Premiership Countdown: 2 Days to Go.

When the 2006/2007 Premiership season kicks off on Saturday morning, it’ll be the first ball kicked since the previous season ended just 104 days earlier.

After weighing up the teams pros and cons, and the other different influencing factors, here’s my prediction of how the 2006/2007 table will finish.

1. Arsenal
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Tottenham Hotspur
5. Manchester United
6. Newcastle United
7. Blackburn Rovers
8. Wigan Athletic
9. Bolton Wanderers
10. Everton
11. Aston Villa
12. West Ham United
13. Watford
14. Manchester City
15. Reading
16. Portsmouth
17. Middlesbrough
18. Fulham
19. Sheffield United
20. Charlton Athletic

Yes, gasp, I’m predicting that Chelsea will be unable to pick up a third title in the row. Despite the signings of world-class players such as Ballack and Shevchenko, Chelsea has problems which began to surface near the end of last season, and which will plague the team this season too. I’m not writing Chelsea off. I just believe that their two big signings will be more focused on winning the Champions League than the Prem.

My Arsenal prediction will surprise many of you. I feel the new stadium will have a major impact. Plus, many of the Arsenal stars will be buoyed by their World Cup performances (Lehmann, Fabregas, Eboue, Rosicky, Henry, Adebayor, etc). The way Arsenal ended the season, by scraping past Spurs and getting into the Champions League Final will give them a huge confidence boost. The key for the Gunners will be to keep their defence intact.

I may get some hate mail over my Man United prediction. However, I’m convinced that this will be a troublesome season for Sir Alex Ferguson. His signing of Carrick was not the answer the team was looking for. Allowing van Nistelrooy to leave was a mistake. The midfield is still aging, and Rooney is too much of a liability (although he will definitely bag an impressive number of goals). I fear the team is starting to unravel.

With that said, let everyone know what your Premiership predictions are. Just go ahead and click the ‘Comments’ link below and tell us your top 20!