GOAL ranks all 20 teams ahead of the start of the new season, with Mikel Arteta's men tipped to fall short for the fourth year in a row
The wait is almost over! The Premier League returns on Friday at Anfield, where Liverpool will kick-off the defence of their title against Bournemouth. The resurgent Reds swept everyone aside on their way to winning a record-equalling 20th English championship last season, with Arne Slot's side finishing 10 points clear ahead of Arsenal.
Rather ominously for Liverpool's rivals, the club's American owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), have spent big during the summer, meaning the Merseysiders are the clear favourites going into the new season. However, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea have splashed plenty of cash themselves – as have Manchester United, who have completely revamped their forward line.
And what about the relegation battle? Are we going to see all three newly-promoted teams go straight back down for the third year in a row? Here at GOAL, we've tried to answer those questions by compiling a final league table based on predictions made by our writers and editors. Check out the results below and let us know in the comments what you think we've got right – and what you think we've got badly wrong…
Getty Images20Burnley
One has to feel a little sympathy for Scott Parker. The former Chelsea midfielder has taken a team into the Premier League for the third time as a manager – and this time after amassing 100 points in the Championship thanks in no small part to a historic defensive record (just 16 goals conceded in 46 games).
However, it doesn't look like he has a squad remotely capable of achieving top-flight survival – not least because goalkeeper James Trafford, the man responsible for so many of last season's clean sheets, has returned to Manchester City and key defender CJ Egan-Riley has joined Marseille on a free transfer. Not even Kyle Walker's arrival from City will be enough to keep the Clarets afloat.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport19Leeds United
Leeds United are a curious case. Daniel Farke's side racked up 100 points and scored 95 times during last season's Championship triumph – yet the German's position was still a subject of much debate during the summer.
Farke did not fare well in his previous Premier League campaigns with Norwich City and has never really been a fan favourite at Elland Road. Consequently, the lack of meaningful investment in the Leeds squad (there are serious concerns over where the goals are going to come from) suggests that Farke could be out of a job sooner rather than later.
Getty Images Sport18Sunderland
Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus certainly can't be accused of parsimony or a lack of ambition. The Swiss-French businessman has stumped up well over £120 million ($161m) for the Black Cats to spend on new players during the summer, including Granit Xhaka, Simon Adingra and Habib Diarra.
Unfortunately, Regis Le Bris' squad still looks short on Premier League quality, so a team that lost 12 times in the Championship last season – and only came up via the play-offs – is expected to go straight back down.
Getty Images Sport17Brentford
The big problem with over-achievement is that it attracts the attention of underperforming clubs keen to steal the secrets of surprise success – as Brentford have discovered to their considerable cost this summer. Manager Thomas Frank has been snapped up by Tottenham, Christian Norgaard has joined Arsenal, while Manchester United paid mad money to sign Bryan Mbeumo.
Former set-piece coach Keith Andrews has been tasked with filling the considerable void left by Frank and the hope now is that his job isn't made more difficult by any further departures, given Yoane Wissa and Nathan Collins have plenty of Premier League admirers. They have, however, signed Jordan Henderson, for what that's worth in 2025…