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EPL has arguably been the toughest league in the past few decades, as the competition between the "top 6" seems to be never-ending. However, the table is never the same, with every team changing its position every season. Several teams have spent highly for reinforcements to their squad like they do every transfer market and that keeps the competition high and alive.
The English Premier League is one of the best leagues across the globe, and the hype their fans create itself is a sign of how great the league is. The EPL derbies are an absolute treat to watch. Merseyside, Manchester and North London derbies are watched worldwide and supporters everywhere feel a part of it. There are no underdogs in the Premier League and every small team comes with a belief that they can win. The spirit and passion the league possesses are incredible.
#6 Chelsea
Chelsea is one of the "top 6" teams who are not deserving enough to play Champions League football, followed by Arsenal. They both finished 5th and 6th respectively in the Premier League. Chelsea was knocked out by Barcelona in the Round of 16 with a scoreline of four goals to one, and it seems that The Blues have made sure they don't play Champions League football at all.
Chelsea has been suffering quite a lot on the attacking part, with Morata out of form since January. They sold Diego Costa to Atletico Madrid and now they are looking for a striker in the market. They have been heavily linked to Lewandowski, but the transfer seems unlikely, and now as the transfer window is closed, Chelsea might suffer on the attacking part. Things weren't good between Conte and Costa, and according to reports, that resulted in Diego Costa being sold.
Sarri has taken over the Blues now, with Conte being sacked. The former Napoli manager made a good opening signing, bringing Jorginho along with him from Napoli. Jorginho possesses great control and vision in the midfield and has done a commendable job for the past 4 years for Napoli, though he didn't seem much confident in the Community Shield game against Manchester City, and the London side ended up losing 2-0. The new Chelsea boss also got Kovacic on-loan from Real Madrid, and Kovacic is a player with great qualities.
Chelsea should have signed a defender who can replace David Luiz, as the Brazilian has been giving below average performances every match day. With Kepa in for Courtois, the goalkeeping department don't have much to worry as Kepa was one of the best in La Liga. This season can turn extremely disappointing for the Blues, as their first professional game against City hasn't turned out to be convincing.
#5 Tottenham
Spurs have been consistent performers, and have finished third last season. They play some lovely attacking football under Poch and are a real threat to the best teams in Europe. The trio of Dele, Eriksen and Kane have caused much damage to every EPL team and they might certainly want to win some silverware this season. Though they haven't made any signings, their squad looks good enough to be the contenders for the EPL.
I have rated Tottenham for the fifth position by judging their activity in the transfer market. They have made zero signings.
Tottenham have performed gloriously under Poch, and they pulled off a great win against Real Madrid in the group stage games. Defeating a team like Real in UCL itself is a great reward, considering the fact that their squad is comparatively young. Though no one expected them to be out of UCL, after giving a tough fight at the Old Lady in the first leg. That must have inflicted deep wounds and Poch would certainly seek revenge. Their beautiful attacking game-plays are a feast to the eyes, and all their players have performed quite well in World Cup games, too.
Spurs are a balanced team and their defence has never seemed to be suffering, except the game against Juve last year and some PL games. Tottenham have stability and this can be a key factor in deciding their games.
#4 Manchester United
Manchester doesn't seem Red anymore, as their direct city-rivals are running riots in all competitions. Manchester United are one of the most unstable teams currently, with Jose looking absolutely clueless in what to do. Regardless of the fact that finished second in the Premier League last season, their UCL journey was rather embarrassing for the fans and the squad itself due to their defeat against Sevilla. Ben Yedder scored two goals in the dying minutes of the game at Old Trafford to take Sevilla into the quarter-finals. It was a humiliating night for the Reds and they would certainly try to win some silverware at the end of the 2018-19 season, if not the UCL.
Jose was behind a lot of players since the transfer market opened, but most of his targets decided to stay with their current employers, instead. Boateng, Sandro, Willian and even Lewandowski. Except for Fred from Shahktar, Jose could not pull off any quality transfer this transfer market and it is a little worrisome.
It doesn't look good for United. Though they did win, Leicester had the ball for most of the time and had more shots. Vardy got a lucky goal by the 92nd minute of the game and could have scored a brace if it wasn't for De Gea's insane reflexes. And as always, Eric Bailly was the man to save the Red Devils, and there is absolutely no one as good as Eric to replace him at United. The Ivorian is very prone to injuries and this is one of the reasons why Jose was looking for a defender in the transfer market.
#3 Arsenal
The North London side have brought in nearly 5 players since the start of the transfer window, leaving the fans much impressed. The Arsenal board and the fans have placed their faith in Emery and he has done a pretty good job as he took over Arsene's spot. He has signed quality players and has put faith in youngsters like Iwobi, Nelson and Niles, who can possibly become good enough to carry Arsenal's attacking line-up one day.
Arsene's reign at Arsenal since the past half-decade has been turbulent, winning zero premier league titles. Even Leicester have won more PL titles than Arsenal in the last decade. The problem has always been the defence. Arsenal conceded nearly 100 goals in just the past two seasons, and that shows how unsettled their defending unit was. It's true that Arsenal played the best attacking football in England under Wenger, but beautiful football without titles is worthless.
Though this year, Emery had strong plans of ameliorating the defence and he did so, signing two great and experienced defenders in the form of Stephen Lichsteiner and Sokratis. He also brought in the much underrated Torreira, who has arguably been one of the best players for Uruguay this World Cup. A keeper who could give competition to Cech was required, and Bernd Leo is the perfect match. The German shot-stopper has been impressive in Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen becoming only the third goalkeeper in Bundesliga history to keep clean sheets in his first three top-flight games.
The Gooners have set their hopes high, and let's see if Unai Emery and co can run some extraordinary shows at the Emirates.
#2 Liverpool
Liverpool's unbelievable form in the Champions League was a treat to watch, riding past opponents like they were playing third-division teams. They made their way through all games, only to get beaten by the Spanish Giants.
Liverpool finished fourth in the Premier League last season, and are qualified to play Champions League football again, this year. Chelsea was just 5 points behind them, but in the end, the Blues had to settle with Europa League.
Klopp was charged-up for the transfer window and the German manager has made some quality signings, bringing in Keita from RB Leipzig, Fabinho from Monaco, and Alisson from Roma. Liverpool was heavily inconsistent in Premier League games, though the front three of Salah, Firmino and Mane scored in almost every game. Their defence was a problem since the start of the season, but signing Virgil Van Dijk from Newcastle in the January market was a good decision by Klopp.
Unfortunately, one of the best seasons for Liverpool went trophyless and that is why Klopp looks to reshape his squad. Klopp was looking for reinforcements till the end of the transfer window. The Reds were also planning a transfer swoop for Dortmund sensation Christian Pulisic and were also in the race to sign Nabil Fekir from Lyon along with Chelsea, but the window clocked out.
Liverpool is the top contender to win the league this season, after City. The sky is the limit for the players who work under a genius coach like Klopp.
#1 Manchester City
City is the most powerful team in all of England, in terms of attacking options, with insane squad depth. Pep might certainly want to have back-to-back Premier League titles to their name, and their squad doesn't look to be weakening in any way.
Manchester City was regarded as a great threat in the Champions League last season until they met Liverpool. The Citizens went home without registering a single win in both UCL games against Liverpool, losing for 5-1 on aggregate. It must have certainly affected Pep Guardiola and co and that embarrassing defeat can motivate them to perform even better this season. They sure ran riots in the league, with some electrifying performances against the top 6, defeating Arsenal 3-1 and Tottenham 3-0 at Etihad.
An attacking line up of Aguero, Sane, and Sterling are the best of England. Not to forget their midfield maestro David Silva, along with KDB. Manchester City is a serious trouble for every team in PL and not many can hope to compete at their level.
One of the most entertaining leagues in the world, the Premier League is set to start the new season and it certainly will be a season with ecstatic and emotional moments.
