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The English Premier League remains the most watched and competitive football league in the world. It is also the world's most valuable league, grossing 4 billion dollars a year in revenue. Consequently, it remains the football league that spends most on player transfers.
Last summer, the Premier League teams spent a staggering 1.4 billion euros on transfers to attract players to the league. This year seems to be no different, with the PL teams spending 1.2 billion dollars so far on transfers.
With teams actively spending on the transfer market, this season promises to be highly competitive. Several of the teams who finished in the top six on the league table last year have had sweeping changes in their squad.
Arsenal have appointed a new manager, Tottenham have kept almost their entire squad, Chelsea have sought the services of a new manager, Liverpool have spent staggering fees to lure new players to Anfield.
All the teams have augmented their squads and technical prowess to better place themselves in the coming season. Here, we take a look at the three most likely teams to win the Premier League in the coming season.
#3 Manchester United
Manchester United finished second on last season's table with 81 points, 19 points behind Manchester City, the eventual winners. However, the club promises an extraordinary showing in the coming season.
They have spent a total of 58 million euros on transfers this season, with the highest individual transfer being Fred who joined from Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of 32 million euros.
Manchester United scored 68 goals last season, with only 48 of those from open play situations. This low goal scoring rate hurt their bid to win the title.
In fact, their total number of goals scored was the lowest among the top four finishers in the league last season. Manchester City scored a total of 106 goals while Liverpool and Tottenham scored 84 and 74 goals respectively.
Manchester United seem to have taken notice of their shortfalls in creating attacking opportunities and are making up for it by signing some creative midfielders. Fred and Periera are good options to help aid the team in creating chances at goal.
Another thing Manchester United have going for them is their superb defensive abilities; the players doing well to augment or keep their current defensive setup. With the signing of Cameron and Dalot, United will be even stronger defensively this season.
#2. Manchester City
Manchester City won last season's league competition with 100 points, and they have begun this year's campaign on a good note after winning against Chelsea in the Community Shield match.
As last season's champions, City enter this year's competition with huge expectations, and they have spent staggering fees to augment their team squad. They have lured Riyad Mahrez from Leicester City to further bolster their attack which was the most prolific among all teams last season, netting 106 goals.
As a team that attacks strongly from the right and left wings, City will benefit immensely from the purchase of Mahrez, a player with strong dribbling abilities.
Also, they always had a strong presence in the opposing team's half, with 34% of all play happening in the half of the opposition. With such strong dominance on the pitch, City remain the most offensive side in the Premier League and are strong contenders for the league title in the upcoming season.
#1 Liverpool
Liverpool's performances last season were nothing short of extraordinary. They finished second in the UEFA Champions League and finished fourth on the Premier League table, scoring a total of 84 goals, the second highest of all competing teams in the league.
Last year Liverpool suffered from a weak bench without strong substitutes, but they have made strong signings to strengthen their squad. Another major problem for Liverpool last season was their goalkeeping department.
Loris Karius, the goalkeeper for Liverpool, made serious mistakes that hurt his team's chances in several matches. His mistakes were the main reason why Liverpool lost out to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final.
But with the signing of Roma's goalkeeper Alisson, Liverpool seem to have solved that problem. Alisson will be a more trusted keeper and will provide a formidable line of defense for Liverpool.
The signings of Shaqiri and Naby Keita will provide Liverpool with a more formidable squad in the coming season. The team have put up strong performances in the preseason so far, and they are likely to continue doing that throughout the season.
