Top-six finish for Pompey and prizes for Harness and Naylor ... but no extra defenders v Coventry please

That’s one brave boast for the season that may come back to haunt me, so I thought I’d add some more to the mix this week.

I’m going for Marcus Harness to be our top scorer and Tom Naylor – the man given the captain’s armband with rather odd timing this week – to win the player-of -the-season vote.

I think Sunderland will win the League One title and Peteborough will join them in winning automatic promotion. At a push I’ll go for Blackpool, Coventry, Pompey and Doncaster to make the play-offs.

If that means we end up playing Coventry in the play-offs, I’ll be supporting calls for a new rule that no extra defenders can be brought on during the course of either leg.

I realise there are plenty of Pompey fans who think, at present, we’re more likely to finish in the bottom six than the top six, and that a change of manager is needed. But I think they’re writing off our chances far too soon.

In other divisions I’m not exactly going out on a limb in tipping Manchester City for the Premier title. This is my predicted Prem League finishing order: 1 Man C 2 Liverpool 3 Chelsea 4 Spurs 5 Man U 6 Arsenal 7 Villa 8 Everton 9 West Ham 10 Leics 11 Wolves 12 Brighton 13 Toon 14 Bournemouth 15 Watford 16 Burnley 17 Sheff U 18 C Palace 19 Soton 20 Norwich.

In the Championship I’ll go for Leeds to take the title, while West Brom and Swansea will join them in being promoted.

In League Two I’m tipping Exeter to win it and Swindon and Plymouth going up. Plymouth will probably clinch promotion in October, as they do most years.

If all of those prove correct, I promise to retire.

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