Southampton caused quite a scare among the big dogs in the Premier League last season! Flying high for a large part of the 2014/15 season, the odds on them snatching a top four spot got better and better as the weeks went on, with many punters betting on the super Saints. The wildcard is a bookie’s dream, and they were exactly that! Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool eventually chased them down, but only the Red Devils secured the prize. A seventh place finish, 10 points off of fourth, was a remarkable achievement for Ronald Koeman and his men. But can they go one better next year and upset the established order?

The real beauty of Southampton’s rise to fame last season was that they managed it having sold a number of well established players that summer. The likes of Luke Shaw, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren were all sold, with the incoming Koemen proving his shrewdness in the market, bringing in the highly successful Graziano Pelle, Ryan Bertrand, Fraser Forster, Sadio Mane, Shane Long and Dusan Tadic. Now, with more players heading for the exit, the likes of Jordy Clasie and Steven Caulker have been drafted in to plug the holes, and push forward.

An improvement on seventh is pushing it for the Saints, and we reckon a comfortable mid-table finish is on the cards.

Liverpool missed out on fourth spot by eight points, and were a real state come the end of the season. A stunning 6-1 defeat to Stoke was quite the climax to what was a hugely disappointing season for Brendan Rodgers and his men, and we were surprised to see him keep his job. Still, with the signings of Christian Benteke, Nathaniel Clyne and the Brazilian, Firmino; Rodgers has started to reconstruct, and well. They’ll be the closest to creeping into the top four next year for us, and would be worth backing in your Premier League betting. It will be interesting to see if the current hierarchy can successfully fend off their challenge.

Despite finishing above Liverpool, six points behind United in fourth, Tottenham continue to inspire little confidence. Their talismanic striker, Harry Kane, remains their only player of outstanding quality (although it will be interesting to see how he copes with a greater understanding of him from defenders next season). The signings of both Kieran Trippier and Toby Alderweireld have not instilled too much excitement, and they could be set to drop further down the pack next season.

Everton, despite a horribly inconsistent season of last, are due a resurgence. Possessing of a strong squad – including the likes of Tim Howard, Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley – Roberto Martinez side have been guilty of under-performing, despite having been regular contenders for fourth spot over the years. But their time could again be on the horizon.

With Southampton not getting our backing for 2015/16, a new wildcard has to emerge from the pack. We’re going to go with Stoke, with their increasing confidence and quality of squad. With Bojan back up top, Ibrahim Afellay joining on the wing, and the typical hard as nails defence; Stoke could be a bit of a surprise package. Not that they’ll actually grab fourth, mind you!

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