The football season kicks off this weekend, so now is the perfect time to let you in on a few predictions for the season ahead.  Whether you’re interested in the Premier League, the Championship or even the Chumpions League, these are the only tips you need.

Premier League

Once again, I expect it to be a close battle at the top between Manchester United and Chelsea, with maybe Liverpool sneaking into title contention.  Despite losing a few players in the summer, Arsenal will easily finish in fourth, but the top three will be streets ahead.  I think the key positions will look like this come 24th May 2009:

1 Chelsea
2 MAN UTD
3 Liverpool
4 Arsenal
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5 Spurs
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6 Man City

…

17 Wigan
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18 WEST BROM
19 Hull
20 Stoke

Expect both Mat and Chris to suffer heartbreak with West Brom being narrowly relegated and Man Utd finishing the season with the Community Shield being their only trophy.

Championship

The Championship is the league to be in.  The quality and the “big name” players of the Premier League maybe missing, but there’s still plenty of entertainment to be had, as the difference between the top and bottoms teams is never huge.  You can be comfortably heading the table after four games, yet still finish a single point away from relegation, much like Coventry last season.  This season should see a turnaround in fortunes for the Sky Blues, with a top half finish for a change.  Here’s how the Championship will pan out:

1 Birmingham
2 QPR
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3 Swansea
4 Nottm Forest
5 Wolves (Playoff Winner)
6 SKY BLUES
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7 Derby

…

21 Plymouth
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22 Norwich
23 Blackpool
24 Doncaster

Wolves and the Sky Blues to meet in the playoff final, Wolves to go up and then come straight back down again.

The Chumpions League

Actually, forget what I said about the Championship, the Chumpions League is where everyone wants to be.  The league is swimming with cash, with each team worth £Billions £5, and the victor scoring a sweet 60% of the total value of the league, competition for the top 3 places is fierce.  Naturally, you can expect improved performance from The Hurricanes, and probably Chris’ team too, if he reads this.

The league is too tight to call, but one thing is for certain, it will be swimming with Dumonts.  My only prediction for this season is, assuming the Constructors Championship gets the nod, Team Dynamics will be a strong shout for title contenders, with two top 8 finishers last season and Chris (who might just be there to make up the numbers again).

Expect every Friday in the Dynamics offices from now until the end of the season to be full of heated debate about the players to have for that gameweek.