers to have his socks rolled down to his ankles while playing, McBurnie surely performs impressively that goes with his unique look. Last season in all competitions he has scored 23 times and is the star of the club's successful under-23 team. In 2015 he was praised by under-19 manager Ricky Sbragia.
Tottenham: Marcus Edwards - Substituting for the final 15 minutes against Gillingham in the EFL Cup, the 18-year-old attacking midfielder made his first debut at Tottenham last season. Because of his effective tactics to trick past opponents, he earned the nickname "Mini Messi." He was held up last season due to an injury, but Mauricio Pochettino is a huge fan and said he wants to work with him more closely. He joined the academy system at Tottenham at the age of eight.
Watford: Steven Berghuis - The 25-year-old Dutch winger has made a restrictive 9 substitute appearances because of Watford manager's reason that ‘he needed to suffer at the training ground'. However, there were some glimpses of the winger's capabilities, specifically an amazing dipping cross to make way for Troy Deeney's goal against Aston Villa in April 2016. At the end of the 2015-2016 season, Berghuis went on to make 13 appearances in all competitions.
West Bromwich: Sam Field - The 19-year-old has appeared in four Premier League starts, two at each end of the season in 2016-2017. Technically, Field is "as gifted as any footballer I've seen at that age," says Tony Pulis.
West Ham United: Declan Rice - The 21-year-old Irish midfielder is most likely going to gain more experience in this year's Championship. On the other hand, Reece Oxford joined Borussia Mönchengladbach on loan so the 18-year-old Rice may likely be the youngster seen to make a breakthrough this year. The Irish center-back has debuted in the Premier League as a substitute on the final day of last season right before getting his first international call-up in the summer, in which he was named Republic of Ireland U17 player of the year.