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This Week: Premier League Prediction Two

This Week: Premier League Prediction Two

Welcome to This Week from Premier Skills English, a weekly review of football action for learners of English from across the globe. In This Week, Jack talks about three stories from this week in the Premier League and there are lots of football English words and phrases for you to learn.

Transcript

If the listening was difficult, you can listen and read the transcript at the same time.
Read the transcript and listen at the same time.

Hello my name’s Jack and welcome to the weekly round-up called This Week on Premier Skills English.

In This Week, we’ve got lots of interesting words and phrases to help you talk about football in English.

If you are listening to this podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify you can also visit the Premier Skills English website at premierskillsenglish.britishcouncil.org where you’ll be able to download the podcast.

On the Premier Skills English website, you can read the transcript and join the Premier Skills English community by completing a language task in the comments section. This will really help you remember the new words and phrases from the stories from the Premier League.

This is the second of my Premier League Predictions episodes. When I was writing the script for these predictions, I saw that there was just too much interesting language to talk about in one episode. But as it’s the start of the season and I want to talk about the football, I’m releasing these prediction episodes as special podcasts over five days.

Yesterday, I made a prediction about the teams that will struggle to survive in the Premier League and today, I am going to make a prediction about which team is going to surprise people the most.

To prepare for this podcast, I have read a lot of predictions. So in my predictions, I’m using phrases I found on news websites and blogs.

After my prediction, I will talk a little bit about the language I used.

But before I make my second prediction, I want to give you the answer to yesterday’s football phrase.

If you didn’t hear it yesterday, here’s one more chance to guess now.

Yesterday’s football phrase was a team. That was a massive clue. The fans of this club are known as the Toon Army and the club mascot is a magpie named Monty. Do you know which club was yesterday’s football phrase?

Congratulations to Alex from Ukraine, Mobeckham from Turkey, AhmadAmr from Egypt and Hasan from Turkey.

You worked out that the team I was looking for was Newcastle United.

Keep listening till the end of the podcast for a new football phrase.

Now, it’s time for me to make my second prediction.

Question 2. Which team will surprise people the most?

On one of the websites I looked at, pundits were asked who they thought would be the surprise package of the season. The consensus was clear so I’m not sure if this really will be a surprise for anyone, but this would also have been my pick. With Vincent Kompany at the helm and some clever signings, Burnley are set to survive comfortably back in the league and may even challenge for a top half finish. When you look at the value of the Burnley squad, I’m confident that Kompany’s going to prove to be the best value for money and will earn more points per pound spent than anyone else in the league. That’s not to say that the team will find it easy; but Kompany’s hunger and desire to learn and improve will make them an interesting team to follow.

Language Focus

The language that I am going to focus on from this prediction is:

  • Consensus
  • To be set to do something
  • Modal verbs may/might/could
  • Future forms - Going to and will

The word consensus means an opinion or decision that most people agree with. It’s generally used to talk about the opinion of a group of people. So you might hear someone say that among dentists, the consensus is that electric toothbrushes are a good idea. If there’s a problem at your work and most people agree that something needs to change, you might say there’s a general consensus at work that there’s a problem. I read predictions from lots of different pundits and almost all of them picked Burnley for the surprise package of the season so there was a consensus about the surprise package.

The word set has lots of meanings in English. When you are making predictions, you can use the adjective form after a verb. So I said Burnley are set to survive which means they are ready and prepared to survive so I think it’s likely that they will survive. You can also say that someone looks set to do something. Perhaps your boss looks set to retire and take up golf or if you see your neighbour has packed their car to go on holiday, you might say that they look set to go.

I said Burnley may even challenge for a top half finish. The use of modal verbs for predictions is something that is taught quite early on to learners of English. I think that people who are listening to this podcast will be familiar with this language so I’m not going to spend long. You can use the modal verbs may, might and could before a verb to describe an action that you think is possible. When talking about possibilities, the language you use can show different levels of certainty, that is how confident you are that something will happen. So if I say Burnley may finish in the top half of the table, I am saying it’s possible, but I’m not saying that I think it’s probable. I think normally, may, might and could express that something is possible, but don’t say much about the probability. The chance might be as little as 10%, but it might happen. When you are speaking, I think that you can use intonation to show that you are more confident. I might say Burnley may finish in the top 10. This sort of intonation makes it seem like I am more confident than a 10% chance ... possibly 50:50. If I add the word well and say Burnley may well finish in the top 10, I think that my confidence level is even higher, perhaps 60 or 70%.

Some language for predictions that I feel I have to talk about is the use of the future forms will and going to. This is the first language that English learners are taught to use to make predictions and it is very common. I have been using will in my explanations of other language for predictions so if you don’t know about will, I think that this podcast won’t be a lot of use for you. So ... a super fast overview of will and going to. Will is used to express predictions that are based on your opinion. So we use will in phrases like: I think they will and they probably will and I reckon they will and trust me ... they will. We use going to to make predictions based on other people’s opinion and on evidence. So you might say judging by Manchester City’s performance, they are going to win ... or the manager says they are going to do well ... However, those rules are not proper rules and if you look around and listen out enough, you will find people using will to make predictions based on evidence and going to for personal opinions, but most of the time, the rule works.

Language Challenge

Your challenge today is to make your own prediction about which team will surprise people the most. I’m going to publish another episode tomorrow with my third prediction and then another and another. For each episode, I want to read about your predictions and then, at the end of the season, I’ll look back and we can see whose predictions were the most accurate.

Football Phrase

Now it’s time for today's football phrase.

Today ’s football phrase is a ground. From 2010 to 2020, if you had gone to watch a match at this ground, you would have seen Kayla the eagle who flew around this ground before every match. Do you know which ground I’m describing?

If you know the answer, be sure to leave it in a comment on the page for this podcast on Premier Skills English.

And that’s all I have time for today. Before I finish, I just wanted to say that I hope you found this podcast useful, and I hope all of you stay fit and healthy and safe.

Bye for now and enjoy your football.

In this episode, Jack makes a prediction about the new season and talks about which team will surprise people the most. 

Prediction 2

Question 2. Which team will surprise people the most?

Vitinho of Burnley is consoled by Head Coach Vincent Kompany

On one of the websites I looked at, pundits were asked who they thought would be the surprise package of the season. The consensus was clear so I’m not sure if this really will be a surprise for anyone, but this would also have been my pick. With Vincent Kompany at the helm and some clever signings, Burnley are set to survive comfortably back in the league and may even challenge for a top half finish. When you look at the value of the Burnley squad, I’m confident that Kompany’s going to prove to be the best value for money and will earn more points per pound spent than anyone else in the league. That’s not to say that the team will find it easy; but Kompany’s hunger and desire to learn and improve will make them an interesting team to follow. 

Language Focus

The language that I am going to focus on from this prediction is:

  • Consensus
  • To be set to do something
  • Modal verbs may/might/could
  • Future forms - Going to and will

The word consensus means an opinion or decision that most people agree with. It’s generally used to talk about the opinion of a group of people. So you might hear someone say that among dentists, the consensus is that electric toothbrushes are a good idea. If there’s a problem at your work and most people agree that something needs to change, you might say there’s a general consensus at work that there’s a problem. I read predictions from lots of different pundits and almost all of them picked Burnley for the surprise package of the season so there was a consensus about the surprise package.

The word set has lots of meanings in English. When you are making predictions, you can use the adjective form after a verb. So I said Burnley are set to survive which means they are ready and prepared to survive so I think it’s likely that they will survive. You can also say that someone looks set to do something. Perhaps your boss looks set to retire and take up golf or if you see your neighbour has packed their car to go on holiday, you might say that they look set to go.

I said Burnley may even challenge for a top half finish. The use of modal verbs for predictions is something that is taught quite early on to learners of English. I think that people who are listening to this podcast will be familiar with this language so I’m not going to spend long. You can use the modal verbs may, might and could before a verb to describe an action that you think is possible. When talking about possibilities, the language you use can show different levels of certainty, that is how confident you are that something will happen. So if I say Burnley may finish in the top half of the table, I am saying it’s possible, but I’m not saying that I think it’s probable. I think normally, may, might and could express that something is possible, but don’t say much about the probability. The chance might be as little as 10%, but it might happen. When you are speaking, I think that you can use intonation to show that you are more confident. I might say Burnley may finish in the top 10. This sort of intonation makes it seem like I am more confident than a 10% chance ... possibly 50:50. If I add the word well and say Burnley may well finish in the top 10, I think that my confidence level is even higher, perhaps 60 or 70%.

Some language for predictions that I feel I have to talk about is the use of the future forms will and going to. This is the first language that English learners are taught to use to make predictions and it is very common. I have been using will in my explanations of other language for predictions so if you don’t know about will, I think that this podcast won’t be a lot of use for you. So ... a super fast overview of will and going to. Will is used to express predictions that are based on your opinion. So we use will in phrases like: I think they will and they probably will and I reckon they will and trust me ... they will. We use going to to make predictions based on other people’s opinion and on evidence. So you might say judging by Manchester City’s performance, they are going to win ... or the manager says they are going to do well ... However, those rules are not proper rules and if you look around and listen out enough, you will find people using will to make predictions based on evidence and going to for personal opinions, but most of the time, the rule works.

Language Challenge

Your challenge today is to make your own prediction about which team will surprise people the most. I’m going to publish another episode tomorrow with my third prediction and then another and another. For each episode, I want to read about your predictions and then, at the end of the season, I’ll look back and we can see whose predictions were the most accurate.

Football Phrase

Now it’s time for today's football phrase.

Today ’s football phrase is a ground. From 2010 to 2020, if you had gone to watch a match at this ground, you would have seen Kayla the eagle who flew around this ground before every match. Do you know which ground I’m describing?

If you know the answer, be sure to leave it in a comment at the bottom of the page.

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Comments

yury_nimeni's picture
yury_nimeni
28/08/2023
BY
5
points

I believe that West Ham can surprise all Premier League fans this season. Even distracted by their participation in the Europa League, they are capable of fighting for a place in the top-6.


yury_nimeni's picture
yury_nimeni
28/08/2023 10:43
Belarus
Arsenal
5

I believe that West Ham can surprise all Premier League fans this season. Even distracted by their participation in the Europa League, they are capable of fighting for a place in the top-6.

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
18/08/2023
TR
6524
points

Question 2. Which team will surprise people the most ?

From my point of view, I believe The Magpies will surprise us this season and I have already considered them as title contenders. Though, their game against City tomorrow will be a good motivation for them if they win it.


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
18/08/2023 06:40
Turkey
Manchester United
6524

Question 2. Which team will surprise people the most ?

From my point of view, I believe The Magpies will surprise us this season and I have already considered them as title contenders. Though, their game against City tomorrow will be a good motivation for them if they win it.

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
18/08/2023
TR
6524
points

I reckon this episode’s football phrase is ( ******* **** ) the stadium of Crystal Palace in London :)


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
18/08/2023 06:37
Turkey
Manchester United
6524

I reckon this episode’s football phrase is ( ******* **** ) the stadium of Crystal Palace in London :)

Denis2000's picture
Denis2000
16/08/2023
BY
708
points

My prediction about which team will surprise people the most: i think its Luton


Denis2000's picture
Denis2000
16/08/2023 07:09
Belarus
Tottenham Hotspur
708

My prediction about which team will surprise people the most: i think its Luton

andretorre102
14/08/2023
BR
219
points

Regarding the prediction of which team will surprise everyone the most, my guess is Brighton Hove Albion F.C, just like last season.


andretorre102
14/08/2023 13:16
Brazil
Nottingham Forest
219

Regarding the prediction of which team will surprise everyone the most, my guess is Brighton Hove Albion F.C, just like last season.

andretorre102
14/08/2023
BR
219
points

Hello Jack!
My guess for the football phrase is ******** ****.


andretorre102
14/08/2023 13:11
Brazil
Nottingham Forest
219

Hello Jack!
My guess for the football phrase is ******** ****.

hsn's picture
hsn
14/08/2023
TR
5551
points

Language challenge
• I think Chelsea will surprise people. They lived bad last season even though had have high value transfers. Team need to prove themselves now.
Football Phrase: ******** ****
Notes
• I don't think that there is a correlation between transfer fees and the performance of new team after transfers. Lots of examples of disappointments.
• There is a consensus on the climate change but nobody take action. Extra-ordinary temperatures that we're suffering nowadays is result of this issue.


hsn's picture
hsn
14/08/2023 12:58
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5551

Language challenge
• I think Chelsea will surprise people. They lived bad last season even though had have high value transfers. Team need to prove themselves now.
Football Phrase: ******** ****
Notes
• I don't think that there is a correlation between transfer fees and the performance of new team after transfers. Lots of examples of disappointments.
• There is a consensus on the climate change but nobody take action. Extra-ordinary temperatures that we're suffering nowadays is result of this issue.

Ken@United Kingdom
14/08/2023
JP
40
points

Hi, Jack. Today’s football phrase is ******** ****.


Ken@United Kingdom
14/08/2023 11:52
Japan
Manchester City
40

Hi, Jack. Today’s football phrase is ******** ****.

vietnguyenngo
14/08/2023
VN
117
points

The football ground you're describing is ******** ****, the home stadium of Crystal Palace Football Club. Kayla the eagle was a famous mascot of Crystal Palace who would fly around the stadium before matches, creating a unique and memorable pre-match tradition for the fans.


vietnguyenngo
14/08/2023 02:47
Vietnam
Manchester City
117

The football ground you're describing is ******** ****, the home stadium of Crystal Palace Football Club. Kayla the eagle was a famous mascot of Crystal Palace who would fly around the stadium before matches, creating a unique and memorable pre-match tradition for the fans.

ahmadamr1112
14/08/2023
EG
10
points

the answer of the phrase is "******* **** Stadium"


ahmadamr1112
14/08/2023 00:17
Egypt
Manchester City
10

the answer of the phrase is "******* **** Stadium"

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
13/08/2023
UA
6561
points

I think Crystal Palace or CPFC may well surprise us this season. At least the time has come to do this in my opinion. To my mind The Eagles might even get to the final top 6 or 7!


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
13/08/2023 19:43
Ukraine
Liverpool
6561

I think Crystal Palace or CPFC may well surprise us this season. At least the time has come to do this in my opinion. To my mind The Eagles might even get to the final top 6 or 7!

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
13/08/2023
UA
6561
points

******* **** is the FP.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
13/08/2023 19:28
Ukraine
Liverpool
6561

******* **** is the FP.

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6561
2mobeckham6524
3hsn5551
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia71666
2Ukraine33799
3Spain29273
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23321
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20405
8Turkey20034
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United143452
2Liverpool111037
3Chelsea89963
4Arsenal86176
5Manchester City58595
6Tottenham Hotspur19327
7Newcastle United10545
8West Ham United7637
9AFC Bournemouth4875
10Crystal Palace4491

Level

5
Average: 5 (1 vote)

Goals

  • Improve your vocabulary
  • Develop your listening skills