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Premier League
Liverpool – Premier League champions 2019/20 – have had one of their worst starts to the season in years, dropping points against Brighton, Everton and Fulham, whilst also suffering a 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa. They have already conceded 18 goals, more than almost any other side in the league; yet they still sit second.
Tottenham are the only team ahead of them right now, with Jose Mourinho seemingly recapturing the magic of
His early years at Chelsea and turning Heung Min-Son and Harry Kane into the two best players in the league, with the latter getting 10 assists and 9 goals, the most contributions of any player in the league.
At the other end of the table, the bottom three is beginning to look increasingly clear. Sheffield United are still without a win, sitting on just one point; a complete collapse from the plucky side that managed to finish in the top half last season.
West Brom are the only team who look worse than Sheffield United at the moment, but even they have picked up six points, despite a squad that looks like it would struggle to even push for promotion from the Championship.
It may seem futile to try and predict the table when the season so far has been anything but predictable. Arsenal sitting in 15th and Southampton currently sitting in the Champions League spots shows this to be true, but we are going for it anyway.
Tottenham, currently sitting top, are perhaps seen by many as not quite ready to challenge for the title, with the side running hot and likely to falter soon. This is probably true to some extent and they may not manage to get the title this year, but they are almost certain to get top four.
Liverpool may have suffered some shock results, but still look as though they are the side that are most likely to take the title. With Chelsea being the other surprise contender at this early stage.
Manchester City – despite winning the title twice in the last three years, breaking the 100-point barrier in one of those – are in 9th place and do not look like picking up the kind of form to carry them to the title. They may only be six points back, but they are probably unlikely to take the title. At current, it is likely that Liverpool will claim back the title, Tottenham will come second and Chelsea will come third. Manchester City are likely to claim the final Champions League place.
The first Europa League place is likely to fall to Manchester United, who currently sit in 8th, whilst Leicester are likely to claim sixth. Everton, who have suffered a mixed set of form in the early season – despite young English striker, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, proving to be one of the best strikers in the league.
Southampton and Wolves are likely to finish not far behind, with West Ham also in the mix to finish in the top half.
Arsenal are likely to struggle to turn around their form and whilst they currently look like relegation candidates, they will likely turn it around enough to finish 12th. The likes of Leeds, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are also likely to find themselves in the dead zone of 10th-15th.
In the relegation battle, Fulham, Burnley, Brighton, West Brom and Sheffield United are the candidates to go down; of those, Sheffield United and West Brom look dead and buried already, with Burnley the most likely to follow them down to the Championship.
Looking across to other divisions, the Championship will likely see Norwich and Bournemouth return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, with either Swansea or Watford joining them after a play off victory.
La Liga
La Liga looks looked over just days ago, but after Real Madrid beat their local rivals, Atletico in the Madrid derby. It is still likely that Atletico will take the title however, with Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Barcelona making up the remaining Champions League places.
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich already look to have the Bundesliga title wrapped up, with Dortmund struggling early on and sacking Julian Favre after a 5-1 defeat to newly promoted Stuttgart; Leipzig are likely to come second.
Champions League
The Champions League is more interesting, with many big teams struggling to make an impact early on. PSG, Juventus and Barcelona all look unlikely to win the title, the same goes for Real Madrid.
Looking to the Premier League, Manchester City and Liverpool are the most likely to put a challenge together, whilst Atletico are in a good position to finally win the tournament.
Whilst Bayern Munich are the favourites to retain their title, it will probably go elsewhere; Atletico Madrid are perhaps best placed.
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Calum Paton is a History and Politics graduate from the University of Warwick and he is currently studying a MA at the University of Law. His writing predominantly focuses on American and British politics. Twitter: @Paton_Calum
