): Brendan Rodgers' side could be best equipped to break the top six this season. They currently sit third after an unbeaten start, have had Caglar Soyuncu step up to help ease the loss of Harry Maguire (
more on him here) and have plenty of promise in attack, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison with the potential to provide for Jamie Vardy - a player thriving again under Rodgers' management. If they can pick up points against the big boys (they have already drawn with Chelsea), then they are in with a chance.
Wolves (): A team that looked genuinely close last season, Europa League involvement could derail their chances. The competition affected Burnley last term and Wolves' talented squad has already shown signs of struggling to cope with the demands of Thursday-Sunday football on a regular basis. With qualifying, their season started in late July and they are yet to register a league win, with three draws and a loss (all following midweek European games). Now they have qualified for the group stages, it could continue to affect their league form and see them loitering around mid-table.West Ham (): Manuel Pellegrini's side look to have got a 20+ goal a season striker in Sebastien Haller, but will that be enough to push them towards the top six? As well as the £45million Frenchman, they have a talented attack with Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini, Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko, who will be like a new signing after his injury last season. Their defence is where question marks will be raised but early season performances suggest they could be in the top half of the table and pushing for Europe.Everton (): Looking at Everton's attack, you would expect plenty of threats in the final third. But a drought in pre-season spilled into the early stages of the campaign and they scored just one goal in their opening three matches. Marco Silva's side picked up their second win at the weekend though, with Richarlison scoring a brace in a 3-2 win over top-six rivals Wolves. The Brazilian took a while to get going after international duty in the summer, but if he, Alex Iwobi, Moise Kean and co. can find their shooting boots they could be a real force. Only five sides have collected more points in the calendar year and their home record was a real positive for Silva's men to take into 2019/20 - they just now have to improve on the road.Verdict:
While a gap has opened between the top two and the rest of the Premier League in the last couple of seasons, the 'best of the rest' are closing in on the remaining sides in the big six. Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have all shown frailties and if they slip up too often the likes of Leicester, Everton and West Ham could be there to punish them.
Those sides on the fringes need to start taking points off the big guns and, if they can do that, they are in with a real chance.
In our outright preview, we tipped Leicester for a good campaign and we are happy to stick with them as the most likely side to break the monopoly, but top four could be a step too far at this time.
Brendan Rodgers' side could keep up the pace and make it too difficult for Chelsea to catch them in the top six and, who knows, a year out of Europe may be beneficial to Frank Lampard's side in their development.
Top four: Man City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal ()
Top six: Man United () and Leicester ()