In July 2022 the great minds working at The18 put their heads together and tried to predict how the 2022-23 Premier League season would unfold. Looking back at our EPL predictions 10 months later we got a couple things right and several things very, very wrong.
Our predictions came out in two separate parts. The first prediction article had each of our individual picks for topics like the Golden Boot race, best American, teams relegated and more.
Our second prediction piece involved all of us making a guess at how the EPL table would look at the end of the season and then averaging out all our picks to make one big table.
Let’s start with our table prediction.
The18’s 2022-23 EPL Predictions Review: The Table
1. Manchester City
2. Liverpool
3. Tottenham
4. Arsenal
5. Chelsea
6. Manchester United
7. Newcastle
8. West Ham
9. Wolves
10. Leicester City
11. Crystal Palace
12. Leeds United
13. Aston Villa
14. Brentford
15. Brighton
16. Everton
17. Fulham
18. Nottingham Forest
19. Southampton
20. Bournemouth
Actual table
Wow, we were optimistic about Leeds and Leicester. We also owe big apologies to the likes of Fulham, Brighton, Aston Villa and Brentford.
Chelsea were by far the biggest bust of the season. The lowest anyone from The18 had the Blues finishing was sixth in the league. Talk about a nightmare season. We expected Newcastle to do well but none of us predicted them to finish in the top four.
Click here if you’re interested in seeing each of our individual EPL table predictions.
The18’s 2022-23 EPL Predictions Review Part 2: The Season
Our other order of business was predicting eight different categories that included the champions, top four, Golden Boot, best signing, best American player, biggest disappointment, first manager fired and which teams finish in the bottom three.
Let’s see how we did.
Champion: Manchester City (7 votes), Liverpool (4 votes), Chelsea (2 votes), Tottenham (2 votes)
None of us predicted Arsenal to win it all.
Top Four: Manchester City (15 votes), Liverpool (14 votes), Arsenal (10 votes) Tottenham (9 votes), Chelsea (7 votes), Manchester United (5 votes)
All 15 of us predicted Manchester City to finish in the top four while only one person predicted Liverpool to not finish in the Champions League spots. Only a third of us had Manchester United claiming a top four spot. Not a single team outside of the “big 6” made it into anyone’s top four.
Golden Boot: Erling Haaland (8 votes), Mohamed Salah (4 votes), Gabriel Jesus (1 vote), Darwin Núñez (1 vote), Son Heung-min (1 vote)
Before Erling Haaland kicked a ball in the league we knew he was going to be special. He didn’t disappoint. Interestingly enough, not even one of us picked Harry Kane, who finished second in the Golden Boot race.
Best Signing: Erling Haaland (9 votes), Gabriel Jesus (2 votes), Raheem Sterling (1 vote), Darwin Núñez (1 vote), Christian Eriksen (1 vote), Brenden Aaronson (1 vote)
The Haaland show continues. Also, I plead guilty for being the one who picked Aaronson as the best signing. I don’t condone my opinions from a year ago.
Best American: Brenden Aaronson (7 votes), Tyler Adams (4 votes), Christian Pulisic (3 votes), Jesse Marsch (1 vote)
How foolish of us not to foresee the Tim Ream renaissance or the “Reamaissance” as the cool kids are calling it. The Fulham boys, Ream and Antonee Robinson, had far and away the best seasons out of the Americans in the league.
Meanwhile Brenden Aaronson will go down as one of the biggest busts. Leeds spent over $30 million for one goal and four assists from the Medford Messi.
Biggest Disappointment: Chelsea (4 votes), Everton (4 votes), Leeds United (1 vote), Manchester City (1 vote), Leicester City (1 vote), Nottingham Forest (1 vote), Arsenal (1 vote), Liverpool (1 vote), Philippe Coutinho (1 vote)
We weren’t too far off with our biggest disappointments this season with Chelsea and Everton leading the race for the suck-fest.
First Manager Fired: Frank Lampard (8 votes), Ralph Hasenhüttl (2 votes), Erik ten Hag (2 votes), Marco Silva (1 vote), Thomas Frank (1 vote), Brendan Rodgers (1 vote)
The correct answer to first manager fired was Bournemouth’s Scott Parker who was let go on Aug. 30. Shockingly the next manger to go was Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel. Lampard was the sixth manager to be sacked this season.
Bottom Three: Bournemouth (9 votes), Everton (9 votes), Southampton (9 votes), Nottingham Forest (6 votes), Fulham (5 votes), Brentford (4 votes), Brighton (1 vote), Newcastle (1 vote), Manchester United (1 vote)
Yes, someone really did predict Manchester United to get relegated before any of us said Leeds United. C’mon guys! To see each person's individual picks, click here.
There you have it. Those were our predictions for the season. If you ever need betting advice make sure to come to us last.
