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The 2018-19 Premier League season will kick-start this weekend as Manchester United host Leicester City on Friday night.
It has been a difficult pre-season for most of the big teams as their players weren't able to join the squad immediately after the completion of the World Cup. The summer window is also closing on Thursday night and the teams are in a rush to wrap up their last-minute bargains.
Liverpool and Arsenal have done most of the business in the summer, while the other big teams added only a few players. The promoted teams have also announced their arrival with a few monstrous signings. Wolverhampton signed the European Champion Rui Patricio, and Andre Schurrle, World Cup winner with Germany, joined Fulham.
Everton have also added Richarlison with a club-record transfer fee and theirs will be one of the squads to watch alongside West Ham. But the heroics of Leicester City are unlikely to be repeated this time around.
Let's take a look at three teams that are most likely to be the English champions at the end of the season:
#3 Arsenal
It has been ages since the Gunners have seen a new manager taking charge at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal last won the title in 2003-04 under Arsene Wenger.
The London club is looking forward to Unai Emery's management. They have had a good pre-season where they outplayed PSG and clinched a win against Chelsea.
Arsenal have coped well with the loss of Alexis Sanchez. In the winter window, they already acquired the services of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Now, they have materialized deals for German goalkeeper Bernd Leno (who is likely to start ahead of Petr Cech), Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Lucas Torreira. Stephan Lichsteiner has also joined from Juventus.
The front-three looks sharp with Ozil and Mkhitaryan operating from the wings. Emery can field a midfield with Xhaka, Ramsey and Torreira, thereby solving their midfield crisis. Aubameyang, their target-man, will be looking to be in the race for the Golden Boot.
Sokratis will pair up with Mustafi in the heart of the central defense. Bellerin and Kolasinac are likely to start as full backs.
Moreover, Arsenal have great depth in their squad this time. Monreal, Koscielny and Lichsteiner will provide their crucial experience, while they also have a few young talents such as Chambers, Maitland-Niles, Holding and Iwobi. Lacazette can play his part in front of the goal. Elneny is also a player to watch for the Gunners.
It remains to be seen how quickly the players can adapt to a new manager. Manchester United struggled after the departure of Sir Alex and Arsenal could undergo the same situation. But if things go right, then the most successful club in the English capital can certainly claim the title.
#2 Liverpool
The Merseyside club reached the Champions League final last season. The 18-time English champions will surely want to win the league this time around.
Liverpool have done the best business in the summer to fix all their flaws. Jurgen Klopp spent freely, as promised by Liverpool's director ahead of the CL final.
They bought Alisson from Roma after Karius had a horrible outing at Kiev. The Brazilian custodian has become the most expensive goalkeeper of all time and he will be guarding the posts for the Scousers.
Xherdan Shaqiri came cheap as he had a relegation release clause of £13 million on his contract with the Potters. He will come into play whenever Klopp decides to rotate his squad.
Their attacking trio is arguably the most menacing in the football world right now. Mo Salah is, by far, the best player in England. The Egyptian winger netted a record 32 times in the league last season, surpassing the marks of Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez.
Roberto Firmino also scored 27 goals for Liverpool. Sadio Mane, meanwhile, will be a constant threat down the left. Together, these three can take the club to new heights.
Henderson will lead the midfield alongside the two new signings, Fabinho and Nabi Keita. Virgil Van Dijk will pair up with Dejan Lovren to provide solidity to their defense. The two promising youngsters, Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson, will complete the back four.
This seems to be the best Liverpool squad in recent memory. On their day, they can tear their opponents apart. But they are vulnerable against the lesser sides, and Klopp has to find a way to overcome that. They also have very few options from the bench, so injuries could be a major stumbling block for them.
#1 Manchester City
There is no doubt that the defending champions are the hot favorites to retain their title. Unarguably, they produced the best football in 2017-18, creating several records in their run to win the title. They are likely to start from where they left in the last season.
The best part of City's squad is their squad depth. They have replacements of equal quality in each position. That will allow Pep Guardiola to field a strong side whenever they walk to the pitch.
Benjamin Mendy, who missed most of the last season due to a knee injury, will be ready to charge down the left. Kyle Walker will play on the other side of the pitch with Kompany and Otamendi likely to start in most of the matches.
However, Danilo, Delph, Laporte and Stones will also get their starts as Guardiola is a master at rotating his squads.
Kevin de Bruyne is the best playmaker in the league, and topped the assist tally last season. David Silva is an artist on the field and enjoyed the best phase of his life under Guardiola.
Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez have proven themselves in the league and will threaten any defense in the league. Fernandinho and Gundogan will connect the midfield with the back four.
The defending champions have two of the best strikers in the league. Sergio Aguero is the club's record goalscorer, and Gabriel Jesus is his deputy. Ederson will initiate the series of passes from their half, making for a devastating attack.
Guardiola has everything in his armory. It's a squad that everyone dreams to have. The young talents, Foden, Diaz and Zinczenko, can also come into play if the manager asks them.
It is not an overstatement to say that Man City's reserve bench is also capable of winning the league. As of now, there is nothing to stop them.
