The Premier League is almost here and the one thing that would be on everyone’s mind would be the story of Leicester City. The Foxes created history not only by lifting the Premier League title last season but by defeating a lot of the top clubs and scripting one of the greatest stories ever in the annals of football.
There was a lot of drama for Claudio Ranieri’s men but another team also had a similar story, albeit it did not end all that well for the side as they stuttered to a third-placed finish in the Premier League.
Tottenham had a decent season and should have finished second but lost out to Arsenal on the last day that should not be a disappointment for the side, after all, they are back in the Premier League and it did create a pretty good base for something better this season.
Spurs and Leicester were the two teams that defied the odds last time around but can they do something similar this season as well?
Spurs are building something but is it enough?
Tottenham brought in a couple of decent signings in Vincent Janssen and Victor Wanyama but other than that there really aren’t a lot of players coming in, well not at the moment at least. The loss of Paul Mitchell from the side could harm a few of their transfers but the side have stated that he will stay until the end of this transfer window.
The Premier League side would also be looking to do well in the UEFA Champions League, a competition they would be returning to after a number of years. Mauricio Pochettino knows that he has to ensure the club finish in the top four for the campaign to be considered mediocre; he probably has to do a lot more than that.
The Foxes are out to bite the others
Leicester City lost out on N’Golo Kante but has brought in a number of decent signings like Nampalys Mendy and Ahmed Musa. The biggest victory that the side have had is in keeping Riyad Mahrez, at least for this season at least.
The Algerian was the difference between a lot of clubs and with the pace of Jamie Vardy and Ahmed Musa in the side as well, they could end up scoring a lot of counter-attacking goals this time around as well.
Both clubs seem to have done decent deals in the summer but there is going to be a lot of competition for the top four spots this season.
Manchester United and Manchester City look good for a top two spot already while Arsenal have brought in Granit Xhaka, who might just be one player but that is the kind of player who can certainly turn things around for the club and could push them even higher than a top three place.
Liverpool and Chelsea do not have to worry about European football and they can solely concentrate only on the Premier League, which did work a treat for the Reds under Brendan Rodgers a few years ago.
The biggest test of the two teams, Leicester and Tottenham, would be how they deal with the UEFA Champions League games. Leicester did not have to worry about this last season while Tottenham did not pay a lot of attention to the earlier stages of the Europa League but the latter stages did cost them a decent run in the Premier League as well.
Mauricio Pochettino and Claudio Ranieri are two of the smartest managers around but this season might be a little too much for them to overcome. Every club in the top eight or even top 10 seems to have strengthened this time around and for Spurs and Leicester to do well and finish similarly to what they did last season, they would need a miracle.