After witnessing one of the closest and most keenly contested title races in years, the bar has been set incredibly high for the Premier League next season.
In August, defending champions Manchester City will launch their bid to complete a hat-trick of EPL titles, whilst last season’s unlucky runners-up Liverpool will hope to build on a campaign that saw them earn a staggering 97 points in 2018/19.
The remaining members of the Premier League’s established top six are also likely to invest heavily during the summer, as they look to mount their own assault on the title. But who are the key contenders to win the next installment of the England’s top division, and which team will eventually prevail?
1. Manchester City
We start with Manchester City, who have arguably become the best side in Europe under the stewardship of Pep Guardiola. The Spaniard has overseen consecutive Premier League title wins in the last two years, whilst his record-breaking side have earned an incredible 198 points from a possible 228 during this time in charge.
The Citizens will certainly start next season as favourites to complete a hat-trick of titles, with most bookmakers pricing them as favourites to win a record-breaking 3rd crown and if you regularly take up sports betting online, you won’t normally be let down if you back Pep’s side to win each week.
Of course, the Blues will need to replace departing captain Vincent Kompany, who left the club after 11 glorious years to become player-manager at Anderlecht. Signing an understudy for the influential Fernandinho is also a key priority for Guardiola, whilst introducing another striking option may also help the club to cope with the demands of another tough season ahead.
2. Liverpool
Liverpool’s current soccer odds of winning the title next season are around 3/1, which is a relatively competitive price given the Reds’ incredible performance last season, and given the fact they recently claimed European football’s top prize.
Aside from an impressive win in the European Champions League, Liverpool managed to finish second with 97 points and went through the 38-game season with just a single defeat (and even this came against eventual champions Manchester City.
The Reds were ultimately let down by a poor run of form in the spring, when they won just one of five away games in the league and were held to disappointing stalemates at West Ham, Manchester United and Everton respectively.
Signing a top-quality centre back to partner Virgil Van Dijk could help the Reds cause next season, whilst an additional striking option to replace the ineffective Daniel Sturridge may also create an X-factor that could help Liverpool to win their first top-flight title since 1990.
3. Chelsea
With Arsenal, Manchester United and arguably even Spurs at something of a crossroads, we reckon that Chelsea are the most likely to challenge last season’s top two in 2019/20.
Sure, the Blues need significant investment and may be poised to lose manager Maurizio Sarri to Juventus in the summer, but Chelsea is a club that’s in permanent transition and boasts enough experience to navigate difficult times.
Of course, the loss of talisman Eden Hazard may represent a more difficult obstacle to overcome, but the signing of exciting U.S. prospect Christian Pulisic and the development of young English prospects Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will offer hope to Chelsea fans during the off-season.
Ultimately, it’s hard to look past last season’s top two when considering the potential champions in 2020, but Chelsea are arguably the best-placed to mount some form of sustained challenge.
