City, United, Arsenal, then one of Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs. If RVP leaves, Arsenal may finish 4th instead.
Hard season to predict though, with 3 of those clubs changing manager, which is primarily why I think the Mancs and Gunners will stay above the rest.
Chelsea: Di Matteo had a worse league performance than AVB last season. Now a fair bit of that was probably because they gave up on 4th in much the same way Liverpool did, and a fair part of that was down to Drogba. I wonder whether DiMatteo has the ability to find a system that helps Torres play better now that the manager must pick him. They have signed a fair bit of talent, but I think they are poor at the back regardless of what system they play, and I feel that Cech is becoming increasingly error-prone. It's hard to make progress when you keep leaking goals - ask Kenny Dalglish!
Spurs - new manager, dangerous hyper-aggressive system, but no strikers. I think they will get off to a slow start and look to do more business in Jan, but they remain a talented side that should not be underestimated. Season on a knife-edge for them - they could climb or fall down the table equally easily.
Newcastle. I think second season syndrome will hit. Not because it's the second season for the club so much as it's the second season for both players whose form was absolutely critical to their success last season. While I expect Ba and Cisse to feature heavily in terms of goals, I do not expect them to repeat their trick of one scoring freely while the other is out of form, and then neatly switching over. Very solid squad capable of picking up 50 points from the rabble in the league, so I think they'll be good for a Europa challenge but not much more as I think they lack the firepower to reach 70 points.
Everton: Can Moyes really get more out of the squad than he already has, especially without Cahill?
Liverpool: Young squad, new manager, fresh ideas, sub-standard fitness and technique. I suspect we will do an Everton - sluggish start, but storming finish. If we're within 3-5 points of 4th at the halfway stage the sides above us better beware. We will play to win and won't sulk if we lose, and this season should serve to put the fight back in this club regardless of where we finish. I think we have enough in the tank to make the CL places, but only if everything really starts to come together by November.
