Liverpool ended a 30-year wait to be champions last season but can they successfully defend their Premier League crown?
That is the next target for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, whose side finished 18 points clear of nearest rivals Manchester City last time out. So who will challenge them in 2020-21?
How will City respond after losing their title? Can big-spending Chelsea narrow the gap? Will Manchester United sustain a serious title bid for the first time since they last finished top in 2013? And can Arsenal, Tottenham or anyone else break into the Champions League places?
Before a ball is kicked in the new campaign, we asked 25 BBC TV and radio pundits to pick their top four with explanations for their selections.
| Predictor | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Waddle | Man Utd | Man City | Liverpool | Chelsea |
| Alan Shearer | Man City | Liverpool | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Alex Scott | Man City | Liverpool | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Pat Nevin | Man City | Liverpool | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Michael Brown | Man City | Liverpool | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Micah Richards | Man City | Liverpool | Man Utd | Chelsea |
| Rachel Brown-Finnis | Man City | Liverpool | Man Utd | Chelsea |
| Chris Sutton | Man City | Liverpool | Man Utd | Chelsea |
| Lindsay Johnson | Man City | Liverpool | Man Utd | Chelsea |
| Rob Green | Man City | Chelsea | Liverpool | Man Utd |
| Ruud Gullit | Man City | Chelsea | Liverpool | Man Utd |
| Mark Schwarzer | Man City | Chelsea | Liverpool | Man Utd |
| Jermaine Jenas | Liverpool | Man City | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Karen Carney | Liverpool | Man City | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Danny Murphy | Liverpool | Man City | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Martin Keown | Liverpool | Man City | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Sue Smith | Liverpool | Man City | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Stephen Warnock | Liverpool | Man City | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Leon Osman | Liverpool | Man City | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Matthew Upson | Liverpool | Man City | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Clinton Morrison | Liverpool | Man City | Chelsea | Man Utd |
| Mark Lawrenson | Liverpool | Man City | Man Utd | Chelsea |
| Dion Dublin | Liverpool | Man City | Man Utd | Chelsea |
| Joleon Lescott | Liverpool | Man City | Arsenal | Man Utd |
| Ian Wright | Liverpool | Man City | Chelsea | Arsenal |
Five teams feature in the forecasted top fours, but only Manchester City and Liverpool feature in all 25. Tottenham, who 21 out of 24 pundits picked to finish third last season, do not make anyone’s pick anywhere this time.
In terms of who will win it, Liverpool are favourites, with 13 votes. Manchester City get 11, and Manchester United one. The overall predicted ranking gives a different outcome, however.
| Overall predicted ranking, using all 25 BBC predictions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Man City | 2. Liverpool | 3. Chelsea | 4. Man Utd | 5. Arsenal |
| 86 pts | 84 pts | 44 pts | 33 pts | 3 pts |
(using system of 4 pts for a 1st place, 3 pts for 2nd, 2 pts for 3rd and 1 pt for 4th)
