'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Following a Premier League season that was dominated by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, the other members of the top six in Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have all tried their best at improving their respective squads in order to better their chances of making the top 4 and eventually competing for the title.
With the Premier League's new season set to begin in just a week from now, we attempt to predict how the top six and title race will pan out.
Will City have it their way again? Can Man United or Arsenal secure that coveted Champions League spot?
#6 Chelsea
With a two-window transfer ban, their best player Eden Hazard leaving the club and yet another new manager to adapt to, Chelsea haven't had a great summer by any means.
The club does have the exciting young American winger Christian Pulisic to look forward to seeing in action, but he will need time and experience in order to get used to the physical demands of the Premier League.
Their best defender will be missing in the injured Antonio Rudiger for the first part of the season, although they will hope that Kurt Zouma can do a solid job at filling in for him.
Overall, whilst new coach Chelsea legend Frank Lampard knows a few players at the club and will certainly receive more support from the fans than previous manager Maurizio Sarri, it'll prove a very difficult task for him to propel the club to beyond 6th place this upcoming season due to the factors outlined above.
#5 Manchester United
Whilst the club have made some very smart moves this transfer window by signing winger Daniel James and right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka at the same time as promoting highly rated forward Mason Greenwood, there is still too much confusion surrounding players that could still sign for the club as well as players who could leave.
The situation of Paul Pogba is not a good one because the player wants to move to Real Madrid but the club are asking for a transfer fee that Madrid president Florentino Perez will never accept.
Furthermore, there are complications involving a proposed Romelu Lukaku and Paulo Dybala swap as the Argentine is understandably not keen on moving from a potential Champions League-winning team to a Europa League side.
Finally, there's also the issue of finding a top centre-back who will be able to significantly bolster United's defending standards. Harry Maguire is a very good English centre-back but the club are correct in being reluctant to pay the world record transfer fee for a defender in order to pry him away from Leicester City.
Overall, United's attack should improve, but their midfield and defence will probably stay at around the same level meaning that another season of Europa League football could follow this upcoming season.
#4 Tottenham Hotspur
Mauricio Pochettino's men had a very good 2018-19 season by being the Champions League runner-up and finishing in the Premier League top 4. With the addition of fantastic French central midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, the club will be looking to achieve a similar feat.
However, their defence next season may be an issue as they lost regular right-back Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid and left-back Danny Rose is also linked with a move away.
Furthermore, centre-back pair Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen have been slowing down over the past couple of seasons as they are no longer an ultra-consistent pair due to injury problems and Davinson Sanchez or Juan Foyth getting more playing time.
In total, the team should be good enough to get to the knockout stages of the Champions League and finish in the top 4 of the Premier League once again because they have fantastic attacking options and a rejuvenated midfield with Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko, Victor Wanyama, Eric Dier and new signing Ndombele.
#3 Arsenal
Despite earlier reports of £45 million being Arsenal's summer transfer budget, the club may have spent over £100 million more than the inititially quoted budget, by the end of the window.
In addition to incredible right-winger Nicolas Pépé who arrived for a club record £73m, Arsenal have signed 19-year-old Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli (£6m), 18 year-old centre-half William Saliba (£27m, but will be loaned back to Saint Etienne for a season) and Real Madrid's midfielder Dani Ceballos on loan (£15m).
Furthermore, according to rumors, the club are close to completing a £25 million deal for a very promising young Scottish left-back in Celtic's Kieran Tierney.
Unai Emery's team may have improved in all three departments with the return of Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin set to strengthen the defence, Ceballos to provide different midfield options and Pépé to form an unbelievable trio with Aubameyang and Lacazette.
Therefore, next season, The Gunners have the potential to be the best of the rest after City and Liverpool whilst going one step further in the Europa League by winning the trophy.
#2 Liverpool
The Merseyside club just had one of their best seasons ever by winning the Champions League and taking the title race to the last day.
On the other hand, with tired legs returning from international summer competitions in their front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, along with quite a disappointing set of pre-season performances and results, it is extremely unlikely that Liverpool will come near to repeating the same type of success.
In defence, Virgil van Dijk was arguably the best in the world last season. Also, in terms of depth at the full-back positions, supreme pair Alexander-Arnold and Robertson don't have anyone to really replace them even temporarily when one of them is injured.
However, the club should still be good enough to finish second, although with a considerably lower points total, and get to the knockout stages of the Champions League so that they can compete with the likes of Barcelona and Juventus who have signed many important players this summer.
#1 Manchester City
Manager Pep Guardiola and his team are heavy favourites to win the Premier League for the third straight season due to the fact that their squad has somehow improved further following last season. The club signed a defensive midfielder who has been dubbed 'the next Busquets' in Rodri for a club record transfer fee £64m.
Also, they signed promising young left-back Angelino who will provide even more options at the position where they already have Oleksandr Zinchenko and Benjamin Mendy.
Moreover, arguably the team's best player Kevin De Bruyne, who was injured for most of last season, is preparing to play a full season which means that he is tipped to win the PFA Player of the Year award should City win the league again.
Overall, Man City are extremely powerful at every position on the field as they have world-class players who can't even get into the first team when you look at the likes of Leroy Sane, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho and Ilkay Gundogan. This, along with the incredible effort and determination they put in to win every game, is the reason why they have become such a dominant force.
