On the other hand, Aston Villa under Unai Emery this season will make it difficult for their opponents, but the trophy will still be difficult to pursue.
I will not expect too much from Chelsea and Aston Villa. However, if they want to pursue 4th position at the end of the standings, they can achieve it.
I agree that Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool will be the top 3, the order is uncertain. But let’s remember, if the PL teams do well in Europe this season then top 5 will be good enough to get a CL place for next season.
In that scenario, excluding Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool, there would be an extra two CL qualification places.
In essence, the top four positions or places for several teams to finish in the Champions League zone are still very open, although I am also aware of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal who have a big chance in the top three but that will not fully guarantee them to stay in the top three until the end of the season. Because of course, throughout this season it is very possible that unexpected events will occur, and if their key players are injured and or they experience a decline in performance, then their results will not be optimal for several matches later.
For that reason, I am sure that the top zone position will still be open to teams that really manage to maintain their consistency. Because teams that do not manage to be consistent, of course they will struggle to get or be able to be in a good position at the end of the season. At least Chelsea has shown improvement with their new manager this season Enzo Maresca and about Aston Villa, they have had good performance since last season too and this season they still managed to have good performance too even in the Champions League too.