Predictions for Europe Football Leagues.

I wanted to give my predictions for the top leagues in Europe before the season began and I decided to do it all through the same blog post. Here are my 2022-23 season predictions for the Top 5 leagues in Europe.

Bundesliga:

1. Bayern Munich

2. Borussia Dortmund

3. RB Leipzig

4. Bayer Leverkusen

5. Wolfsburg

6. Eintracht Frankfurt

7. Monchengladbach

8. Hoffenheim

9. Freiburg

10. Mainz 05

11. Union Berlin

12. FC Augsburg

13. Schalke 04

14. Stuttgart

15. FC Koln

16. Hertha Berlin

17. Werder Bremen

18. VfL Bochum

Bayern Munich have an overload of talent and despite losing Robert Lewandowski, they enter 2022-23 as possibly a stronger unit. The additions of world class players such as defender Matthijs de Ligt and forward Sadio Mane make them clear favorites to win the title. I really like the business Borussia Dortmund did as well and I think it’ll be a closer title race this season. I think Wolfsburg will have a strong bounce back year and FC Koln will struggle despite a strong 7th place finish last year. I think Bochum and Werder Bremen will get relegated and Hertha Berlin will head towards the relegation playoffs for the second consecutive season. 

La Liga:

1. Real Madrid

2. FC Barcelona

3. Atletico Madrid

4. Real Sociedad

5. Sevilla

6. Villarreal

7. Real Betis

8. Valencia

9. Athletic Bilbao

10. Getafe CF

11. Osasuna

12. Celta de Vigo

13. Espanyol

14. Rayo Vallecano

15. RCD Mallorca

16. Elche CF

17. UD Almeria

18. Real Valladolid

19. Cadiz CF

20. Girona FC

The hardest part about predicting La Liga was trying to pick between Real Madrid and Barcelona for the title because Barcelona really went all out this summer. They added defenders Jules Kounde & Andreas Christensen, midfielder Franck Kessie and forwards Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski. Real Madrid held onto the majority of their squad that won both the Champions League and La Liga title last season but they also added Antonio Rudiger and midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. I think I have to give the slight edge to Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid but it’s going to be a very close season. 

Ligue 1:

1. PSG

2. Lyon

3. Monaco

4. Marseille

5. Nice

6. Stade Rennais

7. Lille

8. Stade Reims

9. RC Lens

10. Strasbourg

11. FC Nantes

12. Montpellier

13. Stade Brestois

14. FC Toulouse

15. AJ Auxerre

16. FC Lorient

17. Troyes

18. Angers

19. Clermont Foot

20. AC Ajaccio

The French League is entertaining to watch for the most part and the league is home to some of the best youth players in the world but PSG are just levels above the competition with their talented roster. I think Lyon will have a strong bounce back season to finish second this year with a few strong additions of Corentin Tolisso, Tete and Alexandre Lacazette. I’m very excited to see Takumi Minamino get more playing time with Monaco this season after he made the switch from Liverpool. I believe the three relegated teams will be Angers, Clermont Foot and newly promoted AC Ajaccio. Angers in particular struggled heavily at times last season and they lost a lot of key players this summer and i’m unsure whether manager Gerald Baticle can put all the right pieces together to keep them in the top division. 

Serie A:

1. Inter Milan

2. Juventus

3. Roma

4. AC Milan

5. Lazio

6. Napoli

7. Atalanta

8. Hellas Verona

9. Fiorentina

10. Sassuolo

11. Bologna

12. Udinese

13. Torino

14. AC Monza

15. Empoli

16. Sampdoria

17. Salernitana

18. Spezia

19. US Cremonese

20. US Lecce

Out of the top five leagues, Serie A might have the closest battle for 1st place as there is a legitimate argument for about five teams to win the title this upcoming season. I think Inter Milan will find a way to get the job done, I really like their summer additions of goalkeeper Andre Onana and forward Romelu Lukaku. Don’t sleep on Juventus though as they brought back Paul Pogba and they added veteran forward Angel Di Maria and Brazilian defender Bremer. Roma, AC Milan, Lazio and Napoli are all in the conversation for the title as well. I think newly promoted clubs US Cremonse and US Lecce will be relegated along with Spezia. 

Premier League:

1. Manchester City

2. Liverpool

3. Arsenal

4. Tottenham

5. Chelsea

6. West Ham United

7. Manchester United

8. Newcastle

9. Aston Villa

10. Leicester City

11. Crystal Palace

12. Brighton

13. Wolves

14. Brentford

15. Nottingham Forest

16. Everton

17. Leeds United

18. Fulham

19. Southampton

20. AFC Bournemouth

Manchester City are massive favorites for the title once again as the club sold Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko but replaced them with midfielder Kalvin Phillips and star forward Erling Haaland. They are looking to win the title for the third straight season. Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham continue to improve and will be knocking against the door hoping to steal the title from Manchester City. Chelsea however is in a bit of a transition period now with ownership changes but they should still challenge for top four this season. Manchester United are a wildcard entering this season under new manager Erik ten Hag but they hope the additions of Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez help them compete for top four this season. I believe that Everton and Leeds United will once again find themselves in the lower half of the table but the one Premier League team from last season that I think will be relegated is Southampton.