The transfer window is close to shutting and the new Premier League season is just days away – so what better time for some predictions?
Will Manchester City retain the title? Who will be relegated? And can anyone stop Real Madrid winning the Champions League again?
Sportsmail’s experts answer those three questions and have their say on plenty more as we look forward to another huge campaign.
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are primed to successfully defend the league title
IAN LADYMAN
Champions: Manchester City
Top four: Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea
Relegated: Cardiff, Huddersfield, Leicester
FA Cup: Manchester City
League Cup: Liverpool
Promoted: Stoke, Swansea and Middlesbrough
Champions League: Juventus
Manchester City are favourites to win the Premier League after earning 100 points last time
Pep Guardiola said his team can’t match last season’s phenomenal effort but why not? City have added Riyad Mahrez and their players will be better for last year. Europe may distract them but their rivals have too much ground to make up. Liverpool will improve on the back of summer business but not enough to make up last season’s 25-point gap. I’ve put Jurgen Klopp down for the League Cup because has to win a trophy some time. Hasn’t he?
Manchester United will not be as bad as people have suggested simply because they never are while Spurs will be this season’s big surprise and not in a good way. They have not invested properly and could suffer because of it.
It’s a shock to include Leicester to go down but they have lost their best player and will they keep Harry Maguire and Peter Schmeichel?
In the Championship, Stoke have done some decent summer business and hired a sound manager in Gary Rowett while Swansea appointed the bright and talented Graham Potter. Middlesbrough have Tony Pulis at the helm and nobody would bet against the 60-year-old doing what he does best.
IAN HERBERT
Champions: Manchester City
Top four: Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea
Relegation: Huddersfield Town Brighton Cardiff City
FA Cup: Manchester United
League Cup: Liverpool
Promoted: Aston Villa, Stoke, Middlesbrough
Champions League: Juventus
Jose Mourinho is under pressure to win a trophy after a disappointing 2017-18 season
Manchester City will dominate again because it is a season of transition for Chelsea and Arsenal while Manchester United, consumed by Jose Mourinho’s relentless negativity, are flat-lining and better off without him. Liverpool will be stronger but their defence is still a weakness. Tottenham may struggle to keep happy that English core who could earn bigger money elsewhere.
At the other end of the table, Huddersfield and Brighton both looked vulnerable last season. Aston Villa’s new wealth will catapult them back.
SAMI MOKBEL
Champions: Liverpool
Top four: Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham
Relegation: Cardiff, Huddersfield, Newcastle.
FA Cup: Tottenham.
League Cup: Arsenal
Promoted: Stoke, Middlesbrough, Derby
Champions League: Juventus
Liverpool appear well placed to challenge Manchester City for the title next season
Liverpool’s squad is significantly stronger following their summer signings.. If Alisson can live up to his billing, Klopp’s men can overcome City. If Chelsea strengthen, they could push Spurs for the top four. I expect Mauricio Pochettino to finally lift the trophy noose around his team’s neck while any trophy will be a satisfactory first season for Unai Emery. And even with Rafa Benitez, I fear the Magpies’ lack of investment will catch up with them this season. In Europe, who’d bet against Cristiano Ronaldo?
DOMINIC KING
Champions: Manchester City
Top four: Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham
Relegation: Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Cardiff
FA Cup: Liverpool
League Cup: Manchester United
Promoted: Stoke, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa
Champions League: Juventus
Cristiano Ronaldo is looking to lead Juventus to the Champions League after moving to Italy
City set an incredible standard last year and history says Pep Guardiola’s teams improve with each year under his supervision. It won’t be as straightforward as last season but they are the team to beat.
There is an idea that Tottenham are vulnerable and could miss the top four but Chelsea and Arsenal both have the Europa League to contend with and that likely schedule of Thursday-Sunday in the jam-packed first half of the season will be crucial. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be wrong about Huddersfield but it is going to be a big struggle for them.
MATT BARLOW
Champions: Manchester City
Top four: Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham
Relegation: Cardiff, Huddersfield, Bournemouth
FA Cup: Chelsea
League Cup: Manchester United
Promoted: Middlesbrough, Stoke, Aston Villa
Champions League: Juventus
Maurizio Sarri has been tasked with turning Chelsea’s fortunes around in the Premier League
No team has defended the title since Manchester United in 2009 but Manchester City were so far ahead last season, 19 points clear. They are settled with scope to improve and Guardiola has form for stacking titles once his team is the way he likes it. Unless there is a calamity around the corner, it is hard to see them collapsing, while those in pursuit have differing degrees of disruption to work through.
RIATH AL-SAMARRAI
Champions: Manchester City
Top four: Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea
Relegation: Cardiff, Huddersfield, Brighton
FA Cup: Tottenham
League Cup: Everton
Promoted: Stoke, West Brom, Leeds
Champions League: Juventus
Marco Silva (centre) has been tasked with ending Everton’s long trophy drought
City haven’t added much but what they have brought in – Mahrez – has strengthened an already exceptional squad. There’s no place for Manchester United in my top four – Mourinho has already sucked the life out of them. Arsenal will need time to adjust to regime change and Liverpool will excel now that they have a top goalkeeper.
Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham badly need a trophy and ought to go all out for the FA Cup. In Europe, I fancy that £100m buys you rather a lot when it’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
CRAIG HOPE
Champions: Manchester City
Top four: Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester United
Relegation: Cardiff, Huddersfield, Southampton
FA Cup: Tottenham
League Cup: Manchester United
Promoted: Stoke, Middlesbrough, Leeds
Champions League: Juventus
Tottenham have what it takes to win the FA Cup next season, according to our man Craig Hope
Even if Spurs and Liverpool improve, the gap to Manchester City is too great to reverse in one season, but I expect those two to be the nearest challengers.
Manchester United may well take fourth and a League Cup, but I fear another miserable season of listening to Jose Mourinho sully what should be a brilliant and exciting football club to follow.
LAURIE WHITWELL
Champions: Manchester City
Top four: Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham
Relegation: Cardiff, Huddersfield, Brighton
FA Cup: Tottenham
League Cup: Liverpool
Promoted: Stoke, West Brom, Leeds
Champions League: Manchester City
Gary Rowett’s Stoke side are favourites to win the Championship after investing in new players
This has all the hallmarks of a Mourinho meltdown season, meaning United missing out on Champions League, while Sarri should bring the fun back to Chelsea. Picking teams for relegation is tricky – but it feels like gravity might just get the better of three clubs punching above their weight. This is the season Pochettino and Klopp are rewarded with silverware in the cups. It is tough to look past Real Madrid for the biggie, but Guardiola might just get it right again.
SIMON JONES
Champions: Manchester City
Top four: Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham
Relegation: Cardiff, Bournemouth, Fulham
FA Cup: Manchester United
League Cup: Liverpool
Promoted: Stoke, West Brom, Middlesbrough
Champions League: Manchester City
The signing of Riyad Mahrez could help City go all the way in the Champions League
City’s race to the title will be closer run this season with Liverpool and Chelsea providing greater challenge. However, the addition of Riyad Mahrez plus the growing experience of their younger players will keep City ahead and capable of going all the way in Europe.
The summer investment from Stoke City and West Brom should see them make a swift return to the top flight.
ADAM CRAFTON
Champions: Manchester City
Top four: Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal
Relegation: Watford, Huddersfield, Cardiff
FA Cup: Tottenham
League Cup: Manchester United
Promoted: Stoke, Nottingham Forest, Bristol City
Huddersfield could suffer from second season syndrome after avoiding the drop last term
No side has defended the Premier League since Manchester United in 2009 and a decade on, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will prove themselves the greatest team since Sir Alex Ferguson’s team of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez.
At the bottom, Watford’s high-turnover model will finally be caught out, Cardiff look too limited and Huddersfield will not be fuelled by the adrenalin of last season.
JACK GAUGHAN
Champions: Manchester City
Top four: Liverpool, United, Arsenal
Relegation: Cardiff, Huddersfield, Brighton
FA Cup: Tottenham
League Cup: Liverpool
Promoted: Stoke, West Brom, Middlesbrough
Champions League: Juventus
A summer of struggling in the market could take it’s toll on Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham
It’d be a huge achievement if Pep Guardiola became the first manager in a decade to defend the title but they have all the tools to do it. City must be wary of Liverpool though.
After coming so close twice in four seasons, the capture of Cristiano Ronaldo might be enough to see Juventus go one better this time. It’d be Ronaldo’s fifth in six years if they pulled it off.
Another summer of struggling in the transfer market could take its toll on Tottenham, with Arsenal having enough to potentially edge them and Chelsea. Manchester United will finish in the top four providing they start well.