during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on May 24, 2015 in London, England.

32 Flags Premier League Preview Part 1

With the Premier League season less than a week away, 32 Flags is breaking down the Premier League to give you a snap shot of each team. Today, we’ll be looking at the first 10, alphabetically. That’ll be Arsenal through Manchester United.

Arsenal

Manager:

Arsene Wenger

Most Influential Player:

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02:  Captain Mikel Arteta of Arsenal lifts the trophy after their 1-0 win in the FA Community Shield match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on August 2, 2015 in London, England.  (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 02: Captain Mikel Arteta of Arsenal lifts the trophy after their 1-0 win in the FA Community Shield match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on August 2, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Alexis Sanchez

Last Season’s  Finish:

3rd

Predicted Finish:

Champions League

Transfers In:

Petr Cech, GK, for £9.85m from Chelsea

Transfers Out:

Lukas Podolski, LW, for £1.76m to Galatasary

Ryo Miyaichi, LW, Free Transfer to FC St. Pauli

Abou Diaby, CM, Free Tansfer to Marseille

Yaya Sanogo, ST, On Loan to AFC Ajax

Wojciech Szczesny, GK, On Loan to AS Roma

Cark Jenkinson, RB, On Loan to West Ham United

Preview:

The 2014/15 season for Arsenal was fairly exciting, with 2nd a distinct possibility until the last day. This season, Arsenal will be looking to kick on and better last season’s showing by placing 2nd. Placing 3rd and a few good cup runs will be considered the minimum this season. They are possibly one of two players short of a genuine title charge, though the window is still open.

 

Aston Villa

Manager:

Tim Sherwood

Most Influential Player:

Ciaran Clark

Last Season’s  Finish:

17th

Predicted Finish:

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: Jordan Amavi of Aston Villa in action during the Pre Season Friendly match between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa at City Ground on August 1, 2015 in Nottingham, England.  (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND – AUGUST 01: Jordan Amavi of Aston Villa in action during the Pre Season Friendly match between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa at City Ground on August 1, 2015 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Relegation survivor

Transfers In:

Jordan Ayew, ST, for £8.43m from FC Lorient

Jordan Amavi, LB, for £7.73m from OGC Nice

Jordan Veretout, CM, for £6.96m from FC Nantes

Idrissa Gueye, CM, for £6.33m  from LOSC Lille

Rudy Gestede, ST, for £5.97m from Blackburn

Scott Sinclair, LW, £2.46m from Manchester City

Jose Angel Crespo, RB, £.7m from Cordoba CF

Micah Richards, CB, Free Transfer from Manchester City

Transfers Out:

Christian Benteke, ST, for £32.5m to Liverpool

Fabian Delph, CM, for £8m to Manchester City

Andreas Weimann, ST, for £2.67m to Derby

Darren Bent, ST, Free Transfer to Derby

Shay Given, GK, Free Transfer to Stoke City

Ron Vlaar, CB, Released

Preview:

This season will be a tough one for Aston Villa. They were lucky to not be relegated last season and the appointment of Tim Sherwood revitalized them at the right time. This season will be much closer. They have sold two of their most important players in Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph. It will be up to the players they have brought in this summer to replace those two and keep Villa in the Premier League.

 

Bournemouth

Manager:

Eddie Howe

Most Influential Player:

Callum Wilson

Last Season’s  Finish:

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - APRIL 27:  Callum Wilson of Bournemouth celebrates with team mates as he scores their third goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between AFC Bournemouth and Bolton Wanderers at Goldsands Stadium on April 27, 2015 in Bournemouth, England.  (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – APRIL 27: Callum Wilson of Bournemouth celebrates with team mates as he scores their third goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between AFC Bournemouth and Bolton Wanderers at Goldsands Stadium on April 27, 2015 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

1st in Championship

Predicted Finish:

Relegation

Transfers In:

Tyrone Mings, LB, for £7.94m from Ipswich

Adam Federici, GK, Free Transfer from Reading

Sylvain Distin, CB, Free Transfer from Everton

Joshua King, LW, Free Transfer from Blackburn

Artur Boruc, GK, Free Transfer from Southampton

Christian Atsu, RW, On Loan from Chelsea FC

Transfers Out:

No Major Outgoing Transfers

Preview:

Bournemouth were the exciting team in the Championship last season and they will look to bring that brave style to the Premier League. They haven’t made a ton of new signings for this season, but this could also be to their benefit. The Premier League has often been unkind to Championship teams that try to play on the front foot after promotion, but Swansea and Southampton have succeeded in staying up. Bournemouth will look to be the next team to accomplish that.

 

Chelsea

Manager:

Jose Mourinho

Most Influential Player:

LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA - JULY 27: Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea in action during the Pre Season Friendly  match between FC Olimpija Ljubljana and Chelsea at Stozice stadium in Ljubljana, Slovenia on Sunday, July 27, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA – JULY 27: Cesc Fabregas of Chelsea in action during the Pre Season Friendly match between FC Olimpija Ljubljana and Chelsea at Stozice stadium in Ljubljana, Slovenia on Sunday, July 27, 2014. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

Eden Hazard

Last Season’s  Finish:

1st

Predicted Finish:

EPL Champs

Transfers In:

Asmir Begovic, GK, for £7.73m from Stoke

Radamel Falcao, ST, On Loan from Monaco

Transfers Out:

Filipe Luis, LB, for £11.25m to Atletico Madrid

Petr Cech, GK, for £9.85m to Arsenal

Thorgan Hazard, AM, for £5.62m to Borussia Monchengladbach

Gael Kakuta, LW, for £4.22m to Sevilla FC

Preview:

Chelsea will almost certainly be winning the Premier League this season. It’s that simple. They have amazing depth, great players in every position, and a top manager. This team is well drilled and able to grind out games when necessary. They’ve suffered defeat already in the Community Shield and will be looking to settle the score the rest of the season.

 

Crystal Palace

Manager:

Alan Pardew

Most Influential Player:

during a Pre Season Friendly between Fulham and Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage on August 1, 2015 in London, England.

during a Pre Season Friendly between Fulham and Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage on August 1, 2015 in London, England.

Yohan Cabaye

Last Season’s  Finish:

10th

Predicted Finish:

Midtable

Transfers In:

Yohan Cabaye, CM, for £9.77m from PSG

Connor Wickham, ST, for £7.03m from Sunderland

Alex McCarthy, GK, for £3.44m from QPR

Patrick Bamford, ST, On Loan from Chelsea

Transfers Out:

No Major Outgoing Transfers

Preview:

Crystal Palace’s 2014/15 Premier League campaign surprised many fans who expected the team to collapse after the departure of Tony Pulis. Under Pulis, they had been a defensive powerhouse, in the Pulisian style, and it became a firm foundation that new manager Alan Pardew would build on. The hiring of Pardew saw Crystal Palace become a bit more adventurous in attack and led them to a 10th place finish after an exciting run of form. They will hope to build on this, with Yohan Cabaye and Connor Wickham hoping to spark something special and Selhurst Park.

Continued on Next Page (Everton to Manchester United)

About Jeff Snyder

Jeff Snyder is a professional writer and has been in sports broadcast for almost half a decade. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheJackAnty.

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