Our End of Season Predictions Around Europe as We Get Into 2022

Winner

Just as expected at the start of the season, the Premier League is shaping up to be a three-horse race with Manchester City top at Christmas, a good omen for Pep Guardiola, as each time this has happened before, they have gone on to lift the title. Despite being closely followed by Liverpool, and until recently Chelsea, we see the Citizens retaining the title as with the squad depth available to Guardiola, barring an injury crisis, they can seamlessly replace one world class player with another which may be key come May.

Golden Boot

Although we predict Liverpool to miss out on the title, we more than expect them to house this season's Golden Boot winner in Mohamed Salah, who will most likely claim his third title - only Thierry Henry will have more if this happens. The Egypt man is on 16 goals and five clear of his nearest challenger. At the same time, he is also leading the assists chart with nine. The forward has been unplayable this season and if he continues in this vein may even lift the Ballon d'Or next year, especially is Liverpool win a major title.

Winner

To absolutely no one's surprise, Paris Saint-Germain look to be reclaiming the Ligue 1 title after a shock victory for Lille last season. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have lost just once in their opening 18 games whilst scoring 38 times, the most in the league. With the high-profile additions of Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and of course, Lionel Messi, the league seemed like a forgone conclusion before a ball was even kicked and with the Parisians 13 points clear at the top, that has most certainly been the case.

Top Scorer

With Messi joining Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in PSG’s star-studded frontline, many predicted the top scorer race to be contested purely amongst these three, however, in a refreshing twist, that isn’t quite the case. Currently, Lille’s Jonathan David leads the pack on 11 goals, followed by Mbappe, Ludovic Ajorque, Gaetan Labrode, Wissam Ben Yedder, and Mohammed Bayo all on nine making for a tight contest. After returning from injury recently, if he stays fit Mbappe will most likely take the accolade, however, David and Labrode are ones to watch for an outside bet if they continue their fine form.

Winner

Similarly to Ligue 1, the outright favourites prior the season are running away with the league, as Bayern Munich sit nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga. The Bavarians have been ruthless​ and already sit with a goal difference of 40, finding the net 56 times largely due to having league top scorer Robert Lewandowski on their books. At exactly the halfway mark, the league is all but over, with nothing short of a miracle needed to stop the title from returning to Bavaria for the a record 10th successive season.

Top Scorer

After finishing runner up in the Ballon d'Or and equaling Cristiano Ronaldo’s feat of 69 goals in a calendar year, it's no surprise Lewandowski leads the race for the top scorer award with 19 goals in 17 games already after he recently broke another Gerd Muller goal with the most inside a calendar year in the Bundesliga with an astonishing 43 goals in 32 games.

The Pole is being closely followed by Bayer Leverkusen's Patrik Schick, 16 goals, and wonderkid Erling Haaland, having recently returned from injury with 13 league goals to his name. Although the race for the top scorer award is far tighter than that for the league, given Lewandowski’s sheer consistency over the past few years, we can’t really see this one going to anyone else, however, we don’t expect Haaland and Schik to fall away any time soon.

Winner

Following a strong start from Real Betis, it looked as if we had a surprise title challenge at foot, however, after an abysmal recent run of form, that push seems to be over. Real Madrid will sit top at Christmas currently six points clear of Sevilla in second, with usual challengers Barcelona in turmoil following the departure of Lionel Messi in the summer, as the Blaugrana may even miss out on European football altogether. Given the state of play, the title will likely return to Madrid this season with either defending champions Atletico Madrid, or Real, but Carlo Ancelotti's men just have too much power under his leadership.

Top Scorer

Frenchman Karim Benzema leads the scoring charts on 13, followed closely by winger Jumani and fellow clubmate, Vinicius Junior. Benzema has really stepped up since Ronaldo left in 2018, and this year is no different, as the forward has not only scored goals, but provided for his teammates with nine assists, being the standout player in the league this season. Barring any injury, Benzema will likely continue to spearhead Madrid towards the title, with the Frenchman our pick to lift the top scorer award along the way.

Winner

Just six points separate the top four teams in Italy, with Inter Milan, AC Milan, Napoli and Atalanta all in the mix to lift the Scudetto. Until recently, Milan led the race following Napoli's slight decline, however, after a dip in form which included a loss to Napoli, local rivals Inter look set to enter 2022 top of the pile. After lifting the league last season, Simone Inzaghi’s side look increasingly likely to retain the title, having won six games on the bounce and being undefeated in 10. Our pick is for Inter to be victorious again come May, however, they are likely to be pushed all the way by Milan, Napoli and Atalanta.

Golden Boot

Arguably the breakout star of 2021, Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic leads the Serie A scoring charts with 16 goals, three clear of nearest challenger Ciro Immobile. Given his form over the past year, Vlahovic looks to be the obvious candidate for the golden boot, however, with a great deal of speculation around his future, it isn't certain where the Serbian will be playing come the end of January.

If Vlahovic remains in Serie A, he is our pick for the top scorer, however, if he departs from Fiorentina, Ciro Immobile, Giovanni Simeone and Lautaro Martinez are all likely candidates for the accolade and we think the Lazio man will keep on plugging away.