Co-hosts Poland is a side that have played very well as of late, and given that they are one of the host nations, this could be a very special tournament for them, as they open the 2012 UEFA 2012 European Championships on Friday against Greece in Warsaw.
Germany comes into the Euro playing great and they are the favorites to win Group B, which has to be the Group of Death, and they also have the 2nd best odds to win the whole tournament.
Euro 2012 – Toughest Test in Football Looms
What is widely regarded as the most difficult football tournament to win worldwide kicks off June 8th. Poland and Ukraine will host the 14th version of the European Championship and as per usual it features 16 of the top teams in Europe.
Wigan Athletic was a popular dark-horse pick to finish the season in the upper half of the table last year. Unfortunately, they never showed up and finished the season in 16th place with a record of 9-14-15, barely escaping relegation.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers finished the 2010-11 season on a high note beating out relegation by just one point on the last day of the season to finish in 17th place. They now return, trying to improve upon that in their third year in the Premier League.
The only rational goal West Bromwich could have for this season would be to avoid the cut that would send them packing back down to the Championship League.
Following a superb 2009 season that saw the Hotspur finish fourth on the Premiership table. The Lilywhites dropped to a disappointing fifth place finish, six points behind as resurgent Manchester City in 2010.
Norwich City will get another shot at a Premier League title after a 6 year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010, winning an automatic promotion.
The Rangers ended their season on a high note finishing first in the Football League Championship last June.
Now they face their biggest challenge yet, returning to the Premiership for the first time in 15 years.
Stoke City is indeed a team on the rise, and they seem intent on improving out of the middle of the table. The were resilient last year with the high point of their season coming by way of a 3-1 victory over recurrent top table finishers Chelsea. They were tough and never gave up, which shows why they managed draws against several of the best Premier Leagues teams last year.
There are a lot of reasons for those around Sunderland to be excited for the year after finishing tenth overall in the Premier League just a season ago. The Black Cats have high aspirations for the coming season, but have lost a couple of key players that will hamper their chances.
Becoming the first Welsh side to play in the Premiership, Swansea City joins the top flight having played in the old Football League First Division between 1981 and 1983, finishing sixth in their first season.
If there is one thing you can count on Newcastle providing year in and year out, it’s entertainment. A storied club with a historical past, the Toon are always a fun club to follow with all of its controversy.
Manchester City has consistently year after year remained in the shadow of its cross-town rival, and for some very obvious reasons. But new ownership changed that with deep pockets and gutsy player transfers that catapulted the Blues to a third place finish last season. But will City get the results from this season’s crop of players?
The defending Premiership champions Manchester United are coming back as strong as ever, but many still doubt their ability to win it all again. The team has been quiet for the majority of the transfer season, and it has yet to be seen if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Last season Real Madrid came in 2nd in La Liga and made it to the Champions League semifinals, but the big question for them this season is can they beat Barcelona?
