The more I think of it the more I'm struggling to pick only 6 teams for the top six spots this Season.
This isn't a thread about who's going to win it all, but more so about whether there's an obvious top to be regarded and what teams you'll include in there? Does a top six pick itself or does the pack look more competitive than ever?
Arsenal - Because they are always there or thereabouts, almost winning something. Difficult if not impossible to exclude them from a top six spot. Right? Özil, Sanchez, Kocielny, Giroud, Ramsey, Wilshere and new boy Xhaka doesn't sound too shabby.
Chelsea - They'll obv be far better than last Season, anything else would be ridiculous with that squad, and with a new manager that many of us rate (I do, at least) and a few proper signings to boot with Kanté looking the pick of the crop they'll be right at the top. Probably.
Man City - Well, more or less what I said above, Pep will make them better overall, more cohesive and better balanced. Nolito and Gundogan will make their extremely large squad even bigger and Kompany will be back. PS Now there's even talk of Leroy Sane joining too, which would make them look even more scary from an opponents view.
Man Utd - Zlatan (& Pogba)
Liverpool - Klopp has assembled a strong looking squad with both talent, grit and power. Still question marks over several players but in overall a team that should/would/could be at the top come May. At least I hope so.
Spurs - They have somehow managed to keep their young squad intact and it's a strong one at that, and one that has also had time to develop another year. Janssen could prove to be a clever pick-up and Wanyama is a marvelous signing for them. A midfield of Dier, Wanyama and Dembele could boss most opponents.
Leicester - The expected/feared exodus has so far been absent, well, apart from losing their splendid anchor in Kante which could prove costly. However, they very much won the Prem as a team why the change of one cog in that well-lubricated wheel won't make it stop spinning. Musa could be another incredible signing for them, him and Vardy both will be more than a handful for many a defense. Only a blinkered fool would dare to write them off completely at this stage. (That said, they might struggle good and end up somewhere in the middle of the peloton, but it's too early to say isn't it).
West Ham - New amazing venue, Payet and Andy Carroll - what can possibly go wrong? Well, a lot probably, but I doubt they'll be weakened in any way compared to last season. Rather the opposite, making them a very hard team to beat again and also a difficult one to keep at bay.
S'oton - Last Seasons number 6th, yet another amazing achievement by a team that's constantly selling their best players to Liverpool. Now they've lost another foursome of stars in Mané, Wanyama, Pellé and manager Koeman so surely now is the season years of sell-out will show? Probably. However, they've once again managed to buy great talent in central midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Anfield bound in 2018), Redmond could be a shrewd signing as well and they've still got Tadic, European Champion Fonte, Rodriguez, Austin and Bertrand. It's a slim squad however so they'll need two or three newcomers yet to once again be able to finish in the top 6.
Everton - Koeman will probably do them a world of good and in Barkley they've potentially got one of the best midfielders in the Premier League imo. Mirallas, Lukaku and Deulofeu adds a lot of spark but they'll probably also need a few new signings still to go all the way to the top.
The Rest
I think we'll be able to put names to the top 6 of next Season via the above mentioned teams, however, if there were someone less backed to pave their way in, unscrupulous-like as Leicester did last year, here's my two dark horses.
Crystal Palace - Especially so if they can land Benteke, as they've then got a pretty decent first XI with players like Cabaye, Zaha and Campbell. Even Townsend could come in handy could they bag our big Belgian as their striker.
Boro - Okay, this is a bit far fetched and slightly biased as I don't know too much abut their fringe players. But I do know that Viktor Fischer and Alvaro Negredo will get them goals, x-factor and flair (both could well end up being mentioned as candidates for bargains of the Season come May 17). Even Rhodes could be a handful for a lot of teams and then they've got Stuart Downing as well - for inexplicable reasons I am looking forward to see him in the Premiership again. Was he perhaps better than what we gave him credit for back then? They've actually also got 'our' Ayala on their books and he's been drawing the plaudits in their defense.
That's about that.. so, what is your guess for a top 6 in the upcoming Season then? I am still struggling to pick only six to be honest.. and whom do you reckon could upset the experts and punch well above their weight?
This isn't a thread about who's going to win it all, but more so about whether there's an obvious top to be regarded and what teams you'll include in there? Does a top six pick itself or does the pack look more competitive than ever?
Arsenal - Because they are always there or thereabouts, almost winning something. Difficult if not impossible to exclude them from a top six spot. Right? Özil, Sanchez, Kocielny, Giroud, Ramsey, Wilshere and new boy Xhaka doesn't sound too shabby.
Chelsea - They'll obv be far better than last Season, anything else would be ridiculous with that squad, and with a new manager that many of us rate (I do, at least) and a few proper signings to boot with Kanté looking the pick of the crop they'll be right at the top. Probably.
Man City - Well, more or less what I said above, Pep will make them better overall, more cohesive and better balanced. Nolito and Gundogan will make their extremely large squad even bigger and Kompany will be back. PS Now there's even talk of Leroy Sane joining too, which would make them look even more scary from an opponents view.
Man Utd - Zlatan (& Pogba)
Liverpool - Klopp has assembled a strong looking squad with both talent, grit and power. Still question marks over several players but in overall a team that should/would/could be at the top come May. At least I hope so.
Spurs - They have somehow managed to keep their young squad intact and it's a strong one at that, and one that has also had time to develop another year. Janssen could prove to be a clever pick-up and Wanyama is a marvelous signing for them. A midfield of Dier, Wanyama and Dembele could boss most opponents.
Leicester - The expected/feared exodus has so far been absent, well, apart from losing their splendid anchor in Kante which could prove costly. However, they very much won the Prem as a team why the change of one cog in that well-lubricated wheel won't make it stop spinning. Musa could be another incredible signing for them, him and Vardy both will be more than a handful for many a defense. Only a blinkered fool would dare to write them off completely at this stage. (That said, they might struggle good and end up somewhere in the middle of the peloton, but it's too early to say isn't it).
West Ham - New amazing venue, Payet and Andy Carroll - what can possibly go wrong? Well, a lot probably, but I doubt they'll be weakened in any way compared to last season. Rather the opposite, making them a very hard team to beat again and also a difficult one to keep at bay.
S'oton - Last Seasons number 6th, yet another amazing achievement by a team that's constantly selling their best players to Liverpool. Now they've lost another foursome of stars in Mané, Wanyama, Pellé and manager Koeman so surely now is the season years of sell-out will show? Probably. However, they've once again managed to buy great talent in central midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Anfield bound in 2018), Redmond could be a shrewd signing as well and they've still got Tadic, European Champion Fonte, Rodriguez, Austin and Bertrand. It's a slim squad however so they'll need two or three newcomers yet to once again be able to finish in the top 6.
Everton - Koeman will probably do them a world of good and in Barkley they've potentially got one of the best midfielders in the Premier League imo. Mirallas, Lukaku and Deulofeu adds a lot of spark but they'll probably also need a few new signings still to go all the way to the top.
The Rest
I think we'll be able to put names to the top 6 of next Season via the above mentioned teams, however, if there were someone less backed to pave their way in, unscrupulous-like as Leicester did last year, here's my two dark horses.
Crystal Palace - Especially so if they can land Benteke, as they've then got a pretty decent first XI with players like Cabaye, Zaha and Campbell. Even Townsend could come in handy could they bag our big Belgian as their striker.
Boro - Okay, this is a bit far fetched and slightly biased as I don't know too much abut their fringe players. But I do know that Viktor Fischer and Alvaro Negredo will get them goals, x-factor and flair (both could well end up being mentioned as candidates for bargains of the Season come May 17). Even Rhodes could be a handful for a lot of teams and then they've got Stuart Downing as well - for inexplicable reasons I am looking forward to see him in the Premiership again. Was he perhaps better than what we gave him credit for back then? They've actually also got 'our' Ayala on their books and he's been drawing the plaudits in their defense.
That's about that.. so, what is your guess for a top 6 in the upcoming Season then? I am still struggling to pick only six to be honest.. and whom do you reckon could upset the experts and punch well above their weight?
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