Manchester City are the odds-on favourites to secure a historic fourth consecutive English league title, but it’s anyone’s game after that. Strap in – the next 12 months could veer in one of many different directions
Mark White
Last season brought a smashing of the Big Six, with the status quo scattered up and down the table as the unusual suspects put a stake in the ground. Will the Premier League revert back to type, with the heavyweights all rising to the top this season? Or is this the start of something new, with smaller sides continuing to compete?
While several of their rivals floundered, however, Manchester City were reliably extraordinary. It’s time to do it all again: Erling Haaland is waking up from hibernation, Jack Grealish has just about caught up on his sleep and Pep Guardiola is about to emerge from his tactical bunker once more, armed with another masterplan. Following their Treble triumph, City are chasing more history: in 130 years, not even your great-grandad has seen a team storm to four English top-flight titles on the trot. Who’s ready to stop this super side from being the first?
Rarely before have so many had the nerve. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal came the closest last time around, his young guns firing as apprentice almost unseated mentor in the dugout. Dropping £170m on Declan Rice and Kai Havertz shows an ambition to go again.
The other goliaths are bouncing back. Jurgen Klopp has reshaped Liverpool. Erik ten Hag has Manchester United’s squad all pulling in the same direction. And Chelsea and Tottenham each have new managers, and new playing styles, as they seek to reverse their negative momentum. In 14 full campaigns of the so-called Big Six, created by the Abu Dhabi Group’s takeover of Manchester City, the 2022-23 season was only the second time that two of those half-dozen teams have failed to qualify for Europe.
Newcastle, meanwhile, had no flux to speak of. The moneyed Magpies were relentless and riveting in equal part, and represent the best of the outsiders who have rattled the establishment. Brighton and Aston Villa, too, were shrewd and smart, ultimately qualifying for Europe with phenomenal campaigns. They’ll each believe they can push even further now.
London clubs are also resurgent, and not just the Europa Conference League-winning West Ham. Crystal Palace finished their campaign with a flourish under Roy Hodgson, while Fulham and Brentford had stellar seasons featuring pace, power and prolific forwards who fired their sides into the top half. Could more European football be heading to the capital?
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