Premier League top 6 prediction: Where does your team rank?

After the first weekend of competitive football graced us for another season, there was one underlining factor across the majority of the Premier League: there is a considerable lack of defending.

It appears that the level of defending has dropped year after year and it looks like we could reach a new low. To birth the new season, Arsenal entertained Leicester in a 4-3 thriller at the Emirates which emphasised the lack of concentration at the back.

While it was a spectacle and got fans excited, their rivals would have noted down the Gunners’ lack of discipline in their defence. The same can be said for the majority of teams in the league.

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However, it could well be that whichever team masters their defence and can sustain that form will be lifting the Premier League trophy come May next year.

Yahoo Sport takes a look at how the top six will look come the end of the season.

Champions – Manchester City

On paper, Pep Guardiola possesses the greatest squad in the whole of the Premier League. The attacking flair is sublime and the recent additions of three new, sparking full backs is going to make the Spanish coach incredibly happy.

Questions will be asked whether the new players can gel quickly into the first-team, but, providing they can, it will be an incredibly hard task in stopping City this season.

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Their sheer strength in depth is incredible and the fact that Guardiola has had 12 months to settle in and for his players to understand his methods is a huge bonus.

There will be a far greater sense of cohesion in City’s camp and that should make their rivals very worried of what they can achieve this season.

Second – Manchester United

Manchester United have recruited well this summer with Nemanja Matić, Victor Lindelöf and Romelu Lukaku coming in.

There is still a noticeable gulf in quality between Guardiola’s squad and José Mourinho’s but, as seen by their opening day performance against West Ham, they can certainly punish teams.

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The Red Devils’ squad depth is certainly growing, but it does not look likely to be deep enough to compete in all competitions. They will run City close, but are likely to just miss out.

Third – Tottenham

Tottenham have the best starting XI in the Premier League, but they proven quality off the bench.

It would be a surprise if they improve on their second-placed finish last season, and with their lack of new recruits, Spurs are likely to suffer domestically as they aim to improve their European performance.

If Harry Kane is forced out of contention through injury then there are very little out-and-out goal scorers who can come in and replace him. While they managed to cope last season, given their competition has grown immensely, it might not be enough to maintain their winning ways.

Fourth – Liverpool

While Jürgen Klopp still might have to part ways with Philippe Coutinho before the end of the transfer window, the cash regenerated from a potential move to Barcelona should be enough to find an adequate replacement.

Whether they can bring that replacement in quick enough is another story, but they should have their targets in mind already given the Brazilian has handed in a transfer request.

The Reds’ attacking force is one of the best in Europe and this is how Liverpool are going to come through and win the majority of their games.

If they can also sign Virgil van Dijk before the end of the window from Southampton, this will give Klopp – and their fans – a lot more confidence for the rest of the season.

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Fifth – Arsenal

Arsenal might not be in the Champions League but they are in the second-tier European competition – the Europa League. While they might not be taking it as seriously as Manchester United did, it will still impact their domestic form.

Given the Gunners’ squad is not blessed with never-ending options, a few injuries could really damager Arsène Wenger’s aspirations of a top four finish and some.

Alexis Sánchez’s future still appears to be up in the air and if they lose him to a major rival, like Manchester City, this could have a devastating destabilising effect on the Arsenal squad.

Sixth – Chelsea

It is not a farfetched statement to suggest that there is unrest behind closed doors at Chelsea, which could well be the catalyst for yet another disappointing and chaotic season ahead.

Diego Costa’s omission from the Chelsea team has come to a surprise for many, but not as much as it had to the Spanish international when he revealed he received the message via text message.

With the Blues failing to get Costa off their books so far, it could well be another turbulent few weeks for Chelsea. An opening weekend loss at home to Burnley will plant seeds of doubts into the players’ minds, and things will only go from bad to worse if lose to Tottenham at Wembley this weekend.

With the lack of signings to date and selling a lot of first-team players, Chelsea, with the addition of a European competition, will fall off drastically this season in a repeat of 2015-16 under Mourinho.