15 Bold Predictions for the 2011-12 Premier League Season

With the start of the Premier League season upon us once again, many pundits and fans will be hoping that their club has a ton of success this season, no matter what their expectations are.

Many of these pundits and fans will make bold predictions about the season. This is where I step in with my 15 bold predictions for the 2011-12 English Premier League season.

Relegation Battle Will Be Close Once Again

Last season, the Premier League saw up to six teams be threatened by relegation going into the last week of the season.

Parity has definitely hit the Premier League, especially from seventh place down to the drop zone.

Along with the three promoted sides, look for Wigan and Wolves to find themselves back in the relegation fight as well a surprise team or two, possibly Blackburn.

Jack Wilshere Will Be Named Player of the Year

Arsenal may not be the best squad and may not contend for the title all season, but they have the best young player in the league in England's Jack Wilshere.

Wilshere will be in the starting lineup for Arsene Wenger and will be a key distributor to forwards like the newly acquired Gervinho, as well as Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh.

Fans have been longing for the next great English footballer. Wilshere is the answer to that problem and he will be around for a long time to come.

Mario Balotelli Will Stay at Manchester City and Get Playing Time

As we saw last season, the train wreck that is Mario Balotelli is something you can not take your eyes off of.

The young Italian's shenanigans have already begun in preseason as he attempted to flick a goal in off his back heel against the L.A. Galaxy during City's tour of North America.

With Carlos Tevez leaving for good, Balotelli was looking to be in the starting lineup in the opener. He may not be in the opening lineup, but the former Inter player will definitely feature later in the season for Roberto Mancini's club.

Chelsea's Lack of Summer Transfers Will Hurt the Club's Chances at Title

After Chelsea fired Carlo Ancelotti and brought in Andre Villas-Boas, the top young manager in Europe, many people believed that Chelsea would bring in at least two or three big-name signings.

This has not been the case. The only players brought in, as of August 6th, were youngsters: Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois from Racing Genk and Oriol Romeu, the 19-year-old midfielder from Barcelona.

Another highly-touted young player should be in the Chelsea squad soon as Romelu Lukaku looks to be joining the club from Belgian side Anderlecht in the next few days.

Who knows what impact these young players will have this year, but it still leaves questions about the age of Chelsea's squad open for discussion. It remains to be seen if the club's fitness can actually be carried throughout the season with no real impact additions other than Lukaku.

New Signings to Stadium of Light Will Help Prevent Another Mid-Season Slide

Last season, Sunderland started fast and fell faster down the table once the new year struck.

The Black Cats almost fell into the relegation zone due to injuries and poor performances. To make sure that does not happen again, manager Steve Bruce has brought in close to ten players so far in the transfer window.

John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Keiren Westwood, Sebastian Larsson and Connor Wickham are just a few of the players being brought into the fold at Sunderland, while Jordan Henderson and Steed Malbranque are the only big names on the way out of the Stadium of Light.

Tottenham Will Not Qualify for Europe

After a fifth place finish in the table last season, which earned the club entrance into the Europa League, Tottenham will not see Europe in the 2012-13 campaign because they will not finish in the qualifying spots this season.

A lack of improvements to the squad, more fixtures because of the Europa League and disgruntled star players make for a rough year at White Hart Lane.

Players like Luka Modric and Roman Pavlyuchenko have supposedly wanted out all summer. However, they aren't being let go by Spurs in order to maintain depth and quality in the squad. Spurs face a long road ahead with the Europa League to go along with the Premier League, FA Cup and Carling Cup.

One of the Three Promoted Sides Will Stay in Premier League

Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City and Swansea City all were promoted to the Premier League. However, not all three of the clubs will stay in the Premier League for more than one year.

The club out of the three with the best chance to do what Newcastle and West Brom did last season is QPR.

The London club have a talented goal scorer in Adel Taarabt, who they were able to hold on to during the transfer period. They have also signed Premier League veterans Kieron Dyer, Danny Gabbidon and Jay Bothroyd to add depth to their squad.

Norwich have the second best chance to stay up with manager Paul Lambert being one of the great young managers in football.

As for Swansea, it will most likely be one and done for the Welsh club unless something miraculous happens.

Newcastle's Additions in Attack Will Not Be Able to Replace Carroll and Nolan

After Andy Carroll left Newcastle in January for a record move to Liverpool, the Magpies were unable to have a consistent goal scoring threat.

The man who scored the most goals for Alan Pardew's side, Kevin Nolan, signed with West Ham this summer to help bring the Hammers back to the Premier League.

After Nolan left, Pardew proceeded to bring in two creative midfielders from Ligue 1 in Sylvain Marveaux from Rennes and Yohan Cabaye from Lille. Forward Demba Ba was signed from West Ham to bolster an attack that already included Peter Lovenkrands, Shola Ameobi and Leon Best.

This group of players is talented, but not as talented as Carroll and Nolan. Newcastle will still have some struggles in front of net because they decided to sign midfielders instead of forwards.

Roberto Martinez Will Be the First Manager Sacked This Season

Somehow, Roberto Martinez managed to hold on to his job and his club's status in the Premier League, as Wigan barely escaped relegation in the final weeks of the season.

This season starts off fairly easily as the Latics will face the three promoted clubs. However, then Wigan gets thrown into the gauntlet that is Manchester City, Everton, Tottenham and an improved Aston Villa.

If Martinez loses five of these first seven games, he could be in real danger of being sacked, just as he was at the beginning of last season.

Liverpool's British Invasion Led by King Kenny Will Put Them in Champions League

Liverpool's resurgence under manager Kenny Dalglish is expected to continue its upswing to the top of the Premier League table this season.

After bringing in Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez in January, the Reds have also signed English midfielders Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing, as well as Scotland's Charlie Adam, to add to the all-of-a-sudden crowded midfield at Anfield that also includes Dirk Kuyt, Raul Meireles, Steven Gerrard, Lucas Leiva and Maxi Rodriguez.

What Dalglish does with his plethora of talent is his decision, but it definitely gives Liverpool the talent and the depth that it has not had in a few years. The club will be in contention for a top four finish and a Champions League berth.

The Manchester Derbies Will Be the Most Important Games of the Season

Circle October 28th and April 28th on your Premier League calendar this season.

Those are the dates of the two Manchester derbies between rivals Manchester United and Manchester City, who are the two main contenders for the title in preseason.

The matchup at Old Trafford takes place in October, while the return game at the newly named Etihad Stadium will be played as the third to last game of the season in late April.

Everton's Quiet Summer Will Help Club Make Loud Impact This Season

Everton finished in seventh place last season and have done nothing to edit their squad over the summer.

Usually, manager David Moyes brings in one or two key players to bolster the squad. This summer, however, while the other club on Merseyside has been bringing players in left and right, Everton has done nothing.

Other than the possibility of Phil Jagielka moving to Arsenal, the full squad from last season will be intact and ready to challenge for a Europa League position yet again.

Roy Hodgson Will Lead West Brom to Top Ten Finish

Last season, Roy Hodgson took over West Brom after being sacked by Liverpool. Hodgson then resurrected the Baggies' season and led them to an amazing run, which took WBA from near relegation to 11th place.

Hodgson knew exactly what he was doing with the club, as he had done it once before with Fulham.

The Baggies have brought in Ben Foster from relegated Birmingham to replace the departed Scott Carson in goal, and still have the goal scoring threat of Peter Odemwingie, who netted 15 goals last season as their main goal scoring threat.

Hodgson's club possess one thing that most clubs aiming to finish from 11th to 15th do not have, and that is a consistent first-class goal-scorer like the powerful Nigerian.

Alex McLeish Will Have a Tough Time Winning over Aston Villa Fans

The most shocking managerial switch of the summer came when Gerard Houllier stepped down from Aston Villa for health reasons and the club surprisingly chose Alex McLeish, the man who led cross-town rival Birmingham City to relegation in the 2010-11 season.

This came as a shock to many Villa fans who wondered why the board at Villa Park would choose a man who was the face of the rival team.

McLeish has brought in Shay Given and Charles N'Zogbia this summer, but has also lost the talents of Ashley Young and Stewart Downing.

Manchester United Will Repeat as Champions

Manchester United are the clear favorites to win the Premier League, as they improved in spots where veterans retired. Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David De Gea replaced retired United legends Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Edwin van der Sar.

The closest title contenders to Sir Alex Ferguson and company is their cross-town rivals Manchester City, followed the regular contenders Chelsea, Arsenal and even Liverpool this season.