Probable winners of top 5 European Leagues

The footballing season has started. The world's biggest clubs are ready to go and fight it out once again. The biggest leagues have kicked off and the fans are ready to witness yet another magnificent footballing season where their best players will be on the pitch to give in their all.

England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy are home to the top 5 European leagues. As the season starts, we look to try to predict the winners of these leagues on the basis of their squad strength, managers and past performances.

5. Ligue 1, France

Can PSG retain their title?

Paris Saint Germain won the French Ligue 1 last season by 13 points above the second-placed AS Monaco and bar any surprises it should not be any different this season. PSG by far has the strongest squad in France with the likes of Neymar, Mbappe, Verratti in the lineup and have signed Buffon further strengthening their goalkeeping department.

The likes of Monaco, Lyon, PSG derby rivals Marseille will try to challenge them, but they don't really have enough ammunition in their ranks to break the dominance of PSG. AS Monaco have lost Lemar to Atletico and Lyon might also lose their main creative source and captain Nabil Fekir by the end of transfer season which will weaken their side.

PSG is very strong and even though the dark cloud of FFP regulations hovers over them, it is hard to see any other team in the league giving them a run for their money. AS Monaco did win the league a season ago, but they have lost most of those players with the star of their show Kylian Mbappe loan move to PSG is getting permanent this summer.

Prediction: Paris Saint Germain

#4. Bundesliga, Germany

Bayern Munich will look to retain their title

Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga by a whopping 21 points last season and look well on course to win it again for the 7th consecutive time. To say Bayern Munich are miles ahead of their competition in Germany would be an understatement.

Bayern Munich will be under a new coach this season, Nico Kovac, who they signed from Frankfurt last season. They have pretty much the same squad as last season with the only major shakeup being Leon Goretzka joining and Arturo Vidal moving to Barcelona. Bayern Munich succeeded in retaining their goalscoring machine Robert Lewandowski even after the striker being very keen on a move away and that is their biggest success this summer.

Teams like Borussia Dortmund, FC Schalke will try to dethrone them, but the chances of them even come close to doing anything like that is very remote. No other team in Germany right now possesses the quality to dethrone Bayern Munich and the difference has probably only increased this season.

Simply put, Bayern Munich is the clear favourites to win the Bundesliga and only a miracle can stop that from happening.

Prediction: Bayern Munich

#3. Seria A, Italy

Will Juventus be able to defend their title?

Juventus has won record 8 consecutive Scudetto titles and will embark upon their search for the 9th this season. The road won't be easy as the other teams have recruited well.

Juventus have made the biggest coup of the summer signing Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid for 112 million Euros (only?). They have also signed Leonardo Bonucci back from AC Milan, which will no doubt strengthen their back-line and have managed to hold onto Pjanic which is a big boost.

Their rivals, on the other hand, have also recruited well. Inter have made some great signings and just fell short of signing Luka Modric too. They have signed Nainggolan in midfield and have signed the Argentine sensation Lautaro Martinez. Napoli hasn't made any big signing, but they now have the services of the veteran coach Carlo Ancelotti and after giving Juventus a run for the money last season, they would hope to better it this season. AC Milan also has signed Gonzalo Higuain from Juventus which will give them some strength, however, a title challenge from them looks far-fetched. AS Roma did lose out on their chase of Malcom to Barcelona, but have made some really good buys with that of Justin Kluivert and Steven Nzonzi being important.

Juventus though still have a better squad and a veteran manager in Allegri and having signed Cristiano Ronaldo is a huge morale boost for the side from Turin. If they can play to their potential, they will most probably be able to win their 9th Seria A title in a row.

Prediction: Juventus

#2. La Liga, Spain

Barcelona: 2017-18 La Liga winners

In La Liga, the race will again be among the big 3 of the country, i.e., Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Barcelona won the title by 14 points last season and look the favourites to do that again.

Talking about their squads while Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have strengthened their respective squads, Real Madrid has become weaker.

Barcelona has signed some quality players like Lenglet, Malcom, Vidal and Arthur who are great additions to their squad. These players provide them with quality off the bench and some might even challenge for the starting spot. Barcelona now has a perfect mix of experience and young talent in their squad which will serve them well.

Atletico Madrid has also made some quality signings like Rodri in midfield, Gelson Martins and Lemar in the attack. However, their greatest achievement this summer was keeping hold of Griezmann. Atletico Madrid now has a deep and talented squad and that coupled with the tactical nous of Diego Simeone, they look good to mount a tough title challenge against the big-2 of Spain and win it again after 2013-14.

Real Madrid squad, on the other hand, has depleted. They lost their greatest player in Cristiano Ronaldo and were also forced into loaning out Mateo Kovacic and even though they have signed some quality players like Courtois and Odriozola and a youngster with huge potential in Vinicius Jr their attack doesn't look as scary as it did with Cristiano Ronaldo. If they fail to sign a potent goal-scorer which they don't really have currently, Real Madrid might be looking at a tough season ahead.

The big-3 will get the challenge from the likes of Sevilla and Valencia but none of them will challenge them for the title. Looking at the squad strength and the recent history, Barcelona looks in a great position to retain their La Liga title.

Prediction: Barcelona

#1. Premier League, England

Can Manchester City repeat their record-breaking season?

On their way to the title, Manchester City broke multiple records last season like the first team to win 100 points in PL, most goals scored in a single campaign to name a few and if they can continue their form this season it is hard to see any team stopping them this season.

Manchester City will face challenges from the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool while Manchester United hasn't had the best of transfer windows and it looks hard for them to mount a title challenge this season. But again will either Chelsea or Liverpool be able to stop City juggernaut is questionable.

Liverpool has recruited well and have strengthened their squad significantly. They have signed Keita and Fabinho in midfield and Alisson in between the sticks who is probably the best answer to their goalkeeping woes in recent seasons. Their front three remains the same that terrorized defences last season and they have now got the services of Xherdan Shaqiri also in the attack which will give them depth. It is safe to say that Liverpool now has the tools to mount a serious title challenge under Jurgen Klopp

Chelsea, on the other hand, has signed a new manager in Sarri who gave Juventus a run for their money in Seria-A last season with Napoli, he has brought the midfield genius of Jorginho along with him from Naples. Chelsea has also signed Kepa for a world record fee to replace the outgoing Courtois and while the price can be questioned, the talent of Kepa cannot be who probably fits the Sarri's system better considering his ball-playing ability. They have also got the supremely talented Mateo Kovacic on loan from Real Madrid and have most importantly managed to keep hold of Eden Hazard. While a title looks beyond their reach, you can expect Chelsea to give a tough fight to their opponents.

While Liverpool has improved considerably, City remains the strongest squad in England and even though they have lost De Bruyne to an injury which will sideline him for 2-3 months, they still have enough players to fill that gap. They have signed Mahrez and if Mendy manages to stay fit they indeed have a better squad than last season considering Mendy missed most of the last season through injury.

It is hard to see anyone stopping Pep's team from winning the title again and will require humongous efforts from other challenges to come even close to them.

Prediction: Manchester City