Who can knock Manchester City off the EPL summit?

EIGHTY-THREE days after winning the English Premier League (EPL) title with some ease, Manchester City will take to the field to defend their crown against 19 other teams as the new season of English football's top division gets under way this weekend.

Unsurprisingly, bookmakers in Singapore and around the world have installed the Citizens as the runaway favourites to retain their championship.

BT Weekend assesses Manchester City's chances of clinching a fourth EPL success in five seasons, and the three closest challengers most likely to give them a run for their money.

Manchester City

Just when you thought Manchester City already had one of the most talented squads in the top flight, the champions went on to shatter the EPL transfer record to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for an eye-popping £100 million (S$188 million).

The Citizens could even break that record once more before the transfer window closes at the end of the month as they continue their pursuit of England captain Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester City sauntered their way to the summit last season, and with the pacey Grealish in the line-up (and possibly Kane to follow suit), manager Pep Guardiola has a wealth of attacking options at his disposal that few opponents will be able to keep at bay.

Winning the Premier League is almost second nature to City these days, and once they get into their groove, they are simply irresistible to watch and almost impossible to stop.

The Citizens begin their title defence away to Spurs on Sunday (11.30pm kick-off, Singapore time), followed by a pair of home games against Norwich and Arsenal later this month.

Chelsea

The newly crowned kings of Europe now firmly have their sights set on a first league championship in five seasons.

Chelsea have also been busy in the transfer market, adding Belgian and Inter-Milan striker Romelu Lukaku to a squad that won the Champions League in May. The 28-year-old - who was at Chelsea for three years from 2014 to 2017 but made just 15 appearances in total - returns to Stamford Bridge for a reported club record fee of £97 million.

Since he came on board in the middle of last season, manager Thomas Tuchel has transformed the Blues into legitimate title contenders. The German tightened things at the back (11 clean sheets in the club's final 19 matches) and brought the best out of his attackers such as Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic.

Fresh from defeating Spanish side Villarreal to lift the UEFA Super Cup in midweek, Chelsea start their EPL quest at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday (10pm), before they head on the road for two sizzling games later in the month at Arsenal and Liverpool.

Liverpool

Last season was one to forget for the deposed EPL champions. The Reds never managed to reach the giddy heights of their record-breaking title-winning season in 2019/20, nor did they recover from the loss of star defender Virgil van Dijk for virtually the entire campaign.

With Joe Gomez and Joel Matip also out of action, manager Jurgen Klopp had a tough time tinkering with his leaky defence, trying out different centre-back partnerships built around the likes of Rhys Williams, Nathaniel Phillips and Ozan Kabak.

The first-choice defenders are now back in training and working their way back to full fitness, although it will be still some weeks before they can play together. Liverpool have plugged the gap by signing Ibrahima Konate from Germany's RB Leipzig for a fee of £36 million.

The Reds will be buoyed by how they ended last season with a flourish, going on a 10-game unbeaten run (taking 26 points from a possible 30) that elevated them from mid-table to eventually finish third and secure Champions League qualification.

That said, a side with Liverpool's history and pedigree means they will usually hover around the top four throughout the season, and they can never be ruled out of a serious title charge. Klopp's men kickstart their season with an away tie at Norwich City (Sunday 12.30am), followed by home games against Burnley and Chelsea.

Manchester United

The Red Devils finished second in the league last season, 12 points behind neighbours Manchester City, and lost the Europa League final to Villarreal after a penalty shootout.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the United board worked hard during the summer to reinforce the squad, adding two major signings in the form of Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho and Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane. With a combined transfer fee in excess of £115 million, their arrivals have raised the mood and confidence at Old Trafford that - just maybe - the glory days of winning trophies are not too far away.

Solskjaer, who was given a new three-year contract last month, knows he must end the club's four-year trophy drought very soon. It is also eight years since the Red Devils last won the EPL title, in Alex Ferguson's final year in charge.

Manchester United open the new campaign at home to Leeds United on Saturday (7.30pm), with a first full house at Old Trafford in 17 months as nearly 73,000 fans are set to pack the stadium.

After Leeds, United have a somewhat favourable run of fixtures as they face Southampton, Wolves, Newcastle, West Ham and Aston Villa over the next six weeks.