The race for the Premier League top four this season

The Premier League top six is more competitive than ever and with only four Champions League spots to play for, someone is guaranteed to miss out.

If we consider Manchester City and Liverpool as the established top two at this moment in time, that leaves two more spaces to fight for. 

We’ve looked into the other four squads of Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United to assess their chances ahead of the new Premier League season.  

 

Chelsea 

Chelsea were an ever-present member of the top four last season and from gameweek one to 38, they never dropped out of a Champions League spot. 

Plenty has changed since last season though with Romelu Lukaku, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have all leaving the club. 

Lukaku endured a bitterly disappointing season back at Stamford Bridge last season as he only scored eight Premier League goals. 

Chelsea will be hoping that the introduction of Raheem Sterling will spark their attack into life.

Sterling scored 13 goals last season at a rate of 0.55 per 90, which was better than anyone in the Chelsea squad last season.  

Defensively they will be hoping that Kalidou Koulibaly is good enough to fill the boots left by Antonio Rudiger. 

Last season Chelsea had the third best defensive record in the Premier League as they only conceded 32 goals.  

 

Spurs 

Antonio Conte breathed a new lease of life into Spurs last season and with his first summer transfer window with the club, they could take one step further this season.  

The addition of Richarlison gives them more depth in the final third as he averaged a goal every 253 minutes for Everton last season.  

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min have proved to be one of the best partnerships the Premier League has ever seen and you can bank of them delivering again this season. 

Son was the second biggest xG overperformer last season with an overperformance of 6.6 goals.  

Last season Spurs lost five of their first 10 league matches and so if they can start stronger this time, they are capable of being up and around the top of the table. 

 

Arsenal 

Last season Arsenal had the luxury of no European football, which they won’t be afforded this season as they will be in Europa League action. 

That being said, Mikel Arteta has been backed in the summer transfer window with several quality additions. 

Alexandre Lacazette was the second biggest xG underperformer last season in the Premier League and he has been replaced with Gabriel Jesus. 

Last season Jesus averaged 0.38 goals per 90 playing on the wing and so if Arteta is planning to use him through the middle, he could be presented with even more opportunities.  

Oleksandr Zinchenko is another addition Arsenal have made this summer and his versatility could prove to be useful as he could slot in at left-back or in midfield. 

 

Manchester United 

Perhaps the biggest wildcard of this season is Manchester United. 

Fresh off the worst Premier League season they have ever had, Erik ten Hag has come in with fresh ideas. 

Last season United averaged 1.52 points per game and conceded 57 goals which was more than any other top six side.  

Uncertainty also currently surrounds last season’s top goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 31% of United’s goals last season. 

It looks as if Anthony Martial is back in the frame after two frustrating seasons at Old Trafford. 

The Frenchman’s best season at United came in 2019/20 where he scored 17 Premier League goals. In this season Martial was the fourth biggest xG overperformer, with an overperformance of 6.1 goals.  

The addition of Christian Eriksen will also look to offset the loss of Paul Pogba.  

For Brentford, Eriksen averaged 2.7 key passes per 90 and was one of the most creative players in the league during the second half of the season.