Wednesday 7 August 2013 10:34, UK
The new Premier League season is just a couple of weeks away so skysports.com caught up with the Soccer Saturday pundits to get their predictions for the new campaign.
Who will be top scorer? I would probably have to go for Robin van Persie. At this moment you can't say what Luis Suarez is going to do or where he's going to be. I don't think he will be far behind, but I'd be daft if I didn't go for the Manchester United striker. He made the difference last year and he could do it again. Who is the best signing so far? As a central defender myself I would go for Steven Caulker, who I think is a really good player. I know Spurs have got a lot of defenders, but I was surprised they let him go because I'm a big fan. Cardiff had to pay quite heavily for him - £8million I believe - but I think that's a very good signing for them. Fair play to Cardiff for doing the deal, but without wanting to show them any disrespect I was quite surprised he has gone there and there's probably a few other teams kicking themselves for not getting in there. Who is your player to watch? I'm going to go for a Liverpool player here. Philippe Coutinho made a great impact last year and looking at pre-season, he looks more comfortable and he has been working on the physical side of his game. I think he could be one of the stars of the Premier League, I really do. He's only a young lad, but he has fantastic vision, scores goals and he could be a real one to watch this year. Which young player should we look out for? I like the look of Luke Shaw at Southampton. He was fantastic last year and I like him very much because he's like a young Leighton Baines - although a quicker version. He has good pace, a good delivery and even though he's not the tallest he is a good defender and is destined for great things. Wish for the season? I felt it wasn't a great Premier League season last year and I would like to see more teams looking to win matches and expressing themselves a bit more. I want to see more attacking football. Last year too many teams were cautious when they went away from home and seemed to be scared of losing games rather than trying to win them. I know it's difficult for the teams near the bottom, but just look at what Swansea have achieved in the last couple of years by playing a nice brand of football. I don't expect teams to risk everything by having a go, but I'd like to see less emphasis on defence. Catch up with Matt Le Tissier's Premier League predictions here.
