Cross-Competition Specials for the 2022/23 Season

Last season, Spurs managed to score 69 goals in the Premier League, a tally that would have no doubt been better if they had been managed by Antonio Conte throughout the whole campaign, rather than starting under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Meanwhile, Norwich’s last Championship campaign saw them accumulate 75 goals in 2020/21- the Canaries arguably have a better squad now than they did then.

Sheffield Wednesday scored 78 goals in League One last season and have strengthened their forward line with the arrival of Michael Smith from Rotherham United.

West Ham managed to fire in 60 goals in the Premier League last season which was a remarkable feat considering their commitment to the Europa League last campaign. With the Europa Conference League being of a lesser standard than the initially mentioned competition, perhaps they can afford to rotate more in Europe.

Bristol City had a disappointing season that saw them score just 46 goals under Nigel Pearson. The Ashton Gate club haven’t made a significant number of changes to their squad, but, with the likes of Nahki Wells, Andreas Weimann, Antoine Semenyo and Chris Martin amongst their ranks, they could improve their goalscoring form.

Burnley, Peterborough and Sheffield Wednesday will all be expected to finish in the top six of their leagues, especially with Burnley and Peterborough being relegated from the Premier League and Championship, meaning that they have strong squads for their divisions having retained a number of key players.

Meanwhile, Wednesday have made a number of key acquisitions following their play-off semi-final defeat to Sunderland, having signed Michael Smith and Michael Ihiekwe who were vital players for Rotherham last season, as well as David Stockdale, Akin Famewo and Will Vaulks.

Bradford and Mansfield Town will be looking for top seven finishes, especially considering that the Bantams have invested heavily into their squad in a bid to give Mark Hughes the best possible chance for promotion, signing 14 players such as Richie Smallwood, Harry Chapman, Vadaine Oliver, Matty Platt and more.

Nigel Clough’s men were beaten play-off finalists last season and will expect to be at a minimum in a top seven position come the end of the campaign.

Arsenal and Manchester United are expected to finish in a top six position next season and perhaps even push for the top four.

The Gunners blew their chance to finish in the top four for the first time under Mikel Arteta via some bad form at the end of last season, gifting rivals Tottenham a place in this season’s Champions League. They will be hoping that the signings of Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira can enhance their chances.

Meanwhile, United’s season couldn't have gone much worse despite finishing sixth, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked, whilst Ralf Rangnick’s interim role was a disaster. Surely, the Old Trafford club will improve and get back on track under Erik ten Hag, as the Dutchman looks to have built a cohesive system based on pre-season.

With the likes of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo amongst their ranks, there is the likelihood that a top-four finish could even be on the cards if they step up their games.

As mentioned above, Sheffield Wednesday will be expected to challenge for the League One title rather than just a top-six finish.

Burnley and Middlesbrough will be hoping to have strong seasons, as the Clarets are back in the Championship after being narrowly relegated from the Premier League. They will hope to play a more progressive style under Vincent Kompany - something to note is that they have also retained the likes of Dwight McNeil, Johann Berg Gudmundsson, Josh Brownhill, Jay Rodriguez and more.

Boro finished last season in seventh, just five points off the play-offs having significantly improved under Chris Wilder following the sacking of Neil Warnock. The Riverside club will be expected to continue on last season’s progression.

Despite losing Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha, Leeds have made some good additions to what was a thin squad on paper, as Jesse Marsch has managed to acquire Brendan Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra, Tyler Adams, Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca and Darko Gyabi. These signings could help the Elland Road club push back up the Premier League table and away from a relegation scrap.

Fulham have suffered relegation from the Premier League in each of their last two Premier League campaigns and will be desperate to have a longer spell in the top-flight this time around.

Manchester United will likely be targeting a top-four finish and Europa League win in the upcoming campaign, especially with the latter providing an alternative route into Champions League football, as they found out in 2017 when they won it under Jose Mourinho.

Arsenal are yet to finish inside the top four under Mikel Arteta and could have blown their best chance yet having finished fifth last season despite having no European football to contend with. The Gunners haven’t qualified for the Champions League via league position since the 2015/16 season.

Nottingham Forest will be desperate to do all they can to stay up in what is their first season back in the Premier League since 1998/99. Steve Cooper’s men have made some good signings such as Dean Henderson, Jesse Lingard, Moussa Niakhate, Taiwo Awoniyi, Neco Williams, Omar Richards and more.

Sunderland will be looking for a positive first season back in the Championship following their League One play-off final win over Wycombe back in May.

The Black Cats have a manager in Alex Neil who is known for being able to overachieve with the squads at his disposal, having done so at Preston and Hamilton. Sunderland have made four signings in Aji Alese, Daniel Ballard, Jack Clarke and Leon Dajaku and will be hoping that Neil can work his magic once again.

Erling Haaland will be looking to carry over his Borussia Dortmund record to Manchester City, having fired in 85 goals in 88 appearances for the Black and Yellows.

Tottenham Hotspur will be aiming to make it back-to-back top-four finishes in the 2022/23 season, having improved drastically under Antonio Conte. Following the signatures of Fraser Forster, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet, Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma and Richarlison, the Lilywhites have certainly enhanced their chances.

Middlesbrough will be desperate to finish in the top six of the Championship in 2022/23 having missed out on the play-offs by five points last time out. Chris Wilder’s men showed promise from the moment the ex-Sheffield United boss joined the club following the sacking of Neil Warnock partway through last season and would have arguably finished in the play-offs if he’d had a whole season in charge.

Reading can count themselves slightly fortunate to stay in the Championship following a dismal 2021/22 showing that saw them finish just four points above the drop zone. Although they themselves had a nine-point penalty, it must be noted that Derby finished just seven points shy of the Royals after being deducted 21 points.

Peterborough United will be expected to finish in the top six of League One next season having been relegated from the Championship last season. Posh were promoted from League One via a second-place finish in 2020/21, whilst their manager, Grant McCann, won the league with Hull City in that same season.

Stockport County already had a very strong squad for League Two standards when they were promoted from the National League, having had the likes of attacking trio Antoni Sarcevic, Paddy Madden and Scott Quigley on their books. The Hatters will be hoping to use their positive momentum to cement an automatic promotion place in League Two in the upcoming campaign.