Premier League 2012/13 Season Predictions – 10th – 1st

2. Manchester United

Coming in at number two is Manchester United. Even with the likely addition of Robin Van Persie - surely United can't get gazumped from here- I don't see them being able to match the eventual champions. It's clear that this isn't as talented a squad as Sir Alex has had in the past but that never seems to bother him as he always has his team mounting title challenges. Whether it's in the League, Europe or the domestic cups Sir Alex always gets the best out of a dwindling talent pool. United's frailty is in the midfield where they have a lack of creativity and a lack of steel. Darren Fletcher may be on the come back trail but who knows when he will be in the first team again or even if he will be the same player. Anderson's return has been greeted with all the fan fair it deserves... none, and then there is the question as to whether or not De Gea has put his shaky start to last season behind him or not. It will be interesting to see what kind of line up Sir Alex goes with if he can wrap up the deal for Van Persie. He has the players in Rooney, Valencia, Nani, Kagawa and Welbeck to go from a simple 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1. Whatever he decides I have United coming a distant second and just pipping Chelsea to the runners up spot purely on the basis that Sir Alex will accept nothing less from than total commitment from his players. First Three Games: Everton (A), Fulham (H), Southampton (A)