Manchester City, Liverpool and Who Else? Let the 2019-20 Premier League Season Begin!

It seems like only yesterday that we were previewing the last day of the 2018-19 Premier League season, wondering if Manchester City could hold on to their slim lead over Liverpool and win the league for the second year in a row. (Of course they did.) But then Liverpool had their moment in the sun by bringing home the Champions League trophy, so that sour taste of having only lost one match all season and still not winning the title didn’t linger too long.

As deadline day has just passed and squads are complete, we can now look forward to the new season in earnest, and, surprise, surprise, no matter how much things change, the more they look the same, with Man City and Liverpool looking to be in the driver’s seat yet again. But aside from these top two, who else will sit at the top of the table this year? Will it again be a shuffling of the usual Big 6 of Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Manchester United? Or will teams like Wolves, Everton, Leicester and West Ham challenge for a place nearer the top of the table and a chance at playing in Europe? Let’s break down these top 10 teams and see who has what it takes to make some noise in the upcoming season.

Manchester City (-200 To Win, -5000 Top 4)

I mean, truthfully, it’s not fair that a team as good as Manchester City, who have recorded a points tally of 100 and 98 in back to back seasons, can go out in the offseason and get even better. But that’s what they did with the signing of midfielder Rodri from Atletico Madrid, giving them yet another midfield weapon, as well as an excellent long-term replacement for Fernandinho. They also signed fullback Joao Cancelo from Juventus and Angelino for PSV Eindhoven as part of their effort to replace the irreplaceable Vincent Kompany, who, while he’s seen better days, was unquestionably the team leader and always seemed to step up when the Citizens needed him most. Lingering questions include what happens in case of an injury, as Leroy Sane, who provided star-level depth, will start the season on the sideline with an ACL injury. Also, will the team maintain their focus on the league when Champions League play starts getting serious? These are luxurious questions to be able to ask, especially when you have a front line consisting of Sterling, Aguero, Silva and a healthy De Bruyne. 

Liverpool (+275 To Win, -1250 Top 4, -10000 Top 6)

Before we start talking about Liverpool, let’s just go back and watch that 2^nd leg against Barcelona again OK? Alright, now that we got that out of our system, let’s focus on the now. Not much needed changing for a Champions League winning team that collected the most points for a 2^nd place team in Premier League history. (They had enough points to win the league in 25 of the 27 seasons since the league’s inception.) But seeing Man City add even more fire-power has to be somewhat disconcerting for Reds fans looking to add a league title to their silverware. The Reds stayed quiet over the summer, content with their core of young players who Jurgen Klopp knows will only get better and stronger. Even with an off year from Mohamed Salah, who “only” had 22 goals and won the Golden Boot, compared with the previous year when he had 32 goals and won the Golden Boot, the Liverpool offense was one of the strongest in the league, with Sadio Mane sharing the Golden Boot with 22 goals as well, and Roberto Firmino adding 12 EPL goals as well. The back line, led by PFA Player of the Year Virgil van Dijk, will be as strong as it was last year, while the mid-field, led by Fabinho, is deep and experienced. Can they get that extra few points this year and win the league? It seems like it will come down to the wire yet again.

Tottenham (+1800 To Win, -225 Top 4, -1000 Top 6, -10000 Top 10)

Which is worse? Coming in second or fourth? Second is heartbreaking because you’re so close! But fourth is tough because you’re kind of close, better than a lot of others, but you still have a lot of work to do to get to number one. So what do you do? You go spend some money to close the gap!

Tottenham’s 2^nd place finish in the Champions League, and 4^th place finish in the Premier League was a frustrating outcome for the Spurs players and fans alike, as they played well, enjoyed great success, and yet… nothing. Harry Kane was brilliant as usual, and who knows how much of a gap they could have closed with him being in the line-up the latter part of last season. But even with him in the line-up they were still on a lower level than the top two, and so the offseason blueprint was to jump up a level. They addressed their glaring weakness at right back with the major signing of Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon, who should pair nicely with Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks to provide a solid midfield core. Dele Alli, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura give Spurs an attacking front that matches up with the league’s best. The only true question marks sit in the back, where youth and inconsistency plagued them last year. If that back line can grow from last year’s mistake, Tottenham will be in position to challenge Manchester City and Liverpool for the title.

Arsenal  (+3300 To Win, +110 Top 4, -455 Top 6, -3335 Top 10)

In the past few years, the Big Six has fractured even more to become the Big Two, and the Pretty Big Four. And let’s just say the Arsenal fans aren’t happy with their placement in the lower of these two categories. While last year, new manager Unai Emery survived his first season at the helm with occasionally great looking football, a lost April saw the Gunners lose three consecutive EPL matches and a place in the top 4, bringing the ire of fans and pundits alike that he knew came with the job. (A loss in the Europa League final to Chelsea didn’t help soothe over missing a Champions League spot as well.) Their strength last year, offense, will be the same this year, but even better, with the 40 goal-scoring pair of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang now joined by record signing Nicolas Pepe and Dani Cabellos to form a formidable front line. What looked to be holding them back from taking a step up in the table may have been addressed somewhat by deadline day deals with Chelsea’s David Liuz and Celtic’s Kieran Tierney. While they may not challenge for the league title, Gunners fans would be plenty happy with a place in the Champions League. If not? Watch your back Unai Emery.

Manchester United (+3300 To Win, +110 Top 4, -455 Top 6, -5000 Top 10)

As Romelu Lukaku exits the glare of the Man U spotlight, record signing Harry Maguire can now feel the full heat. With the Belgian striker’s deadline day deal with Inter Milan completed, and the former Leicester man signed to the richest contract ever for a defender, The Red Devils are remaking themselves before our eyes. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did an admirable job bringing this team back from the ashes after taking over for Joe Mourinho midway through the season, but a full season is a different story altogether. Will he be able to keep Paul Pogba happy? Will the young front line of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, and Dan James score enough? Will Maguine and fellow newcomer Aaron Wan-Bissaka create a dynasty in the back? There’s always drama at Man U. Expect the same this year.

Chelsea (+4000 To Win, +150 Top 4, -305 Top 6, -5000 Top 10)

Another big club going through big changes as they look to remain relevant in the era of Manchester City and Liverpool. And who better to bring back the glory days of Chelsea than a member of one of the legendary squads himself, Frank Lampard, who risks his legacy with the team by taking over as manager during an unsettled time in London (sorry Frank, no transfers!) The first order of business is finding an adequate in-house replacement for Eden Hazard, a tall task considering all the intangibles he brought to the team outside of his scoring and assists. Here’s hoping that Christian Pulisic becomes that star, as the hype, at least here in the US, has him pegged to be US Soccer’s Great Hope.

Leicester City (+20000 To Win, +1600 Top 4, -+350 Top 6, -225 Top 10)

They won’t sneak up on anyone like they did a few seasons ago, but the men from Leicester have assembled a squad worthy of breaking into the Top Six this year. Title-winning holdover Jamie Vardy looked as dangerous as ever after Brendan Rogers assumed the helm at the end of February after Claude Puel’s dismissal, as the Foxes went 6-3-2 over their last 11 games. While they may have lost Harry Maguire to Manchester United, their backline still employs England defender Ben Chilwell, who will pair with Jonny Evans to try and replicate what Maguire brought to the team last year. Signing Youri Tielemans to a permanent deal gives the Foxes much needed stability in midfield, and along with starlet James Maddison, fans can expect a chunk of scoring from this attacking pair. With a full season of Rogers at the helm, it should be fun to see how far he can take this team.

Wolverhampton (+15000 To Win, +1600 Top 4, +350 Top 6, -225 Top 10)

The darlings of last year, Wolves went from newly promoted to 7^th in the table in record time, while tormenting sides in the Top six on a regular basis. Home wins over Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea, combined with an away win at Tottenham, made for a dream season in the top flight under the Nuno Espirito Santo. Now if only they could have won games against the lower end of the table, who knows how good it could have been? This summer they stuck with what got them here, opting to bring in a few youngsters who will grow with the squad instead of replacing anyone. The only issue is that with success come challenges, and this year, Wolves will add a slate of games to their schedule as they work their way through the Europa League. More games lead to less fresh squads which leads to poor results. This is a young team, however, and they seem to be on a mission. With an energetic leader in Nuno, and young legs in Conor Coady, Joao Moutinho, Ruden Neves, and Raul Jimenez,  they seem like they’re going to be up in the top 10 for a while.

Everton (+15000 To Win, +1200 Top 4, +300 Top 6, -335 Top 10)

Another team that had a strong finish to last season, Everton look to battle Leicester City for a place among the top 6, and a bid for a place in international play. First year manager  Marcos Silva had an up and down season, a miserable winter spell bookended by some occasionally brilliant play at both ends of the season. Everton fans are hoping that the last month of the season, which saw them keep 6 clean sheets in their final 8 matches, including a very satisfying 4-0 win over Man U. While they never got around to signing the much yearned for Wilfried Zaha, they seem to have finally found a solid replacement for Romelu Lukaku in Moise Kean, who will join Andre Gomes, Lucas Digne, and Gylfi Sigurdsson in Silva’s pressure-filled attacking schemes. There are some questions at the back, but last year’s strong defensive finish, along with the presence of England keeper Jordan Pickford, give the Toffees some promise as they try to crack into the top of the league.

West Ham (+50000 To Win, +6600 Top 4, +1100 Top 6, +100 Top 10)

Last year at this time, the arrival of manager Manuel Pellegrini has everyone predicting big things for West Ham. Then they went out on the pitch and lost their first three matches in very unspectacular fashion and the shine was quickly off the apple. It seems no matter who is in charge, the Hammers have it in their DNA to be maddeningly inconsistent and drama-filled. Last year Marko Arnautovic played the part of unhappy star, Andy Carroll once again spent most of the year on the training table, and incoming star Felipe Anderson was brilliant in the beginning of the year, but completely disappeared in the final months. The result of all this was once again a mid-table finish and disgruntled fans. (There’s no disgruntled fan like a disgruntled Hammers fan.) This summer, they were able to jettison Arnautovic and Carroll, and brought in two exciting players in Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals, giving them an energetic duo to pair with Anderson, Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini. They were able to keep Declan Rice from going to a bigger club and he and Issa Diop are a brilliant pair. The mian question again is injuries, as last year, a majority of the starting 11 picked up injuries that kept them out for extended periods of time. If they can avoid the knocks, and put out a consistent line-up, maybe this is the year for big things at London Stadium.