Last Saturday the match between "Manchester United" and "Tottenham Hotspur" kicked off the English "Premier" League. In this 4-article series, it was written about what each club did in the off-season and how each club's chances are evaluated for the upcoming season. Today, the remaining 5 clubs, whose chances of winning the "Premier" League are rated the best, will be reviewed. Liverpool Last season: 6th place in the "Premier" League. History in the "Premier" League: played continuously since the first season, highest place - 2nd (three times). Added to the team: James Milner (for free from "Manchester City"); Adam Bogdan (for free from "Bolton"); Danny Ings (for free from "Burnley"); Allan (for 710 thousand euros from "Inter U20"); Joe Gomez (for 4.9 million euros from "Charlton"); Nathaniel Clyne (for 17.7 million euros from "Southampton"); Roberto Firmino (for 41 million euros from "Hoffenheim"); Christian Benteke (for 46.5 million euros from "Aston Villa"). Left the team: Glen Johnson (for free to "Stoke City"); Steven Gerrard (for free to "Los Angeles Galaxy"); Sebastian Coates (for 2.8 million euros to "Sunderland"); Rickie Lambert (for 4.2 million euros to "West Bromwich Albion"); Iago Aspas (for 6 million euros to "Sevilla"); Raheem Sterling (for 62.5 million euros to "Manchester City"). Bookmakers' predictions: Championship odds of 26 for the "Premier" League. The most talked about this summer was Raheem Sterling's move to the "Manchester City" club. England's vice champions did not hesitate to pay an impressive 62.5 million euros for the 20-year-old player. With this sum, the "Liverpool" club did not splash in the transfer market and added three players to the team who should become starters. The most important summer purchase should be considered the acquisition of Christian Benteke. The Belgian should be the player who will try to fill the gap in the striker position after the 2014 summer departure of Suarez. Although very few strikers could be equivalent replacements for Suarez, Benteke has great potential. At the end of last season, the striker scored 11 goals in the last 11 matches and saved the "Aston Villa" team from dropping to the "Championship" competition. This year he will be surrounded by even more talented attacking players, so the player should have even more opportunities, but obviously this year Benteke will also attract greater attention from opponents. The only player who could cause some doubts is Roberto Firmino. The attacking midfielder from Brazil had an excellent season in the Bundesliga last year and made his debut in the national team, so the player is truly of high class. Doubts only arise about the South American's adaptation to life in England and playing in the "Premier" League. Firmino played for the "Hoffenheim" club, which does not have big goals in the local championships and does not play in European competitions, so the player will have to adapt to much higher demands in his new club. Even after losing Sterling and club legend Steven Gerrard, the "Liverpool" team managed to strengthen its lineup for this year's competitions. After the team's dissatisfactory performances in last year's championship, Brendan Rodgers' proteges will have to show a better performance this year. Another disappointing season in which "Liverpool" does not even make it into the top five could cost the coach and players who are disappointed in the team their jobs. Manchester United Last season: 4th place in the "Premier" League. History in the "Premier" League: played continuously since the first season, highest place - 1st (thirteen times). Added to the team: Sergio Romero (for free from "Sampdoria"); Matteo Darmian (for 18 million euros from "Torino"); Bastian Schweinsteiger (for 18 million euros from "Bayern"); Memphis Depay (for 27.5 million euros from "PSV Eindhoven"); Morgan Schneiderlin (for 35 million euros from "Southampton"). Left the team: Tom Cleverley (for free to "Everton"); Angelo Henriquez (for 1.67 million euros to Zagreb's "Dinamo"); Rafael (for 3 million euros to Lyon's "Olympique"); Robin van Persie (for 5.5 million euros to "Fenerbahce"); Nani (for 6 million euros to "Fenerbahce"); Angel Di Maria (for 63 million euros to "Paris Saint-Germain"). Bookmakers' predictions: Championship odds of 6.5 for the "Premier" League. Although the English "Premier" League has already started, there are still many questions about the future signings or sales of players at the "Manchester United" club. David De Gea, who sat on the bench in the first season matches, caused even more rumors about the possible sale of this player. The team's newcomer Sergio Romero did not concede any goals, but the Argentine played only 10 "Serie A" matches last year, so for a team competing for the title, a higher level goalkeeper in the goal would be desirable. Most of the responsibility for the new season will likely fall on Memphis Depay. The Dutchman arrived after a great season in his homeland and is determined to replace Angel Di Maria. The desire to become the biggest star in the league and a very high level of self-confidence could affect Depay in two ways. The player will either fulfill his expectations and dominate in the "Premier" League, or faced with greater resistance and unsuccessful periods of play, will not be able to withstand the pressure. The other two strengthening acquisitions, Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger, are much more experienced. Schneiderlin has been playing in the "Premier" League for several years and was a leader in his team. The Frenchman seems to be determined to show no less quality in Man United. Meanwhile, the injury-plagued Schweinsteiger has played 500 matches for Bayern in his career and 111 matches for the German national team. If he stays healthy and reaches the appropriate playing form, the German will undoubtedly strengthen the Manchester United defensive line. Although the club still hopes to be active in the transfer market and likely strengthen the team further, many experts already have no doubts that the Manchester City team is capable of making strides in the fight for the "Premier" League title. Louis van Gaal's main task is to maintain the team's concentration and prepare for every game this season - last year the club often dropped points against average teams. In order to fight for the coveted trophies, the Manchester United team must learn this lesson and not repeat it again. Arsenal Last season: 3rd place in the "Premier" League. History in the "Premier" League: played continuously since the first season, highest place - 1st (three times). Added to the team: Petr Cech (for 14 million euros from "Chelsea"). Left the team: Lukas Podolski (for 2.5 million euros to "Galatasaray"), Wojciech Szczesny (loaned to "Roma"), Serge Gnabry (loaned to "West Brom"), Carl Jenkinson (loaned to "West Ham"), Abou Diaby. Bookmakers' predictions: Championship odds of 4.5 for the "Premier" League. Arsenal' club easily won the title of the least changed club this summer. From the end of last season to the first match of the championship, Arsene Wenger added and sold only one player each. This summer, everyone expected Petr Cech to join the team. However, few thought that the Czech would stay in London and move to one of Chelsea's main rivals, the Arsenal team. The experienced goalkeeper should strengthen the defense and further improve the team's chances of winning. Although Cech lost the competition to Thibaut Courtois last season and had little playing experience, the 33-year-old player will try to prove that he is still a top-level goalkeeper. The new "Gunners" purchase will need time to return to his best form and influence the game as he truly can. At the end of last season, Arsenal played excellently and claimed that Arsene Wenger had 200 million pounds to improve the team. Given that the coach has not spent even 10% of this amount yet, we can expect that the club will be very active in the remaining part of the summer and seek to strengthen the gaps in the team. A disappointing start to the championship only fuels the idea that Wenger will have to spend money trying to attract stars to his club. Without them, Arsenal could once again slightly fall short of the season that finally brings another "Premier" League title to the club's trophy cabinet. Manchester City Last season: 2nd place in the "Premier" League. History in the "Premier" League: for 19 seasons, highest place - 1st (twice). Added to the team: Enes Unal (for 3 million euros from "Bursaspor"); Patrick Roberts (for 7.2 million euros from "Fulham"); Fabian Delph (for 11.5 million euros from "Aston Villa"); Raheem Sterling (for 62.5 million euros from "Liverpool"). Left the team: James Milner (for free to "Liverpool"); Dedryck Boyata (for 2 million euros to "Celtic"); Scott Sinclair (for 3.5 million euros to "Aston Villa"); Karim Rekik (for 5 million euros to "Olympique Marseille"); Matija Nastasic (for 9.5 million euros to "Schalke"); Alvaro Negredo (for 30 million euros to "Valencia"), Stevan Jovetic (loaned to "Inter"). Bookmakers' predictions: Championship odds of 3.75 for the "Premier" League. Deciding to part with several unbecoming players this summer, Manchester City acquired two young players for their youth team and two for the main team. However, it seems that only one new face will be a starter in the team. The team did not hesitate to pay 62.5 million euros for Raheem Sterling, so it is naive to expect that after spending such a sum, the "Citizens" will keep him on the bench. Sterling has been a key player for "Liverpool" for several years, but the competition in the "Manchester City" forward line is much greater. The young player will undoubtedly bring speed to his new team's game, but a lot will also depend on this player's attitude towards his work. If a different environment and greater responsibility affects Sterling positively, it can be expected that he will become one of the main figures in the "City" team. The team would least like to see the lack of professionalism that the right-back demonstrated in his last weeks at "Liverpool". For another newcomer to the team - Fabian Delph - it will be much harder to assert himself in the team this summer. He will have to compete with experienced and top-level players, so it is likely that Delph will spend most of his time waiting for his chance. The season is long, and there will certainly be opportunities for the right-back to compete in matches, but a few unsuccessful performances could take away his place from him, even if it is not the most stable in the team. The Manchester City team did not strengthen or weaken in the offseason. The team's newcomer Raheem Sterling brought his pluses to the club, but last season the team was already the most productive in the league but missed out on the championship. In order to reclaim the top spot in the "Premier" League, the "City" will first need to improve their defensive work. If they manage to do this, no one will be surprised if in May Manchester City finishes again at the top of the league table. Chelsea Last season: 1st place in the "Premier" League. History in the "Premier" League: played continuously since the first season, highest place - 1st (four times). Added to the team: Falcao (loaned from "Monaco"); Nathan (for 4.5 million euros from "Atletico Paranaense"); Kenedy (for 8.9 million euros from "Fluminense"); Asmir Begovic (for 11 million euros from "Stoke City"). Left the team: Didier Drogba (free to "Montreal Impact"); Josh McEachran (for 1.04 million euros to "Brentford"); Gael Kakuta (for 6 million euros to "Sevilla"); Thorgan Hazard (for 8 million euros to "Borussia Monchengladbach"); Petr Cech (for 14 million euros to "Arsenal"); Filipe Luis (for 16 million euros to "Atletico"). Bookmakers' predictions: Championship odds of 2.75 for the "Premier" League. The champions of the "Premier" League did not make significant changes to their team's composition. The club replaced players only in the backup goalkeeper and second striker positions. This summer, after the departure of Didier Drogba to continue his career in Canada, the Chelsea club decided to replace him with the not-so-favorable Falcao at Manchester United. If this player had been acquired a year earlier, most would have thought that the Colombian would compete for the main striker position with Diego Costa. However, after an extremely unsuccessful previous season in England, there are questions about whether Falcao deserves a place in the Chelsea team. Trying to at least win the substitute striker role in his new club, the forward will have to occasionally demonstrate the same level of play he showed while representing Porto and Atletico clubs. This summer was unusual for Roman Abramovich's team. Unlike the previous transfer windows, this year the club did not shake up the transfer market by acquiring globally recognized stars. This passive summer period is also complained about by the team strategist Jose Mourinho, so we can expect that the Chelsea team could still surprise by acquiring a star of the first magnitude. However, looking at the team's composition, it is clear that the team is already very well balanced and remains the main contender to defend the "Premier" League champions' title.
