LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 23: Artur Boruc of Southampton fails to stop the shot by Gylfi Sigurdsson (not pictured) of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at White Hart Lane on March 23, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

32 Flags Premier League Preview Part 2

Swansea City

Manager:

Gary Monk

Most Influential Player:

Gylfi Sigurdsson

Last Season’s  Finish:

8th

Predicted Finish:

Europa League

SWANSEA, WALES - OCTOBER 25:  Gylfi Sigurdsson of Swansea in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and Leicester City at Liberty Stadium on October 25, 2014 in Swansea, Wales.  (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

SWANSEA, WALES – OCTOBER 25: Gylfi Sigurdsson of Swansea in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and Leicester City at Liberty Stadium on October 25, 2014 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Transfers In:

Eder, CF, for £5m from Braga

Franck Tabanou, LB, for £3.5m from Saint-Etienne

Andre Ayew, LW, Free Transfer from Marseille

Transfers Out:

Jazz Richards, GK, Free Transfer to Fulham

Preview:

Swansea is going to be a sneaky good team. After just missing out on the Europa League, they are back with smart buys and the advantage of not competing in Europa League. That may give them a leg up on teams like Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton.

 

Tottenham Hotspur

Manager:

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 01:  Harry Kane of Spurs on the ball during the Capital One Cup Final match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on March 1, 2015 in London, England.  (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 01: Harry Kane of Spurs on the ball during the Capital One Cup Final match between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on March 1, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Mauricio Pochettino

Most Influential Player:

Harry Kane

Last Season’s  Finish:

5th

Predicted Finish:

Europa League

Transfers In:

Toby Alderweireld, CB, for £11.5m from Atletico Madrid

Kevin Wimmer, CB, for £4.3m from FC Koln

Kieran Trippier, RB, for £3.5m from Burnley

Transfers Out:

Paulinho, CM, for £9.9m to Guangzhou Evergrande

Benjamin Stambouli, DM, for £6m to PSG

Lewis Holtby, CM, for £4.6m to Hamburg

Younès Kaboul, CB, for £3m to Sunderland

Preview:

Tottenham is in the solid Europa League position. Similar to Liverpool, they’re good enough to likely be assured of a Europa League spot but a bit behind the top four teams to mount a fight unless they put forth a flawless season. Spurs has a chance to make top four if one of those top teams goes on a bad run but they’re most likely fighting with Liverpool for 5th place.

 

Watford

Manager:

BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 10: Troy Deeney of Watford misses a penalty during the Sky Bet Championship match between Brentford and Watford at Griffin Park on February 10, 2015 in Brentford, England.  (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

BRENTFORD, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 10: Troy Deeney of Watford misses a penalty during the Sky Bet Championship match between Brentford and Watford at Griffin Park on February 10, 2015 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Quique Flores

Most Influential Player:

Troy Deeney

Last Season’s  Finish:

2nd in Championship

Predicted Finish:

Relegation survivor

Transfers In:

Steven Berghuis, RW, for £4.6m from AZ

Juanfran, RB, for £1.5m from Real Betis

Transfers Out:

Lewis McGugan, CM, for £300k to Sheffield Wednesday

Jonathan Bond, GK, for £250k to Reading

Preview:

Watford, out of the three Championship promoted teams, is arguably the best equipped out of those teams to stay in the Premier League. The team is equipped to eek out points and while it won’t be pretty, it’s going to keep them in the EPL.

 

West Bromwich Albion

Manager:

WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND - MAY 18:  Darren Fletcher of West Bromwich Albion in action during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Chelsea at The Hawthorns on May 18, 2015 in West Bromwich, England.  (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND – MAY 18: Darren Fletcher of West Bromwich Albion in action during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Chelsea at The Hawthorns on May 18, 2015 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Tony Pulis

Most Influential Player:

Darren Fletcher

Last Season’s  Finish:

13th

Predicted Finish:

Midtable

Transfers In:

James Chester, CB, for £8m from Hull City

Ricky Lambert, ST, for £3m from Liverpool

James McClean, LW, for £1.5m from Wigan

Transfers Out:

Graham Dorrans, RM, for £3m to Norwich City

Georgios Samaras, LW, Released

Preview:

West Brom is slowly but surely moving their way up the table. They got the best manager in Tony Pulis in terms of surviving relegation. Now that they have survived relegation, this may be the year that moves West Brom up from a relegation fighter to a midtable contender

 

West Ham United

Manager:

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 25: Diafra Sakho of West Ham United in action during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at Boleyn Ground on October 25, 2014 in London, England.  (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 25: Diafra Sakho of West Ham United in action during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at Boleyn Ground on October 25, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images)

Slaven Bilić

Most Influential Player:

Diafra Sakho

Last Season’s  Finish:

12th

Predicted Finish:

Midtable

Transfers In:

Angelo Ogbonna, CB, for £7.74m from Juventus

Carl Jenkinson, RB, on loan from Arsenal

Transfers Out:

Stewart Downing, AM, for £5.5m to Middlesbrough

Preview:

West Ham is going to suffer due to playing in the Europa League. Because they earned their spot via the Fair Play rankings, West Ham got to begin their season on July 2. That extra month of action is going to affect them in the last half in the season. I’m not saying West Ham is going to drop all the way down to the relegation zone but I can definitely see them play like Everton last year and experience a huge drop in the table.

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp

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