How will each Top 6 team fare in the Premier League this year?

The English Premier League starts today, the 10th of August, and all around England, teams are preparing for the long, gruelling season ahead of them. Every team will aspire to do well, especially the top 6 teams, who have all got great players and could all realistically win the Premier League.

Every team has equipped themselves with new signings, except for Tottenham Hotspur. In this article, we will review every Top 6 team's most likely starting 11, along with an analysis and their chance of winning the Premier League.

Disclaimer: This article puts forth the views of the author.

#6 Manchester United

As we have been constantly reminded this summer, it is Jose Mourinho's 3rd season in charge at Old Trafford, the season in which he always collapses. The Special One has been trying to change up the squad for this crucial season, especially the midfield, right-wing, and center-back.

While Brazilian midfielder Fred has been signed from Shakhtar Donetsk, a deal which the Red Devils hope will bring the best out of Paul Pogba. Besides that, no progress has been made besides Diogo Dalot, a young Portuguese defender who can play on both flanks and is seen as a possible Antonio Valencia replacement.

Jose Mourinho has been chasing after Toby Alderweireld but to no avail. Willian, Jose's favourite player, was also been linked with Manchester United to help the club on the right wing, an area in which only Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard are able to perform in.

No offence to either of the two players, but Willian's performances have just been better than the 2 others, making it clear why the Portuguese manager was so eager to have Willian join Manchester United.

Unfortunately, with Deadline Day past us, Willian will not be able to reunite with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United this summer.

Manchester United Possible Starting XI 2018/19

Strengths: An exceptional, strong centre-striker in Romelu Lukaku will definitely help the club score goals. The club also has one of the best, if not the best, goalkeeper in the world in David De Gea.

Their midfield is stockpiled with creative players who can give Romelu Lukaku brilliant scoring opportunities. Their left wing is stockpiled with brilliant players, meaning that Jose Mourinho has tons of options on the bench for their attack.

Weaknesses: While preseason can never be a proper guide, the Red Devils only won 2 games in the entire preseason, while also drawing to several teams who are not of the same standard, such as Club America and San Jose Earthquakes.

That alone is enough for a serious loss of morale among the Red Devils, and Mourinho's pessimistic comments about his 3rd season failures will just add to the lack of belief in the red half of Manchester.

Expected finish: 6th. In football, mental preparation can be just as important as preparing physically. Also, the self-proclaimed Special One has always had a terrible 3rd season with all of his previous clubs, so why should the 2018/19 season be any different for Jose and the Red Devils.

#5 Arsenal

Arsenal will be led by a new manager this season

Arsene Wenger has finally left Arsenal after 22 years and 17 trophies. His successor Unai Emery is certainly ambitious and determined, as was illuminated by his rapid-fire transfer dealings.

While these players can definitely help the team come back into the UEFA Champions League, it could take a year or so for Emery to adjust to England and their footballing style.

That is not saying that the ex-PSG boss won't do a good job. With a good core in players like Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and a good stopper at the back with Bernd Leno, this Arsenal team can definitely make a really good attempt at finishing in the Top 4.

Enter captio — Arsenal lining up in Unai Emery's preferred 4-3-3

Strengths: Arsenal has plenty of good options up front, plus a few serviceable backups. They also have a decent goalkeeper in Bernd Leno. The club also has Sokratis, who had a pass completion percentage of 86.9 last season, which could be useful in starting attacks from the back.

Weaknesses: The club will need to acquire more bench options, or else they could be in deep trouble as their key players will all need rest by mid-season and having to play a far weaker 11 could cause them a world of harm and make them drop a lot of points.

Expected finish: 5th. It may be difficult for Unai Emery to settle into English football, and lack of depth could be their Achilles heel.

#4 Chelsea

Chelsea is the second and final top 6 team to have a change in manager. Their new boss, Maurizio Sarri, has arrived in a time of turmoil for the Blues. With star man, Eden Hazard, constantly linked with Real Madrid, the club could possibly be in serious trouble.

Hazard is not the only one of Chelsea's star players linked with Los Blancos. Thibaut Courtois, who won the FIFA World Cup Golden Glove, has just completed a move to Real Madrid.

They already missed out on Russian starlet Aleksandr Golovin, and still are looking for a striker to replace their misfiring striker Alvaro Morata. Since Thibaut Courtois has left the club, the team have signed Kepa Arrizabalaga for £71 million as a replacement.

Strengths: The club has a great super sub in Olivier Giroud, who can be utilized to great effect. Their fullbacks are both very impressive in going forward.

Weaknesses: The club's constant change in managers has made it hard for players to figure out tactics and apply them quickly and effectively.

Expected finish: 4th. Chelsea has a huge chance of reaching the Champions League and their quiet summer this time around could be like 2016/17, where a quiet summer transfer window subsequently resulted in a Premier League win.

#3 Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur supposedly had a terrible transfer window, as they were the only Premier League team to finish without a single signing. However, the transfer window could actually be looked upon as a success.

Sure, no new players joined the North London club, but they managed to tie down players like Harry Kane and Dele Alli, while also preventing Toby Alderweireld from moving to Manchester United.

While foreign clubs are still allowed to sign him, a deal with a foreign club would be far better for Spurs than selling him to one of their rivals. Also, Leicester City won the 2015/16 Premier League season with 5000/1 preseason odds.

Why do people think that Spurs can't do the same? Spurs actually have a better squad than Leicester did in 2015/16, so why are they constantly being doubted? In fact, the only difference I can see between the 2 teams is the support.

Through thick and thin, the Foxes' supporters stuck with their club. Meanwhile, Spurs fans(myself included) have been completely attacking Daniel Levy. While some of the anger does make sense, due to the lack of transfers, the man just gave Harry Kane and Mauricio Pochettino new contracts. There needs to be some respect.

Strengths: Spurs have possibly the best striker in the Premier League in Harry Kane, plus brilliant providers in Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen. Son Heung Min adds a bit of firepower on the left wing, as demonstrated by his 12 goals in 2017/18.

The club has potentially one of the best centre-back pairings in the English Premier League in Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. The team also have Hugo Lloris, who recently was captain of the French World Cup team.

Weaknesses: The team lacks a dynamic, box-to-box midfielder as both Moussa Dembele and Wanyama aren't of that sort of mould. They also don't have a good striker option besides Harry Kane, so if he gets injured, then the squad just don't have a natural goal-scorer. The team also don't have many quality right-backs besides Kieran Trippier.

Expected finish: 3rd. While the team may not have made any signings, they did extend many player's contracts. Also, the winter signing of Lucas Moura could definitely help as he begins his first full season of English football. While the team may not be serial title winners yet, they definitely have the quality to make the title race only end on the very last match day.

#2 Liverpool

Liverpool will be quite a force to reckon with this season

With Mohamed Salah, the Premier League Golden Boot winner in tow, there is no telling just how far the Merseyside club will go. The club has also decided to sign many players who can definitely help strengthen their bench.

With a new goalkeeper in Brazilian Alisson Becker, the mistake-filled days of Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius may be over, making his €62.5 million price tag, a record for a goalkeeper, completely worth it.

With signings like Xherdan Shaqiri bolstering the squad's depth and making sure that the loss of a key player such as Sadio Mane will not weaken the squad too much and cause them to drop points.

However, the most important signings have been their 2 midfield signings, Naby Keita and Fabinho. Their current first-choice midfield is James Milner, Jordan Henderson, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

James Milner is currently 32 and turns 33 in January, and Oxlade-Chamberlain is indefinitely injured. Keita is currently one of the best young midfielders in the world and was linked with some of the best clubs in the world, including FC Barcelona.

The same goes for Fabinho, who was originally linked with Liverpool's rivals Manchester United. The fact that Liverpool was so attractive to the Brazilian proves that Manchester United wasn't as attractive in Fabinho's eyes as Liverpool was. Fabinho can also fill in as a right back if required.

Strengths: Exceptional attack and speed on the wings will make the team tough to handle for fullbacks of opposition teams. The club's midfield is dynamic and has impressed in preseason.

Weaknesses: The club are lacking in their centre-back depth, and also are in need of a striker super-sub, as Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi have failed to impress Jurgen Klopp and the Anfield crowd.

Expected finish: 2nd. The club's midfield and depth on the bench should see the club through to another nail-biting finish, although the club may slip up again and lose the title at the last second.

#1 Manchester City

Coming off the back of a rampant title-winning season, Pep Guardiola's men are definitely on a high as they come into 2018/19. With new additions like Riyad Mahrez, the club could actually be better than they were last year, which is saying something considering that they finished with a record-breaking 100 points by the end of the season.

With Pep Guardiola, one of football's finest managers, at the helm, the club seem only to be getting better and better. Unless the club starts really badly, it is practically impossible to see them out of the Top 4 and not challenging for the Premier League title.

One more thing that could hamper them is the Fernandinho situation. The Brazilian is 33 years old and does not have many years left on the top. If the club does not replace him soon, their defensive midfield could be terrible, filled with mediocre replacements, which could plague them for years to come.

Strengths: Their flanks, especially the right wing, have plenty of cover and pace which could come in handy. The club has two brilliant attack-minded midfielders in Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva and their playmaking ability will help them out in many situations.

Weaknesses: Their left-back is a little shaky, considering that Benjamin Mendy was out injured for most of last season. Defensive midfielder Fernandinho is slower than he used to be, and that could be potentially dangerous for the Citizens during the season.

Expected finish: 1st. The blue half of Manchester is bursting with confidence following their spectacular 2017/18 Premier League win and subsequent Community Shield win. While the Community Shield might be just an annual curtain-raiser, starting the season with a trophy in hand is always a good way to raise confidence.

Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh