By Michael Potts

Published: Thursday, 22 December 2022 at 12:00 am

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The Premier League 2022/23 season feels like a distant, hazy memory, but it’s all about to explode into life as the World Cup hype subsides and club football roars back into life.

Arsenal are leading the pack, against all the odds, an Erling Haaland-powered Manchester City continue to look threatening, while Manchester United and Tottenham are picking up speed as the season wears on.

Liverpool are way off the pace, so too are Chelsea as Graham Potter struggles to turn around his new side’s fortunes.

At the other end of the table, Wolves, Southampton and Nottingham Forest occupy the danger zone but that could all change in the coming weeks. Are you ready for the restart? We thought not, that’s why we’re on hand to help.

RadioTimes.com brings you our predictions for the remainder of the Premier League 2022/23 season.

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Title winners – Manchester City

Sorry, Gunners. As a neutral, as a fan of drama and unpredictability and change, I’d happily be proven wrong here but Manchester City are by no means out of the race as the Premier League returns.

City’s main man Erling Haaland has been rested, relaxed and recharged while international stars exerted themselves at the World Cup. He may actually come back rustier than his teammates, but as the long season wears on, he will have more fuel in the tank for the run-in.

Pep Guardiola’s men remain a lethal unit and will remain in this title hunt until the end. I could actually see City trail Arsenal for weeks – maybe months – to come before finally pulling away from them as they become increasingly saturated with Haaland goals. Games against the top four will be crucial.

Runners-up – Arsenal

While saying that about City, I do believe Arsenal are the real deal – a bona fide title contender. First and foremost, they look like a highly capable, functional, cohesive team unit, and that’s not something that could always be said about the Gunners in years gone by.

Their youthful approach will pay dividends in the years to come, but much like Spain at the World Cup, this may be slightly too soon for them.

Bukayo Saka’s stock rose massively again at the World Cup – he was arguably England’s most dangerous player – while the likes of Gabriel Martinelli also continue to grow in stature.

Gabriel Jesus’s injury is a blow without being season-defining. The Gunners must find a way to fill the gap left by his absence, perhaps in the January transfer window.

Top four – Man City, Arsenal, Man Utd, Tottenham

Beyond City and Arsenal, the race for the top four could shift in any direction. The fact Newcastle sit in third is testament to how disjointed the table looks right now.

Tottenham and Manchester United sit in fourth and fifth, Liverpool down in sixth, Chelsea in eighth and a smorgasbord of plucky underdogs are mingled around them.

United could be primed for a surge upon their return to action. Marcus Rashford is coming into form while Bruno Fernandes enjoyed a terrific World Cup. United have jettisoned Cristiano Ronaldo and his exit surely strengthens the group as a whole, Erik ten Hag’s authority as boss, and Harry Maguire’s place as captain.

Tottenham have Harry Kane in red-hot Premier League form. He returns to the club hurting, with a point to prove, and he should do exactly that between now and May. Antonio Conte will demand nothing less than fourth from his players.

Relegation – Bournemouth, Southampton, Wolves

First, I’m going to sift out bottom-half teams who surely boast enough to escape peril. Crystal Palace and Aston Villa have the potential to crash the top 10, Leicester are improving, Leeds and West Ham have enough quality among their ranks to flee.

That leaves Everton in danger, especially with Dominic Calvert-Lewin currently being held together by Sellotape. They have functional players in the squad with enough quality to survive but achieve little else beyond that meagre aim.

I’m also backing Nottingham Forest to come good before the season is over. Steve Cooper has been backed by the board and will have enjoyed the respite of the World Cup break. It will have afforded him and his patchwork squad time to bond, time to breathe, time to gel. They could be one of the teams to really benefit from a time out.

That leaves Southampton and Wolves remaining in the drop zone, while I think Bournemouth are forging a path to join them.

Southampton finally dispatched boss Ralph Hasenhüttl after years of aimless wandering, but they simply lack identity or any semblance of style. What is a Southampton 2022/23 team? Nathan Jones has come in from Luton with a top football league background, which may come in useful given which direction the Saints appear to be marching.

Wolves also binned their boss this year to be replaced by former Spain and Real Madrid man Julen Lopetegui, though he is largely unacquainted with the gritty nature of a Premier League relegation battle. A top coach, no doubt about it, but can he get Wolves scoring goals again? It’ll be a really tough ask.

Finally, Bournemouth. They sit in 14th ahead of the restart but lost four in a row prior to a victory right before the break. This squad was never ready for Premier League football, hence why Scott Parker’s relationship with the board plummeted. You have to give massive credit to the team for putting up such a valiant fight, but over the course of a 38-game season, they will be found lacking.

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