The 2024/25 Premier League season is underway, and if the first six matchdays are anything to go by, we’re in for yet another mouth-watering title race. Whilst Manchester City have dominated the English top-flight in recent years under Pep Guardiola, they face a tall task as they look to extend their dynasty and claim an unprecedented fifth championship in a row. One only needs to take a look at the odds provided by the top football bookies in the UK to see that this season’s title is anyone’s guess.

Today, we’re taking a look at the main candidates for the Premier League title.

Liverpool

Liverpool looked set to challenge for a quadruple in their final season under Jurgen Klopp, but the pressure of delivering the perfect farewell seemingly took a toll on the players. Their form fell off a cliff in the final months of the 2023/24 season, exiting the Europa League and FA Cup at the hands of Atalanta and Manchester United, dropping points in five of their last eight league matches, and finishing a distant third.

Today, however, the Reds find themselves perched atop the league table after a near-perfect start. Apart from a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, Liverpool have won each of their first seven matches under Slot, conceding just twice in league play. They haven’t won a league title in front of their own fans in 35 years…could that be set to change?

Manchester City

Manchester City have often treated the Premier League like their own playground, pinning their opponents back and overwhelming them with quick-moving, passing combinations. However, the past few weeks have indicated that they could be in store for a far more challenging campaign.

City suffered a killer blow in the opening minutes of their match against Arsenal on September 22 as Rodri was forced to withdraw due to injury. They relinquished an early lead and, despite playing with an extra man for the second half, looked headed for a shock defeat at home until the final second, when John Stones snatched a point for the reigning champions. The Cityzens were held to a 1-1 draw to Newcastle in their following match, and with Rodri set to miss the rest of the season with an ACL rupture, they’ll be forced to make do without one of their most important players as they look to add to their trophy cabinet.

Arsenal

It wasn’t long ago that Arsenal were forced to endure back-to-back eighth-place finishes, but today, they find themselves as a veritable challenger for both the Premier League and Champions League crown. The Gunners led the table for 248 days in 2022/23 but nevertheless finished second in the title race behind City, and the following season, they were in pole position to take home the title, only to relinquish their advantage after losing to Aston Villa and end up missing out on the title on the final day to City.

Mikel Arteta’s side have lost just two matches since the start of March and have emerged as a reliable, organized team that is capable of holding firm defensively against the counter, generating dangerous opportunities in set-piece situations, and gutting out ugly wins in adverse scenarios. They’re getting closer and closer and closer, and as Bukayo Saka has indicated, the optimism is there for them to win their first league title in 21 years.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on us but I do think that this is the year [Arsenal win the title],” Saka told CBS Sports. “I think we’ve been close the last two years and we’re getting closer, but this hopefully will be the year.”

Chelsea

It has been a strenuous few years for Chelsea fans. The Blues finished a dismal 12th in the 2022/23 Premier League season, prompting the board to hire Mauricio Pochettino as their manager. After a fairly slow start, Pochettino managed to string together some momentum in the final weeks, guiding them to a sixth-place finish. It wasn’t enough to keep his job — Chelsea sacked him and brought in Enzo Maresca.

Fresh off leading Leicester City to the EFL Championship title, Maresca hasn’t taken long to rejuvenate a beleaguered fanbase. Chelsea sit fourth in the table, two points behind Liverpool, one point behind Arsenal and City, and level on 13 points with fifth-place Aston Villa. They boast the best attack in the league, and in Cole Palmer, they may just have a once-in-generation footballer who is capable of leading them to their first title in eight years.

Aston Villa

When Unai Emery took charge two years ago, Aston Villa were hovering above the relegation zone. Today, they have staked a claim for themselves as one of the most coherent units in the Premier League, having qualified for Europe in consecutive years. After reaching the UEFA Europa Conference League semifinals and finishing fourth in the table, Villa are not only participating in Europe’s premier competition for the first time in four decades, but they’re also making a push for their first league title since 1981.

Over the past 12 months, they’ve beaten Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal (twice), and whilst they missed a chance to go top of the table after drawing to Ipswich at the weekend, there’s reason to believe that the Villans can make this season’s title race an epic free-for-all in the English top division.