Premier League Team of the Season - We predicted the 22/23 at start of campaign | OneFootball

We’re back – and ready to dissect our predictions once again!

As the end of the 2022/23 Premier League season nears to a close, you’re bound to see countless amounts of Team of the Season XIs.

So, we thought it was about time to look back at our predictions just to see how well (or how poorly) we had done.

Predicting an XI before a ball has been kicked is fun, but as we said you usually ‘fully know that it’s never going to work and you’re inevitably going to be left with egg on your face’.

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They are subjective, of course, but there are some that can’t go amiss.

How did we do?

GIVEMESPORT’s predictions went swimmingly in 2021/22.

But this time around, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag with it leaning in favour of a poor selection of 11 players. The defence needs a huge revisit, the midfield is fairly poor, but the forward line is the best of a bad bunch.

Regardless, it’s all a bit of fun at the end of the day knowing that come the end of the season, you will either be able to boast among your friend group that you’re a footballing genius, or you’ll be banned from ever joining in a conversation again.

GK: Nick Pope (Newcastle United)

Not a bad start by any stretch of the imagination.

At the time of writing, Pope has accrued 13 clean sheets and still has four games to catch the current rank leader David de Gea.

In England’s top-flight, there are no teams to have conceded fewer goals than Newcastle, so Pope’s influence in Eddie Howe’s idea of a ‘steady ship’ cannot be understated.

Signed just for £10 million, Pope has become one of the safest goalkeepers in the league but may still find himself playing fiddle to Jordan Pickford and Aaron Ramsdale in the England set-up.

Speaking of Ramsdale, he will be the Newcastle number one’s fiercest contender for the sacred spot in the Team of the Season and will probably enter the official fray if his side win the title.

RB: Reece James (Chelsea)

Arguably one of the best right-backs in the world when he plays – but that is where the problem lies. He hasn’t played much this year.

The Englishman has featured in just 16 games so far in the league this season but has impressed when he has played.

Kieran Trippier’s return to English football has revolutionised the Magpie's defence, not least with his leadership ability. Arsenal’s Ben White has become Mikel Arteta ‘Mr. Reliable’ and could be in with a shout, too.

There’s nothing stopping us from saying that James would likely be high in contention if he had a full season of playing, yet Chelsea’s season as a whole may have seen him regress.

CB: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

I don’t care what anyone says, this man was also in your unforeseen Team of the Season predictions.

In fairness, any Liverpool shouts – because of their underwhelming season – can be dismissed pretty quickly and Van Dijk spearheads that.

William Saliba of Arsenal has taken over as the league’s best central defender this season, but you best believe that the towering Dutchman will more than likely return to the 2023/24 Team of the Season predictions because, well, it’s Van Dijk.

CB: Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)

Uh oh.

To be fair, City have five world-class centre-backs that would waltz into any Premier League side, so to be one of those five - you are at risk of being involved in Pep roulette. And Laporte certainly has.

Just nine Premier League appearances is not enough to merit being included regardless of how good he’s been in those limited games. This season alone, you could even argue that the other four City defenders deserve it more…

Newcastle’s Sven Botman or Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez deserve the nod over the Spaniard.

LB: Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)

Would including someone who went on loan in January be considered cheating? Yeah, probably.

Saying that, his move to Bavaria aside, there are more credible choices out there. Luke Shaw and Oleksandr Zinchenko spring to mind.

Both of the latter players have been integral to their side’s unprecedented progress this year, especially Zinchenko whose shrewd move from Arteta has helped shape the Gunners into title contenders.

There’s also the outsider shout of Dan Burn – no actually, I’ll stop myself there.

CM: Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur)

Tottenham fans look away now.

Bentancur had his season ripped away from him in early February and will now return to the field of play ready for next season (hopefully).

Whether the Uruguayan’s continued involvement would have changed the entirety of Tottenham’s fate, we will never know. One thing is for certain, though, and that’s it wouldn’t be as bad as it is now.

He had scored seven goals in 18 matches before his season-ending injury and was set to be – alongside Harry Kane – one of Tottenham’s players of the season.

CM: Rodri (Manchester City)

The holding midfield role has become one of the high promise with Manchester United’s Casemiro and Arsenal’s Thomas Partey joining Rodri as being crucial to how their team ticks over. Take them out, and you notice a telling difference.

We could sit here all day and debate who out of the three makes it in. In hindsight, all three choices could be slapped in and not look out of place. Rodri’s newfound partnership with defender-turned-midfielder John Stones has been formidable and just highlights how refined the Spaniard is taking a budding midfielder in Stones under his wing.

Out of the midfield choices made, this is the best. And by a country mile.

CM: Thiago Alcantara (Liverpool)

Okay, we can concede. Picking Thiago over Kevin De Bruyne was silly on our part. Granted, at that point we were not aware of the chief goal-gobbler Haaland would become.

No doubt Thiago is cut from a different cloth and that he’s one of the most technically-gifted players in the league, but his lack of regular game time sees him swiftly fall down the list.

Oh, not to mention he added zero goals or assists to his Premier League collection in the 18 domestic games he did manage to play. Now that’s not Team of the Season worthy!

Bruno Guimaraes of European-chasing Newcastle deserves it more. Side note: he’s one hell of a player and will definitely be making more end-of-season teams than people believe.

RW: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

The safe pick. The one that couldn’t fail. Or could it?

At the start of the season, we said: "Even when Salah’s not at the top of his game, he’s still always in the Golden Boot race" and that’s absolutely bang on. Salah – and Liverpool – would be the first to admit this season is one to forget, but the Egyptian King has still racked up 19 league goals.

Arsenal’s star boy Bukayo Saka has often dragged his title-rivalling side through the dangers of falling down and is the only player in the top division to have ten-plus goals and assists this campaign. In he goes.

ST: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)

On face value, old Harry Kane would get into the Team of the Season nine times out of ten.

But that one time he’s excluded is when a certain Erling Haaland also resides in the same league.

It seems inconceivable to think that Kane has played out of his skin in a side – who have continued to buy into the term ‘Spursy’ – scored 26 goals, became his club’s top goalscorer and overtaken Wayne Rooney as England’s all-time top goalscorer and would still not be included. Sorry, Harold.

Don’t be surprised to see the back-to-basics 4-4-2 formation dominate the Team of the Season XI’s with both Kane and Haaland leading the line.

LW: Jack Grealish (Manchester City)

Another troublesome decision, and it’s not to say Grealish has been bad by any stretch, because he certainly hasn’t. Twelve goal contributions in 27 matches is commendable, especially when you’re vulnerable to being part of the aforementioned ‘Pep roulette’.

There is, unfortunately, just better options, notably Marcus Rashford and even Gabriel Martinelli.

Marcus Rashford has – despite his bad patch of late – taken Manchester by storm and is the primary reason they have won a Carabao Cup, are in the top four contention and face City in the FA Cup final.

Arsenal’s Martinelli has 15 goals and 5 assists this season and is often overshadowed by his opposing wide man Saka – but don’t let that deceive you how good of a season the Brazilian is currently having.

Our predicted Premier League Team of the Season

Much to improve on…

It’s genuinely concerning that Haaland – who is enjoying a record-breaking debut season – has not been included. Maybe a change of formation to shoehorn both him and Kane in is the suitable avenue to go down.

Arsenal’s unforeseen title challenge has some of our choices dead in the water, with Saka, Martinelli, Saliba, and Odegaard all excelling past all expectations this term.

Injuries to Bentancur, Thiago and James is just pure bad luck in fairness. That’s not saying all three would have been definitely included come the end of this month, but their inclusion would be far more plausible than it is now.