The 2018-19 Premier League XI: Predicting the entire table, 1 through 20

The 2018-19 Premier League season is upon us. Kickoff, believe it or not, is less than 24 hours away. To get you set for the planet’s most enthralling 38-game soccer circuit, Yahoo Sports’ Premier League XI will delve into the 11 most compelling questions ahead of the coming campaign. This one wraps things up as we deliver our Premier League predictions for every team in the table.

Thank you for joining us this week as our writers previewed the most compelling teams, players, issues and angles of the planet’s premier sporting competition. We asked the entire crew to predict how each team would finish, champions through 20, and we collated the responses into one giant table you will surely throw back in our faces come May.

So without further ado, the picks. These are courtesy of Henry Bushnell, Doug McIntyre, Joey Gulino, Ryan Bailey, Shahan Ahmed and Alex Baker. Regular columnist Leander Schaerlaeckens would have joined but he’s vacationing at his chateau in the South of France. (Only one part of that sentence is made up, so you decide which.)

All together now

1. Manchester City (average rank: 1)
2. Liverpool (2.2)
3. Manchester United (3.5)
4. Tottenham Hotspur (3.8)
5. Chelsea (5)
6. Arsenal (5.5)
7. Everton (7.5)
8. Newcastle United (10.2)
9. West Ham United (10.3)
10. Burnley (10.7)
11. Leicester City (11.3)
12. Crystal Palace (11.8)
13. Wolverhampton Wanderers (12.2)
14. Fulham (13)
15. Southampton (15.3)
16. Bournemouth (15.5)
17. Brighton & Hove Albion (16.2)
18. Watford (16.5)
19. Huddersfield Town (19.2)
20. Cardiff City (19.3)

Some notes on the picks …

After obliterating several Premier League records last campaign, Manchester City was the only unanimously slotted team at No. 1. Liverpool was a largely consensus No. 2, with Ryan the only outlier. To be fair, he still had the Reds at No. 3.

Shahan, meanwhile, was the only one to demote Tottenham Hotspur outside of the Champions League spots, while every other writer had Chelsea and Arsenal finishing fifth and sixth in some order.

The biggest disparity in predicted league position belonged to Watford, which saw Shahan rank the Hornets ninth and Doug plunge them to the basement at No. 20. Wolverhampton Wanderers finished a close second in this regard, with Joey picking them eighth and Shahan at No. 18. Newcastle United saw a similar discrepancy, with Joey picking them seventh and Henry ranking them 16th.

Over a quarter of the league received a vote in one of the relegation spots, including Wolves, Watford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Southampton, Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town. So as usual, the drop zone might be just as entertaining as the Champions League spots.

And finally, for reference’s sake, here are the individual picks:

Shahan Ahmed

1. Manchester City

2. Liverpool

3. Chelsea

4. Manchester United

5. Tottenham Hotspur
   

6. Arsenal

7. Everton

8. West Ham United
   

9. Watford

10. Leicester City
    

11. Newcastle United
    

12. Burnley

13. Crystal Palace

14. Southampton

15. Fulham

16. Bournemouth

17. Brighton & Hove Albion
    

18. Cardiff City
    

19. Wolverhampton Wanderers

20. Huddersfield Town
    

Ryan Bailey

1. Manchester City
2. Manchester United
3. Liverpool
4. Tottenham Hotspur
5. Chelsea
6. Arsenal
7. Everton
8. Burnley
9. Newcastle United
10. Crystal Palace
11. West Ham United
12. Fulham
13. Wolverhampton Wanderers
14. Leicester City
15. Bournemouth
16. Brighton & Hove Albion
17. Southampton
18. Watford
19. Huddersfield Town
20. Cardiff City

Alex Baker

1. Manchester City
2. Liverpool
3. Manchester United
4. Tottenham Hotspur
5. Arsenal
6. Chelsea
7. West Ham United
8. Everton
9. Burnley
10. Newcastle United
11. Leicester City
12. Crystal Palace
13. Fulham
14. Bournemouth
15. Southampton
16. Wolverhampton Wanderers
17. Watford
18. Brighton & Hove Albion
19. Cardiff City
20. Huddersfield Town

Henry Bushnell

1. Manchester City

2. Liverpool

3. Tottenham Hotspur
   

4. Manchester United

5. Arsenal

6. Chelsea

7. Everton

8. Leicester City
   

9. Wolverhampton Wanderers
   

10. West Ham United
    

11. Crystal Palace

12. Brighton & Hove Albion
    

13. Southampton

14. Fulham

15. Burnley

16. Newcastle United
    

17. Bournemouth

18. Watford

19. Huddersfield Town
    

20. Cardiff City

Joey Gulino

1. Manchester City

2. Liverpool

3. Tottenham Hotspur

4. Manchester United

5. Arsenal

6. Chelsea

7. Newcastle United
   

8. Wolverhampton Wanderers
   

9. Everton

10. Burnley

11. Crystal Palace

12. Leicester City
    

13. Fulham

14. West Ham United
    

15. Bournemouth

16. Brighton & Hove Albion
    

17. Watford

18. Southampton

19. Cardiff City
    

20. Huddersfield Town

Doug McIntyre

1. Manchester City

2. Liverpool

3. Tottenham Hotspur
   

4. Manchester Utd

5. Chelsea

6. Arsenal

7. Newcastle United
   

8. Everton

9. Wolverhampton Wanderers
   

10. Burnley

11. Fulham

12. West Ham United
    

13. Leicester City
    

14. Crystal Palace

15. Southampton

16. Bournemouth

17. Huddersfield Town

18. Brighton & Hove Albion

19. Cardiff City

20. Watford

The rest of the 2018-19 Premier League XI

Monday: What could derail Man City’s title defense?
Monday: Can Sarri revolutionize or stabilize Chelsea?
Monday: Who’s getting relegated?
Tuesday: Who, if anybody, can break up the top six?
Tuesday: Is Liverpool closing on City?
Tuesday: What to expect at Arsenal post-Wenger?
Wednesday: Is a Mourinho flameout already underway?
Wednesday: Is Spurs’ trophy deadline approaching?
Wednesday: Wolves: Shady, brilliant, or both?
Thursday: Transfer window winners/losers
Thursday: Predictions