The Group Chat - 2022/23 Premier League Predictions

Perry stated to Alan McInally that Cristiano Ronaldo managed to score 31 goals in 48 games for club and country last season at the age of 38 before asking where Ronaldo will go and where would Manchester United be without the Portuguese superstar?

McInally believes that Ronaldo will likely stay at United because Erik ten Hag would like to keep him at the club, but, also states that United would have been out of Europe (Champions League) in September last season, and can see the Portuguese striker staying until January.

The Scot also recalls someone telling him that it looks like Ronaldo will go to Bayern Munich, however, McInally also says that he can’t remember someone joining the Bavarian club who is over the age of 35, and recalls the German Bundesliga champions re-signing Lothar Matthaus from Inter Milan back in 1992.

Ex-Sky Sports pundit, McInally believes that Ronaldo is still good enough to score a hat-trick for United in the upcoming campaign due to his quality and that he’ll give himself up until November/December to decide his future at Old Trafford under ten Hag - however, he doesn’t see Ronaldo betraying his Real Madrid legacy by joining Atletico Madrid.

When asked by McInally for his thoughts, Perry believes that Ronaldo still has plenty to offer having scored 18 Premier League goals last campaign at the age of 38, just five shy of Golden Boot winners Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah. He believes that United fans would surely want Ronaldo to stay, although speculates that maybe too much water has gone under the bridge with him wanting out.

McInally expands on this by saying that if he was ten Hag, then he would be desperate for Ronaldo to stay and would even give him the option to decide his future in January should he not be satisfied with the club’s situation.

Perry starts to discuss Tottenham Hotspur’s additions in the summer having signed six players in Fraser Forster, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet, Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison - before asking, can they close the gap on last season’s top three?

McInally instantly replies “yeah I think they can, you know my views on Antonio Conte, I think Man United missed a boat” before discussing how the Italian managed to turn his side’s form around after their shock loss at Burnley last season. The Scot also particularly admires the signings of Richarlison and Bissouma, wishing that his old club Aston Villa would've gone in for him.

The 59-year-old thinks that even Forster could be a superb signing due to his height and ability to command the penalty area and further states that he definitely sees them finishing in the top four of the Premier League again.

Will also asks Alan if he thinks Spurs can finish above Chelsea in the upcoming campaign due to how well they finished the season?

Alan points out that Chelsea are going through a difficult situation due to the quality of players that have left Stamford Bridge in the summer transfer window and believes that if Spurs’ new signings hit the ground running then they can definitely finish above the Blues.

Perry predicts that City will make it five Premier League titles in six seasons, with Liverpool finishing second, whilst Tottenham and Chelsea switch around as the only change to last season’s top four. He believes that Spurs will make up the three points distance that they finished behind the Stamford Bridge club last campaign.

When asked by Will, McInally replies that he thinks that this will be a “rough year’ for Chelsea. Although it will be close between the likes of Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah for the Golden Boot, he believes that City will top the pile and win the Premier League once again.

McInally also proceeds to follow suit in choosing Spurs to finish as third having been impressed by them and believes that they will do enough to jump ahead of Chelsea in the standings and to Will’s surprise, chooses United for a fourth-place finish due to the ten Hag factor.

However, the ex-Bayern Munich man does come across as surprised that United haven’t done huge business as of yet, but, both Perry and McInally are impressed with the signing of Christian Eriksen due to his control and comfort on the ball in midfield.

The Scot believes that United need two good full-backs and also recalls the signing of Lisandro Martinez from Ajax. He states that his belief in United finishing fourth stems from the impact of a new manager at Old Trafford.

Will starts off by asking McInally the question of how many goals do you think Haaland managed to score in his last 130 games? This includes games for Red Bull Salzburg, Norway and Borussia Dortmund.

Alan replies with his guess of 92, before Will reveals that Haaland himself found the back of the net 130 times in these matches. Breaking it down as 42 in the 2021/22 season, 48 in 2020/21 and 40 in the 2019/20 campaign.

When asked how many goals Haaland will score in the top-flight in the 2022/23 season McInally jokingly replies “800” or “130” and believes that this is one of the Premier League’s most exciting ever signings due to his records at Salzburg and Dortmund.

McInally jokes about last season’s selections to finish as top scorers in the Premier League having picked Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku, but, when asked believes that Haaland will outscore Salah in 2022/23. He also elaborates by saying that if the Norwegian stays injury-free, that he’ll have 13 or 14 goals by Christmas and comfortably score 20.

Perry asks the Scot if Haaland will beat Son and Salah’s Golden Boot tally in 2021/22 of 23, of which McInally replies that he wants to think he will, before joking with Will that he will want him to as he’s a fan of Manchester City.