English Premier League 2009-10 Club-by-Club Analysis

The English Premiership Season 2009-10 starts in a few days time. Fans across the globe have been craving for the heart-pumping action in the Premiership for a couple of months now.

I would say that this season's title winner is harder to predict than the previous seasons. The "Big Four" still look strong despite losses of key players in three of the four teams. Besides, big-spending Manchester City are likely to be pushing for the title as well, or a Champions League qualification spot at least.

The transfer window closes in less than three weeks. Which clubs need to sign more players? And which areas do they need to strengthen?

Arsenal

Last season: 4th

Arsenal are going into the season without Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure. However, the return of Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo is expected to solidify their midfield and sharpen their attack.

The only signing made so far is Thomas Vermaelen. With approximately £40 million to spend from the sale of Adebayor and Toure to Manchester City, fans are expecting Arsene Wenger to make a couple more signings in order to have a realistic chance of winning the league title.

Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere are also set to have an integral role in Arsenal's first team this season.

What do they need: 1) A good centre-back as a cover for William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen. 2) A defensive midfielder, preferably an experienced one.

Personal prediction: Chance of winning the league is there but it's slim. At the same time, the possibility of Arsenal dropping out of top four is small.

Aston Villa

Last Season: 6th

Had a respectable campaign last season. They had a brilliant first half of the season but after the turn of New Year, a dip in form saw Arsenal sealing the fourth spot and Everton overtook them as well.

Having lost their skipper Gareth Barry to Manchester City, Martin O'Neill hasn't found a replacement for the role. Currently monitoring Wesley Sneijder of Real Madrid, signing him would be a major boost for Aston Villa in a bid to break into the top four.

Aston Villa have a reasonably strong squad and are very difficult to play against. However, their lack of options could see them facing a repeat of last season when they had to use inexperienced players in the UEFA Cup games. Aston Villa will be playing in the Europa League this season, the new format of UEFA Cup.

Who do they need: Additional players in defence and midfield.

Personal prediction: Chance of breaking into the top four is near zero. Face a reasonably high risk of missing a Europa League qualification spot.

Birmingham City

Last season: -

The Championship runner-up last season, Birmingham made a return to the top flight after being relegated in 2006.

Their current squad boasts players like Franck Quedrue, Kevin Phillips, Cameron Jerome, Stephen Carr, and Liam Ridgewell. Joe Hart was signed on a season long loan and the purchase of Christian Benitez and veteran Lee Bowyer are expected to help Birmingham to stay in the top flight.

Who do they need: A proven Premiership centre-back and additional wingers on both flanks.

Personal prediction: Probably will escape the relegation battle throughout the season. Mid-table finish is possible.

Blackburn Rovers

Last season: 15th

Decent team with average players, not much attention is being paid to Blackburn's season. They do have strikers capable of winning games though, boasting the likes of Jason Roberts, Benedict McCarthy, El-Hadji Diouf, and Paul Gallagher.

Towering Christopher Samba, Stephen Warnock, and Morten Gamst Pedersen are the key players Sam Allardyce needs to keep. Losing Roque Santa Cruz to Manchester City dented their hope of finishing anywhere in the top half of the table.

Who do they need: A Kevin Nolan-like player or maybe Scott Parker-ish type.

Personal prediction: Anywhere in the top half is near impossible, but they are pretty much safe from the threat of relegation at the same time.

Bolton Wanderers

Last season: 13th

Always difficult to play against, Bolton haven't been active in the transfer window this summer. No key loss and no major signing.

Despite having a striker of Kevin Davies' calibre, challenging for any major honour this season would be unimaginably tough with the quality of the players they possess.

Who do they need: A centre-back and wingers.

Personal prediction: Bottom half but far from relegation zone.

Burnley

Last season: -

Burnley was promoted to the Premiership after winning the Championship play-off. They are probably the least known team among the 20 Premiership teams this season.

*Squad cannot be analysed as I haven't watched their games and honestly, I don't really know any of their players. By the way, the guy in the picture is Wade Elliott.

Who do they need: Some reasonably known names.

Personal prediction: Set to be struggling in the relegation zone throughout the season, bottom five finish is very likely.

Chelsea

Last season: 3rd

After overcoming Manchester United to win the Community Shield a few days back, fans strongly believe that their team will win the league title this season. Chelsea are the only "Big Four" side not to have lost any key player. Despite being rumoured to exit, John Terry and Didier Drogba committed their futures by penning new contracts.

Yuri Zhirkov, Ross Turnbull, and Daniel Sturridge have been signed thus far. Success in keeping the important players means that new boss Carlo Ancelotti has a relatively big squad to cope with fatigue and injuries.

Chelsea's strong midfield will be their key to success this season. Didier Drogba is always difficult to mark and last season's top scorer Nicolas Anelka is also a dangerous striker. Not only that, Chelsea boast a strong back-four as well.

Who do they need: Nothing. Maybe one more centre-back for precaution.

Personal prediction: Will be consistently in the title race throughout the season. Stand a very high chance of winning the league title.

Everton

Last season: 5th

One of the most consistent and solid team in the Premiership, Everton have talented players in the defence, midfield, and up front. Besides that, Everton have one of the best managers in the world—David Moyes.

With a strong centre-back pair, strong midfield, and good strikers, Everton are expected to be pushing for the fourth spot again. Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka form a barrier difficult to break by any striker. Toffees' midfield is also packed with talents such as Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini, Steven Pienaar, and Phil Neville. Not to mention the young Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell.

The loan of Jo remains the only major signing so far. And currently, Moyes is doing everything to keep Joleon Lescott from leaving to Manchester City.

Who do they need: Full-backs and additional wingers for extra options.

Personal prediction: Demanding for a top four finish might be too much, a Europa League qualification spot is very likely.

Fulham

Last season: 7th

Roy Hodgson brought Fulham to a respectable seventh place finish last season. Fulham have signed Bjorn Helge Riise thus far.

Despite having reasonably good players in the team, the squad size is relatively small compared to other top Premiership sides. That could see them suffer, especially having heavier fixtures this season.

Who do they need: A good partner for Brede Hangeland, a striker, and additional decent players as covers.

Personal prediction: Face a difficult task to better last season's position, likely to move up and down the mid table throughout the season.

Hull City

Last season: 17th

Hull City started last season pretty strong, but nearly got themselves relegated towards the end of the campaign. The Tigers only finished one point above Newcastle United.

Having signed Jozy Altidore, Hull are ambitiously rumoured with a bid to sign Alvaro Negredo. In my opinion, Hull have a relatively good squad with good players in several areas.

Who do they need: Wingers.

Personal prediction: Realistic chance of avoiding relegation, bottom half of the table.

Liverpool

Last season: 2nd

Liverpool came close to winning the league last year, finishing four points adrift of league winner Manchester United. The big question every football fans in the world asks is: Can they better last season's performance and end the title drought?

Losing Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid was a major blow. Alberto Aquilani was signed as a direct replacement but many doubt his ability to fill Alonso's void. Glen Johnson is the other major signing Rafa Benitez has made this summer.

Liverpool have a relatively large squad size but the quality of fringe players is often questioned. The only way for Liverpool to win the league is to have Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, and Javier Mascherano all fully fit throughout the season.

Who do they need: A left-back and wingers capable of breaking down defenders.

Personal prediction: It all depends on the players availability throughout the season. I wouldn't be surprised to see them winning the league or dropping out of the top four.

Manchester City

Last season: 10th

So what if they finished in mid-table last season? Their desire to improve their league position can be seen this summer as the billionaire owner splashed cash to bring in many players. On paper, their squad is not just a team chasing for the fourth spot, but a title contender!

Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Kolo Toure have all been bought thus far, adding on to their squad which was already reasonably strong with dependable players in all areas.

As long as Mark Hughes doesn't try to force all the stars into the starting line-up, Manchester City should do well this season.

Who do they need: Buy? No, they need to sell. Valeri Bojinov and Benjani Mwaruwari look the most likely to depart.

Personal prediction: Hard to say at the moment, but qualifying for Europe is more than likely. Whether it's Champions League or Europa League, it depends on how well the players gel.

Manchester United

Last season: 1st

Manchester United's quest to win the fourth consecutive league title was given a blow when Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez left for Real Madrid and Manchester City respectively.

Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia were signed to fill the voids left by Ronaldo and Tevez. However, many don't see them as the ideal replacements for the two of Manchester United's best players for the past two seasons.

Despite the losses, Manchester United's strong defence is still a vital key for them to win the league title this season. The maturing young players are expected to step up into the first team to give Sir Alex Ferguson more options.

Who do they need: None at the moment.

Personal prediction: Fourth straight title is likely but I wouldn't be surprised to see them ending up at the base of top four. The race between the top teams is going to be close, with little points separating the teams.

Portsmouth

Last season: 14th

Having lost two important players (Glen Johnson and Peter Crouch), Portsmouth are left with a small squad.

Despite having a decent back four, Niko Kranjcar to lead the midfield, and Nwanko Kanu to spearhead the attack, Pompey could be struggling in times of injury due to their squad size, as mentioned earlier.

Who do they need: Additional players in all positions.

Personal prediction: Bottom half finish.

Stoke City

Last season: 12th

Stoke City came a respectable 12th last season.

Nothing more than an average squad, not much transfer activities and hence, nothing much can be analysed.

Who do they need: Good defensive players, that's the only way to stay in the top flight.

Personal prediction: Struggle at the base of the table throughout the season.

Sunderland

Last season: 16th

Another disappointing campaign last term. Sunderland have always been a team with huge potential but never seem to achieve anything in recent seasons.

Darren Bent and Lorik Cana remain the only major signings made this summer. Cana, the Albanian skipper was a smart move to add steel to the midfield while Bent could form a deadly partnership with Kenwyne Jones up front.

Who do they need: Another proven centre-back and centre-midfielder.

Personal prediction: Bottom half finish.

Tottenham Hotspur

Last season: 8th

Despite a disastrous start last season, Tottenham managed to gain momentum and finished on the eighth spot, narrowly missing out on Europa League.

A team with high potential, Tottenham always look like achieving something big. To pose a serious threat to the top teams, Spurs need to find their consistency. If they do, don't be surprised to see them in the top four come May next year.

Signed Peter Crouch and Sebastien Bassong so far, Tottenham have a large squad with lots of quality to cope with fatigue and injuries.

Who do they need: Additional cover for the centre-midfield role.

Personal prediction: Top half finish guaranteed, very likely to finish top seven.

West Ham United

Last season: 9th

West Ham finished last season in the top half of the table. The Hammers possess reliable players in almost every position.

West Ham are a decent side always looking safe from relegation threat. Nothing much is expected from the Hammers this season.

Who do they need: A deadly striker; more goals, better chance to finish higher up in the table.

Personal prediction: Mid-table finish.

Wigan Athletic

Last season: 11th

Wigan, another decent team safe from relegation threat but don't expect them to deliver anything more.

Boasting decent players in the squad, The Latics shouldn't have any problem maintaining their status as a Premiership team come May next year.

Who do they need: A good finisher; more goals, better chance to improve league position.

Personal prediction: Mid-table finish, higher end of the bottom half.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Last season: -

Last season's English Championship winner, Wolves bounced back to the Premiership after many seasons.

The signing of Ronald Zubar was a smart move. He could turn out to be Wolves' Hangeland of Fulham.

Who do they need: A Premiership-level striker and several reliable midfielders.

Personal prediction: Battling relegation throughout the season.