The List | 10 Predictions For The Rest Of The Season - Football News

The new year has arrived and with it the half way point of the current season, so before we all get our Samba on for the World Cup we've written out 10 big, bold and ballsy predictions for the remainder of the 2013/14 season.

We've put our necks on the line to predict where the trophies and individual accolades will end up come May. You've either stumbled across this article ready to shoot them down or they're actually all correct, it's June and you've just clicked a smug link on Twitter from us reminding you of them. Either way, we'll duck for cover while you read on.



Cristiano Ronaldo will win the Ballon d’Or – Well if there is any justice in the world. The Real Madrid man has been sensational and a feature of the list almost every week with his goals, his ability and his unwavering talent. It, as Sky Sports put it, has been his Golden Year and simply has to result in the biggest prize an individual can get in football.

Arsenal will end up with nothing – Gunners fans look away now. Whilst they have a better chance than most people may have predicted against Bayern Munich in Europe, they will not lift the title. Proven winners are lacking in their squad, star man Mesut Özil is starting to go missing and they lack firepower up top.



Liverpool will fail to get into the top four – Top of the pile at Christmas, and out of the top four by New Year. Why? They can't beat the top teams. They're still behind Chelsea, City and Arsenal and they're one injured Uruguayan striker away from the wheels coming off. United will pull it together and pip the Reds to the top four.



Manchester United will have a bigger say than we may have thought in the title race – They always come good in January, and have the option of dipping into the window to strengthen as well. The table now is not as bad a reading as United fans may have thought after the first couple of months of the season. They will not win the title, but finishing third/fourth? Probably.



Manchester City will lift the big one – They will also scrape past Barcelona. It will come down to Chelsea and Manchester City at the crunch end of the season, and it will be City who actually pip Mourinho’s men to the post. For one reason and one reason only. They have four world class forwards. Chelsea don't even have one.



PSG may be the dark horses in Europe – Should the draw allow it, a Real Madrid v PSG final may be on the cards. The French side have a seriously good side and a manager who knows what he is doing. Real Madrid are always pursuing La Decima and are effectively out of the Liga title race. With the likes of Gareth Bale and Isco – not to mention a certain CR7, who has the chance to win the trophy at home in Portugal, they have every chance.



The FA cup will end up on Merseyside – Quite if it will be the Red or Blue half is hard to predict, but neither side have European commitments to distract them so they have no reason not to tackle the cup at full throttle. With the title race being so tight, attention from other potential winners may well be deflected – Everton have already beaten Chelsea and United, not to mention taking points from Arsenal, so they have nothing to fear. Do they have the quality to win the league over a whole season? Probably not, but a knockout competition? Absolutely.



Luis Suarez will be PFA player of the year, Golden Boot winner and seal his dream move  – The forward has been sensational and to even use the word ‘prediction’ when saying he will be PFA player of the year seems cheeky. He has been the star of the first half of the season and carry on and it will become fact. The only downside for Liverpool – Real Madrid and Barcelona are sitting up and taking serious note, with a summer move on the cards, especially after they don't finish in the top 4.



Atletico Madrid will be the premier side in the Spanish Capital this season – They are joint top of La Liga and deserve to be. Praise, plaudits and accolades have been heaped on Costa, Koke Simeone et al and so they should. Real Madrid are already lagging behind, are far more inconsistent in the league and will be chasing after La Decima. A top two finish for Atleti? Smart money would say so.



Chelsea will buy a forward – The least shocking prediction since people suggested that after Spurs were thrashed by Liverpool, AVB was about to be sacked. Mourinho constantly laments failing to finish sides off, and the blame of that goes to Eto’o, Torres and Ba. Big money will be spent on a marquee purchase, with the Special One hoping they will turn out to be more Drogba than Shevchenko.

Do you agree with our list? Got any big and bold predictions yourself? Let us see them in the comments below. Join the conversation online, on Twitter and on Facebook.