The 2018 Premier League Predictor (Part Two): Club-by-club guide, transfers, grades & predictions

As the Premier League pauses for the FA Cup, it’s time to take stock. With the season now more than halfway through and the 2018 transfer market coming to a close, how is your team doing? Where can they improve and what players are being linked to save them from relegation or deliver glory?

Below we present a club-by-club Premier League Predictor, which also includes a fantasy 2018 resolution, taking a sideways look at every team. Click here for part one.

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Manchester City

The season so far: Near perfect. Few fans or pundits predicted that Pep Guardiola’s second season in charge would see him so brilliantly realise the attack-based footballing vision that has broken multiple records, winning almost every Premier League match. Where does it end? Surely with the title and perhaps much more besides, given their seemingly invincible form.

Grade: A

Transfer market: Continuing problems with Vincent Company’s fitness and the knee ligament injury to Gabriel Jesus suggest City may well be tempted to spend again.

Rumoured signings: Aymeric Laporte, Samuel Umtiti and Antoine Griezmann.

2018 fantasy resolution: To broker a peace deal between Noel and Liam Gallagher by proposing they become official joint City mascots at the last home game of the season.

Predicted final position: 1st

Manchester United

The season so far: It’s unusual for a team riding so high to face persistent criticism. But that’s the nature of Jose Mourinho’s management style and the siege mentality seems to be well underway at Manchester United, as he rails against referees, former players and the kitchen sink. Make no mistake, his team are well placed in the Premier League. It’s just that they’re also miles behind their despised rivals.

Grade: B

Transfer market: The style of football, or lack of, that Mourinho has imposed upon the Old Trafford faithful is starting to irritate. Equally, his complaints about Pep Guardiola’s spending seem absurd, given the talent within the squad. How many more windows or players like Alexis Sánchez will he need to get it right?

Rumoured signings: Danny Rose, Mesut Ozil and Antoine Griezmann.

2018 fantasy resolution: To remove the intimidating spectre of Sir Alex Ferguson sat in the stand looking nonplussed at every home game by replacing him with a lifelike dummy.

Predicted final position: 3rd

Newcastle United

The season so far: Yet again, it seems there is as much attention on the chairman of the club, Mike Ashley, as the team. A disastrous run of one win in 10 has seen Newcastle revert to familiar crisis mode, as talks over a £300m takeover make headlines off the pitch. It seems certain that this reported deal would be a huge relief to all concerned and allow manager Rafa Benitez to reinforce his squad in a manner that was not previously possible.

Grade: D

Transfer market: While near unswerving support for Benitez remains, results need to improve and he must take this opportunity, if funding is there, to make his squad look more like it belongs in the Premier League than the Championship. The loan signing of Kenedy suggests money is still tight.

Rumoured signings: Firmin Ndombe Mubele and Michy Batshuayi.

2018 fantasy resolution: To look on with barely concealed glee at the continuing decline of Sports Direct’s share price, once Mike Ashley has finally departed.

Predicted final position: 11th

Southampton

The season so far: The decision to sack Claude Puel divided opinion but the appointment of Mauricio Pellegrino now seems even more contentious given their erratic season. For a team with such a clear identity historically, it’s become difficult to ascertain what the team represents although there’s hope in the extraordinary £75m windfall that accompanied Virgil Van Dijk’s departure.

Grade: E

Transfer market: The board have sanctioned the club record signing of attacker Guido Carrillo from Monaco but more additions are required if they’re to rectify the issues in defence that have seen the club win just four league matches. Of course, boss Pellegrino should expect any potential club to see him coming.

Rumoured signings: Nicolás Gaitán and Daniel Sturridge.

2018 fantasy resolution: To ask the club’s youth academy if they wouldn’t mind hurrying along the next Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gareth Bale, Theo Walcott, Adam Lallana or Luke Shaw ASAP.

Predicted final position: 18th

Stoke City

The season so far: Another team who are struggling for form and an identity. “Who else is going to do it?” was the entirely unconvincing response from Mark Hughes to questions about his future following the club’s defeat to Newcastle. The answer, as it turned out, was Paul Lambert. Ouch. Fans are rightly concerned that their ten-year Premier League stint could be coming to an end.

Grade: E

Transfer market: The team with the league’s worst defensive record must surely be looking to strengthen at the back, while Saido Berahino’s failure to score in his first 12 months at Stoke make this a crucial window for whoever is in charge.

Rumoured signings: Amin Younes, Yann Karamoh and Danny Ings.

2018 fantasy resolution: To convince Xherdan Shaqiri that a Barcelona scout is watching his every move and plans to whisk him off to the Nou Camp at the end of the season if he can produce the goods a bit more regularly.

Predicted final position: 17th

Swansea City

The season so far: Considering the style and skill they displayed as newcomers to the Premier League, Swansea’s decline has been a sad spectacle. Paul Clement is the latest manager to get the boot and it is far too early to say whether Carlos Carvalhal, fresh from being sacked himself by Sheffield Wednesday, could really be the answer. Will they go down? Pep Guardiola seems to think so.

Grade: E

Transfer market: The failure to adequately replace either Fernando Llorente or Gylfi Sigurdsson, pretty much the only reasons Swansea stayed up last season, seems a decision based purely on profiteering and chairman Huw Jenkins has already confirmed that funds will be limited.

Rumoured signings: Adama Traore, Davy Klaassen and Andre Ayew.

2018 fantasy resolution: To persuade Paul Clement to take Renato Sanches back to Bayern Munich or wherever it is he’s off to next.

Predicted final position: 20th

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Tottenham Hotspur

The season so far: There has been a sense of anti-climax at Tottenham so far this season, after some erratic form and demoralising losses to Arsenal and Manchester City. But fears of a major wobble should be tempered by progress in the Champions League, adjustment to Wembley, injuries to key players, Harry Kane’s extraordinary form and the simple fact that Mauricio Pochettino’s team are really not far off the level that saw them finish third and second in the Premier League.

Grade: B

Transfer market: With players such Erik Lamela, Victor Wanyama and Toby Alderweireld either back or close to retuning to the squad, it’s possible that Spurs will go into the final stages of the season in excellent health. However, an unpredictable but proven attacking option remains a priority.

Rumoured signings: Ryan Sessegnon, Lucas Moura and Malcom.

2018 fantasy resolution: To keep on believing that Moussa Sissoko is absolutely an international quality footballer and not a distant cousin of Ali Dia.

Predicted final position: 4th

Watford

The season so far: Marco Silva’s burgeoning reputation never recovered from the string of poor results that accompanied links with the then vacant manager’s role at Everton. The recent departure of the Portuguese and appointment of Javi Garcia means Watford will be hoping for a new manager bounce with a fresh leader at the helm.

Grade: B

Transfer market: Having missed seven games this season through suspension, there are rumours that Troy Deeney’s time at Watford may be up.

Rumoured signings: Alfie Mawson, Didier Ndong and Islam Slimani.

2018 fantasy resolution: To get Garcia, the ninth manager at Watford since the Italian Pozzo family took over the club in 2012, to record a cover of Sir Elton John’s I’m Still Standing if he lasts until May.

Predicted final position: 10th

West Bromwich Albion

The season so far: As seems traditional, the Premier League is currently full of teams in crisis. It’s a description that suits WBA, despite the gloom briefly lifting with the departure of Tony Pulis. However, new manager Alan Pardew presided over eight games without a win and must arrest a slide that saw them win only once since August. It’s a big ask, particularly for another English manager who has made a career out of failure.

Grade: E

Transfer market: With just 19 goals to their name, it’s no surprise WBA are struggling for wins. They need to find a proven striker fast but that’s never easy during the January transfer window, particularly for a club in freefall.

Rumoured signings: Glen Johnson, Albert Adomah and Benik Afobe.

2018 fantasy resolution: To resist the temptation to sack Pardew if he doesn’t drag them out of the relegation zone by March 1 and replace him with Steve McLaren, Steve Bruce, Alan Curbishley.

Predicted final position: 19th

West Ham United

The season so far: The West Ham Rubik’s Cube remains impossible to solve. Slavan Bilic may have carried the club triumphantly on his shoulders from the Boleyn Ground but the move to the London Stadium has proved a lot to take on for many fans and, ultimately, him too. David Moyes will be desperate to restore his near defeated reputation after failing at Manchester United, Real Sociedad and Sunderland, and he’s quickly made them a tougher team to beat.

Grade: D

Transfer market: Moyes has already been linked with a string of proven Premier League names, while a return for Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho, despite the transfer’s comical collapse in the summer, is not unthinkable.

Rumoured signings: Alfie Mawson, Tom Cairney and Joao Mario.

2018 fantasy resolution: To convince co-chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold to go on a public relations course and read E-mail for Dummies while they’re at it.

Predicted final position: 13th