Premier League Predictions: Scott Thornton’s 1-20 for the 2024/25 Season

Scott Thornton has made his Premier League predictions as part of our free to play Million Pound Predictor for the 2024/25 Premier League season.

If you can predict the full Premier League table as things finish up after the final round of fixtures on Sunday 25th May, you will win an eye-watering £1 million. 

Scott Thornton’s Premier League Predictions

Premier League Winner – Manchester City

Manchester City have managed to win the last four Premier League titles. They are favourites (6/4 best price on Coral) to be crowned champions of England once again and my pick to finish on top of the pile. You can see my 1-20 below.

The pending investigation surrounding their 115 charges is cause for concern but on the pitch, all is well at the Etihad. It will take a monumental effort to get the better of Pep Guardiola’s side over the course of 38 matches. 

City scored 96 goals in the Premier League last season, more than any other side. They finished the season with an xG of 89.55, only Liverpool had a superior xG. 

The acquisition of Savinho should have a positive impact on their attacking play. He was very direct for Girona last season, attempting more take-ins that any other player in La Liga. 

The Brazilian, along with Jeremy Doku, could prove to be a nightmare for opposition full-backs. They will inject a directness to City’s patient play and will change the makeup of their attack. There is also likely to be further additions with Man City receiving a large fee for Julian Alvarez.

Expect Arsenal to push City close once again but the reigning champions have the mental edge over a side that haven’t won the title in over 20 years. Mikel Arteta has had a transformative effect on the club but getting over the line is proving to be a problem.

Top 4 Finish – Aston Villa

I’m backing an unchanged top four with Aston Villa joining Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool once again. The last campaign was Unai Emery’s first full season in charge of the Villans and they qualified for the Champions League for the first time since the 80s. 

Their business in the transfer window is also cause for optimism. Amadou Onana has been brought in to replace Douglas Luiz. The Belgian midfielder has the technical and physical ability to dictate games from deep. 

The club have spent over £150m this summer thanks to some big sales but they appear to have the depth to navigate a long European run as well as the Premier League campaign. As a result, they look a good price to finish above the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea.

Villa’s home form was crucial last season and Villa Park should be a fortress once. They lost just three of their 19 home matches in the Premier League, scoring an average of 2.53 goals per game in the process. 

They beat the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal in front of their own fans. They will fancy their chances of slugging it out with the big boys once again and securing a Top 4 finish (7/2 Sky Bet).

Premier League Relegation – Nottingham Forest

Last season saw the three newly promoted teams return to the Championship. The bookmakers are expecting the newcomers to struggle once again. However, I’m betting Southampton to avoid the drop at the expense of Nottingham Forest (11/4 to go down on Betfred).

Forest have brought in plenty of players since being promoted to the Premier League ahead of the 2022/23 season.

Steve Cooper was the man who oversaw most of that spending but Nuno Espirito Santo has been busy in the market this summer. Despite the wholesale changes, Forest continued to struggle last season.

Nottingham  Forest’s survival went down to the wire and there was no huge upturn in performance level under the new boss. 

They would have secured their place in the top flight earlier if it wasn’t for their four-point deduction but the fans will have some concerns ahead of the new season. 

Forest managed to win just four of their 19 matches on the road. Two of those wins came against teams no longer in the Premier League.

The 2023/24 season was just the second time in Premier League history where the three newly-promoted sides had gone straight back down so picking a side outside of the new crop looks good value here.