Premier League 2018-19: BBC Sport pundits pick champions and top four
No team has managed a successful defence of the Premier League title since Manchester United in 2009 - but will this season be different?
That is the aim of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, a winner of three consecutive league titles in both Spain (Barcelona, 2008-11) and Germany (Bayern Munich, 2013-16), who saw his side finish 19 points clear of the pack last time out.
But who will challenge them in 2018-19? Can big-spending Liverpool mount a serious challenge? Will Manchester United narrow the gap? Can Tottenham improve? And are Chelsea and Arsenal contenders after changing their managers in the summer?
We asked 24 BBC TV and radio pundits to pick their top four with explanations for their selections.
The predictions were made on the basis of how each squad shaped up on Wednesday, 8 August, before the opening weekend of the season, but two days before the deadline for incoming transfers and with the potential for players to leave up until the transfer window shuts in the rest of Europe at the end of August.
Ian Wright -(1)Liverpool (2)Man City (3)Man Utd (4)ArsenalRuud Gullit (1)Liverpool (2)Man City (3)Chelsea (4)Man Utd
Martin Keown-Liverpool-Man City-Tottenham-Man Utd
Dion Dublin -Man City-Man Utd-Liverpool-Tottenham
Joleon Lescott-Man City-Liverpool-Man Utd-Arsenal
Matthew Upson-Man City-Liverpool-Man Utd-Arsenal
Alan Shearer-(1)Man City (2)Liverpool (3)Man Utd (4)Tottenham
Charlie Adam-Man City-Liverpool-Man Utd-Tottenham
Paul Ince-Man City-Liverpool-Chelsea-Man Utd
Jermaine Jenas-Man City-Liverpool-Tottenham-Man Utd
Chris Sutton-Man City-Liverpool-Tottenham-Man Utd
Leon Osman-Man City-Liverpool-Tottenham-Arsenal
6 teams feature in the forecasted top 4, and only Manchester City and Liverpool nampak sebagai peberet.
| Overall predicted ranking, using all BBC predictions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(using system of 4 pts for a 1st place, 3 pts for 2nd, 2 pts for 3rd and 1 pt for 4th) Alan Shearer: It has been a long time since anyone won back-to-back titles but I think City will win the Premier League again because of Pep - he won't want their standards slipping. He will play exactly the same way and they are going to be very hard to stop, although I think Liverpool and United will both be a lot closer to them this time.Paul Ince: Guardiola is a serial winner - you can see that from the way he rants and raves on the touchline demanding more even when his team are two or 3-0 up. That is his mentality, and his players buy into it. 
Ian Wright: I want this season's title race to be more spicy and I think it will be. If Liverpool can get some impetus, then we don't know how Manchester City will react under pressure if a team can stay close to them at the end of the season.
You also have to consider that Liverpool are City's Kryptonite. That's why I am backing Jurgen Klopp's side to pip them to the title.
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| 1. Man City | 2. Liverpool | 3. Man Utd | 4. Tottenham | 5. Chelsea | 6. Arsenal |
| 93 pts | 74 pts | 34 pts | 18 pts | 15 pts | 6 pts |
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