Premier League: Jamie Redknapp tips Chelsea for the title
Sky Sports expert assesses all 20 teams and picks out key men
Wednesday 13 August 2014 09:07, UK
Ahead of the new season, Sky Sports expert Jamie Redknapp has had his say on the Premier League sides gunning for glory in 2014/15.
From reigning champions Manchester City to Championship winners Leicester City, each of the 20 sides enter the new campaign with aims and ambitions. But how will they fare? And which key players will they be looking to in the months ahead?
Here Redknapp makes his assessments - but air your views using the comment box on skysports.com...
Arsenal
Arsenal finished seven points off the title and a lot of the time they missed their best players. Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott were all out for long periods. But they won the FA Cup last year and they could feasibly win the league this year. I wouldn’t write them off. With Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alexis Sanchez up top, that is pace to burn. That will scare the life out of any defence. They need to replace Thomas Vermaelen and maybe they need a defensive midfielder as well. But they’ve got to do better against the big teams. They conceded so many goals against the top teams last season and they have to do better in those head-to-heads if they want to contest for the title.
Key man: Olivier Giroud. The France striker has to have huge season for Arsenal to win the league.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa really struggled last season and they haven’t done anything different this summer, so I think it’s going to be hard for them again. Yes, they’ve brought Roy Keane in assistant - but if they could have brought him in as a player I’d say they’d be fine! He’ll make a bit of a difference but I do fear for them, I think they’ll be in trouble. Christian Benteke is going to be injured for a while and his comeback might be the catalyst to them finishing really well.
Key man: Christian Benteke. Once fit, the striker could make the difference.
Burnley
I like Burnley boss Sean Dyche; he’s got a lot about him. He’s done a great job there, he’s got a bit of personality and he knows the game. Burnley haven’t got a fortune to spend but they’ve got two players in their squad who will play for England – Kieran Trippier and Danny Ings. Those two are really important for them. Burnley will be looking to Ings to score the goals and I’ve no doubt he has the quality to score in the Premier League. If you look at the teams that have come up they’ll need a 1-0 here and there to amass those vital points. If they stay up it will be one of the best achievements in Premier League history – but they could do it.
Key man: Danny Ings. Future England international can step up to Premier League level.
Chelsea
Chelsea are my team to beat this year. They should have won it last year. Jose Mourinho made a lot of excuses about them not being ready. They were, they just blew it. They lost a lot of poor games; they lost to Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa – matches where they should be picking up points. Now they’ve added Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, two players who will improve them. They needed a goal-scoring striker last season and Costa will provide that, while Fabregas will chip in as well, and provide plenty of assists. Chelsea have no excuses now, they have the squad to win the title. And I think they will.
Key m
