Last year’s English Premier League season was the wildest in history. Leicester City came from nowhere to become the unlikeliest English champions ever. But the big guns – notably the two from Manchester – have reloaded with new stars and star managers with the goal of reclaiming the Premier League crown. Is their another Leicester-sized surprise in store this year or will one of the league’s giants return to dominance?
To answer that question, let’s take a closer look at the odds for all the top English Premier League title contenders ahead of the new season. Meanwhile, check out our previews for some of the opening weekend’s marquee matchups, namely Arsenal vs. Liverpool and Chelsea vs. West Ham.
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Manchester City stagnated badly under Manuel Pellegrini last season, as they finished a very disappointing fourth. But in Pep Guardiola, they now have arguably the world’s best manager to whip them back into shape.
Pep will be well-stocked with attacking weapons for his first season in the Premier League. The core of Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Raheem Sterling, and Kevin De Bruyne remains intact, and will be strengthened by the additions of Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane, and Nolito. Meanwhile, the addition of John Stones will hopefully add a foundational piece at the heart of what was a shaky City defense.
Injuries will likely be City’s biggest impediment toward the title. Captain Vincent Kompany has continued to suffer through calf injuries, and Aguero’s hamstrings are similarly susceptible to strains. Gundogan, who is expected to be a key player in implementing Pep’s possession-based philosophy, also has a recent history of back injuries.
But with sufficient depth in the squad and Guardiola’s track record of success and tactical astuteness, there’s more than enough reason to believe City can go on to grab their third Premier League title this year.
On the other side of town, Manchester United is widely expected to provide City with the biggest challenge for the title. United have acquired their own superstar manager in Jose Mourinho, who is tasked with injecting new life into Old Trafford after two tedious years under Louis van Gaal.
Mourinho bought well during the summer, bringing in defender Eric Bailly, midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic early on. And after a protracted transfer saga, they finally broke the world transfer record for Paul Pogba.
Mkhitaryan, Zlatan, and Pogba should be huge additions to a United attack that featured youngsters Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, and Jesse Lingard, who were three of the few success stories in the van Gaal era.
There are a couple of big questions for “The Special One” to still answer, though. One will be whether he can find the right system to maximize Pogba’s immense potential. The other will be whether he can get the best of Wayne Rooney, and if he’s capable of dropping the United captain if he continues to struggle.
If he successfully manages to solve those problems, the Premier League title could very well make its much-awaited return to Old Trafford.
Arsenal had another underwhelming campaign last season despite finishing second, which they owed to a terrible Tottenham collapse. They’re also having another uninspiring summer, with midfielder Granit Xhaka their only notable signing thus far. If Arsene Wenger decides to stand pat, he will basically be relying on the same cast of characters from last year to finally end their 13-year Premier League title drought.
There’s undeniable talent in this squad. Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are world-class stars who can carry the team for long stretches. Despite his critics, Olivier Giroud is a capable front man. When healthy, the defense is as good as any. They conceded just 36 goals last season, tied for second with champions Leicester. They will also have a lot of depth in midfield.
However, they’re not quite as deep in defense – they’re already having an injury crisis before the start of the season – and up front. An injury to Giroud or Sanchez would be devastating.
If the Gunners can manage to stay healthy for an entire season, they have a good shot of winning the league. But for some reason, they just haven’t been able to shake that injury bug. And with the two Manchester clubs deep at just about every position, Arsenal have a much slimmer margin for error than their main rivals.
After last year’s embarrassing title defense, Chelsea – led by new manager Antonio Conte – is expected to get back to title contention in this campaign. The Italian won three-straight Serie A titles with Juventus in his last stint as a club manager, but he will have significantly more competition in England.
Conte also won’t have the undisputed best squad in the league. Chelsea were unusually silent during the transfer window. They most notably didn’t look to address their most glaring flaw: defense. Captain John Terry is set to be a regular starter alongside Gary Cahill this season, but at age 35, that doesn’t seem like an ideal scenario.
They did make two notable purchases, though. N’Golo Kante – arguably the linchpin of Leicester City’s Premier League championship campaign last season – should form a formidable defensive midfield partnership with Nemanja Matic. Meanwhile, Michy Batshuayi has drawn comparisons with another Chelsea great – Didier Drogba.
Conte is the key man, though. He showed in Euro 2016 that he can get the most out of his squad. And if he can get 2015 PFA Player of the Year Eden Hazard back to his very best, the Blues should be back in the top four at the very least.
Liverpool will be the team to watch outside the top four. The Reds will be in their first full season under Jurgen Klopp, and should be much more in tune with the hard-pressing style their German manager prefers.
Liverpool have some decent options in attack with Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi, Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, and new signing Sadio Mane. Mane should fit right in with Klopp’s pressing style. The midfield should also be strong, with Georginio Wijnaldum joining Jordan Henderson, Emre Can, and James Milner.
The health of Sturridge, though, will likely be what makes or breaks Liverpool’s title challenge. The oft-injured striker is the team’s most talented goalscorer. He showed that by still bagging eight in just 14 appearances last season. If he goes down for another prolonged period of time – which he has in recent years – it’s hard to see them generating enough goals to keep in touch at the very top.
Obviously, staying at the top will be the much tougher task for Leicester City than actually getting to the top. The big guns will all be stronger this season, and just about every team knows the Foxes’ gameplan at this point. Kante is now in London, which is like losing two midfielders. Also, you’d have to think that they’re bound to experience a bit more injuries after being incredibly lucky in that regard last season.
But on the plus side, they’ve held on to Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, who combined for 41 of their 68 league goals last season. The summer signings of Ahmed Musa and Bartosz Kapustka will also provide an much-needed injection of new blood to that attack.
Sure, it’s hard to overlook the Kante-shaped hole in midfield and even harder to imagine what they’ll do if either Wes Morgan or Robert Huth goes down. But no one believed in them last year when they had astronomical +500,000 odds, so why not believe in defending Premier League champions Leicester City at +2,800 to repeat?
Writer’s Prediction
Manchester City (+225) have the best squad and the best manager in the league, and they successfully translate those into a third Premier League title.
