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.
But this has been happening consistently in every season Manchester City is the champion whereas Arsenal finished the season in the second position. We've seen this happen two seasons in a row. Last season, Liverpool had a great stay at the number one position in the points table until the middle of the season, but they could not maintain their consistency from the middle of the season to the end of the season, due to which their position moved slightly down the points table. Arsenal also competes hard with Manchester City.
Last season, Arsenal battled Manchester City to the last match and went into the last match to win the Premier League title, defeating Manchester City by just one point. This season will also see Manchester City and Arsenal compete, with the addition of Liverpool.