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After Leicester's fairytale run, last season saw the heavyweights of the Premier League flex their muscles at the top. The Premier League threw its fair share of surprises with Chelsea coming out on top after having suffered a tumultuous previous season under José Mourinho. Whilst Chelsea pulled away from the pack, the other top five sides had their own demons to tame.
Spurs, under a fervent Pochettino, proved their detractors wrong by staying in the race but falling short, again! With Guardiola at the helm, Manchester City found out just how hard the rigours of life in the Premier League can be. Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool flashed their attack in style only to be found out defensively while old guards Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho had to settle for a place outside the top 4.
The Gunners still deliberating a change in guard while Arsene Wenger remains defiant and the Red Devils seeking to restore past glory much like their Portuguese manager. Here's how the top six are shaping up ahead of the new PL season.
Chelsea
A tactical shift to a three-man defence after going down by three goals to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, early on into last season, saw Chelsea ramp up their title charge. Antonio Conte seemed no stranger to the top tier of English football as he rallied the Stamford Bridge faithful to the Premier League title in his first season.
Astute usage of the likes of Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso with N'golo Kante and Nemanja Matic shoring up the back three meant Chelsea's forwards could flourish up top. But the new season has brought more than its fair share of challenges for the Italian manager.
After losing Matic to rivals Manchester United and talisman Diego Costa unlikely to don the blue jersey again, Conte needs to reinvent last season's magic with the help of new recruits - Alvaro Morata and Tiémoué Bakayoko.
Chelsea's biggest challenge will be to continue the good work that Diego Costa had provided over the past few years. For all his problems, the Spaniard has been a menace for defences and will be a tough act to follow. His compatriot Morata is no stranger to the big occasion but it remains to be seen whether he can do it on a cold night in Stoke!
A second option in Michy Batshuayi offers Chelsea a different dynamic but Stamford Bridge will again turn to their Belgian wizard Eden Hazard to engineer their new look attack as they look to retain the crown. Here's hoping Conte doesn't lose too much hair over the course of the new season!
Tottenham Hotspur
You cannot help but applaud what Mauricio Pochettino has done with Tottenham Hotspur. With the tightest budget, the Argentine has flourished in the last two seasons, finishing third and second. Not only has the former Southampton manager extracted the most from his squad, but he has also built a strong core of English players in the form of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Danny Rose.
Spurs' energetic and high pressing game resonates with modern day football and the tightest defence coupled with a youthful attack has been the reason of much cheer for White Hart Lane.
But change is now imminent. With Spurs having played their last game at the Lane, they now move to the Wembley Stadium in the interim. And for all their good showings, Spurs do have their shortcomings. As good as their starting eleven is, their squad depth has left Pochettino wanting.
An injury to any of their key players will severely dent any chance of Tottenham mounting a charge to the Premier League summit. Having lost Kyle Walker to City and not making a single signing going into the new season, one wonders if Spurs have what it takes to go the distance. They have surprised in the past but Daniel Levy and co may be asking a little too much from Pochettino's men.
Manchester City
Having landed their most prized asset till date, Manchester City and current manager Pep Guardiola found out just how hard the Premier League jigsaw puzzle is to complete. Despite finding the winning formula under former managers Mancini and Pellegrini, City have been made to rehaul their squad under Guardiola.
The multi Champions League winning manager has been tasked with elevating City to the highest echelons of European football and has dug deep into City's coffers to ensure his side hit the ground running in the new season.
Pep garnered six wins out of six at the start of last season before his side began faltering in the race for the title. Having shown glimpses of Pep's style of play, City held on to third place which would have got 'Pep fired' if it were Barcelona or Munich, according to City manager's own admission.
But Pep hasn't wasted much time in the summer. He has cleared the old folk in the form of Pablo Zabaleta, Aleksandar Kolarov, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna and recruited new soldiers in Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, Benjamin Mendy, Danilo and Ederson.
Having dramatically reduced the average age, Pep has shown an eye for the future but his disposal of Joe Hart and Kalechi Iheanacho has left a lot of questions unanswered when it comes to the usage of City's 'world class academy'.
Under Pep, City will look to thrive in possession and their new recruitments are steps in that very direction. With oodles of technical ability on the pitch, City have enough firepower to ensure they are in the thick of goals but their defence is still questionable.
A lot of Pep's success may hinge on how long his captain Vincent Kompany can stay fit but there's no doubting that Pep is desperately seeking the right formula on England's hallowed football grounds.
Liverpool
The charismatic Jürgen Klopp has given Liverpool Football Club a new impetus with free flowing football on display. Liverpool secured fourth place after much huffing and puffing with an opportunity to rub shoulders with Europe's elite in the Champions League, again. Boisterous in attack, Liverpool have an unmatched work rate that Klopp has trickled into the Reds' veins, similar to what was seen during his time with Dortmund.
A young Liverpool side will now look to scale greater heights in the upcoming campaign. With the addition of Salah, Liverpool look to have added another mazy runner that will supplement the existing workaholic stable. But Liverpool's sore point continues to be their defence.
Finding it hard to close the signature of Virgil Van Dijk, Liverpool are heading into their new challenge thin at the back. Enigmatic Klopp has given Merseyside a tireless team but similar in nature to the Dortmund of the past where it often became a battle of 'we shall score more than the opposition does'.
Jordan Henderson and Emre Can will need to provide the much-needed guile for Liverpool's forward line to pepper the opposition. There's no taking away that Klopp has improved the Anfield outfit but in the battle to the top, he will need his defence strengthened. The last dream left unfulfilled was the joyous Brendan Rodgers side of season 13/14, and now with hopes pinned on Klopp's formidable shoulders, can the Kop rise to the occasion?
Arsenal
The departure from White Hart Lane to a new stadium, for Tottenham, might irk commentary from their North London counterparts Arsenal. The Gunners who tasted incredible success through their 'Invincibles' at Highbury at the turn of the new millennium, have been playing catch up since moving to the Emirates Stadium. One does not even need to look into the crystal ball for Arsenal's Premier League campaign with 'fourth place' being a foregone conclusion.
With even that inevitability mired as last season concluded, Arsene Wenger has the unenviable task of restoring remnants. Remnants from his past which he still finds hard to let go off as he continues to eye the future.
After signing a new contract over the summer, Wenger decided to finally splurge on an elusive number 9. In Alexandre Lacazette, Arsenal have a pacy frontman who knows how to find the back of the net. Sead Kolišinac seems astute business considering Arsenal got him for free but their biggest test lies in trying to keep hold of Alexis Sanchez.
With no Champions League on offer, the Gunners are finding it even harder to keep hold of the Chilean who has refused to put pen on paper to a new contract. It always seems to be a case of one step forward and two steps back. Arsene Wenger has categorically stated that Sanchez will not leave but take that with a pinch of salt, especially if history is anything to go by.
Leicester's fairytale may provide merit to Wenger's debate that Arsenal may well challenge for the title but realistically it seems a more than daunting task.
Since the Viera days, Arsenal have struggled to instil a sense of purpose in the middle of the park. A dogged and robust 'Invincible' side quite often outmuscled teams even on days when they weren't their swashbuckling best. Today, a lot will be expected from Granit Xhaka who Arsenal will hope shall come into his own this season. If Arsenal can plug leaks in their defence, and keep hold of Sanchez, they may well be a force to reckon with. But consistency will again be key for the likes of Ozil, Ramsey and co.
Manchester United
When José Mourinho took over the reigns at Manchester United, it seemed as though both were staring down the barrel of fading into the unknown. Giants in their own right, both club and individual were hurting after dramatic falls from the top. United have been bleeding since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure and Mourinho's love affair with Chelsea ended in a bitter divorce, for a second time.
The 'Special One' has got United back in the mix of Europe's elite and where they would have wanted to be - in the Champions League. Despite a tepid season in the Premier League, José guided United to a League Cup and a Europa League triumph. His pragmatic approach in the transfer market has helped United secure signings that have significantly strengthened the side over the last two summers. The acquisition of Nemanja Matic allows the Red Devils to flourish in attack along with letting their most expensive signing Paul Pogba free in the middle of the park.
A mean outfit, United are competing with Lukaku up top and rumours of Zlatan making a comeback, possibly at the turn of the new year. From back to front, José seems to be creating a strong backbone that can challenge for not only the title but also contest in the Champions League.
The maturing of Rashford up top, the pressure resting on Lukaku's broad shoulders along with Pogba taking the mantle forward mean that United's success hinges on a few vital nuts and bolts being screwed on tight. The important thing from United's perspective is that José has got the team winning again, but can they now do it on the bigger stages?
