The World Cup and the early finish of the transfer window has made the summer of 2018 unlike any other in terms of preparation for the new Premier League season.

The availability of top players has depended on how far their countries got out in Russia and it has never been more important to do transfer business early, in an inflated market with a shorter deadline.

With that in mind, Football FanCast have put together a power ranking of the top six, assessing how well they can expect to start the 2018/19 season, from best to worst…

Best – Liverpool

The feel-good factor around Liverpool is higher than at any of their top six rivals after a summer of heavy investment on the back of that exciting run to last season’s Champions League final.

On top of that, Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane were not over-exerted at the World Cup, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson didn’t even go and neither did midfield new-boys Fabinho and Naby Keita.

The Reds have a fairly gentle lead-in to the season, but face Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal in September and October.

There is every chance that the Reds will be rampant by the time those autumnal challenges roll around, provided Klopp can generate some early momentum.

Arsenal

As Arsenal embark on their first pre-season under a new manager for 23 years, they have acted decisively in the transfer market and targeted the three areas in which they were plainly weakest last season; goalkeeper, centre-half and holding midfield.

Whether Bernt Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Lucas Torreira are of sufficient quality remains to be seen but there are reasons for optimism, another one being that key men Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette were not out in Russia.

Facing Manchester City and Chelsea in his opening two fixtures is as tough a start as Unai Emery could have asked for but if he sees those games out without all the early optimism eroding, a fast start could be on the cards.

Manchester City

The reigning champions have a young, hungry squad well-attuned to the demands of Pep Guardiola, so major surgery was never likely to be needed.

Securing Jorginho to replace Yaya Toure and offer cover for Fernandinho and David Silva’s aging legs would have pretty much rounded off Guardiola’s summer’s work already, but the existing squad is more than good enough to compete as it is.

Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling are among those who will return late but Leroy Sane has had a full summer off and Sergio Aguero was hardly overexerted in Russia, so Guardiola will have enough available to him to get off to a strong start. Beating Arsenal on the opening day would be a statement of intent.

Chelsea

Chelsea’s summer of inertia looked to have put them right to the back of the queue as they embark on the unenviable task of clawing themselves back into the top four with a squad that slumped so far off the title-winning levels of 2016/17.

However, the belated arrival of Maurizio Sarri has galvanised the club and his expansive brand of football should get the players and fans excited.

Snaring Jorginho from under Manchester City’s noses is a boost but the prolonged absences of Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois and the uncertainty over their futures means there are still plenty of question marks.

Sarri has got a lot to do in a short space of time but it feels as if he may be able to turn Chelsea around, and they do generally tend to win the league immediately after a season of abject failure.

Tottenham

Tottenham have been typically inactive in the transfer market and the World Cup has robbed them of a host of players in pre-season, while Heung-min Son must play at the Asian Games early in the campaign.

Furthermore, there has been a delay with their new stadium which will force them to play some early-season matches at Wembley, which is less than ideal.

The clubs fans are beginning to get understandably tetchy but Mauricio Pochettino and Harry Kane have recently signed long-term deals in north London, underlining their belief that the club will continue to progress.

However, Spurs and Kane are both notoriously slow starters and they could well be out of the title race again before it has even started. Given Pochettino’s staunch believe that the Premier League is one of only two trophies worth winning, that represents a real problem.

Worst – Manchester United

The World Cup represented a welcome break from Jose Mourinho’s constant moody outlook but as soon as it was over, the Portuguese was straight back to his old ways, declaring United’s pre-season ‘very bad’ before it had even kicked off.

Missing players as a result of Russia’s summer showpiece appears to be his main gripe – as if the rest of the league isn’t affected – and the usual pre-season optimism that every fan of every club has been nowhere to be seen.

Juan Mata, Alexis Sanchez and Anthony Martial would likely make up United’s attack for the opening game of the season against Leicester but the Frenchman could easily have left the club by then.

Pre-season negativity, a lack of signings in key areas and Mourinho’s propensity to combust in his third season at a club all point to a bad start that could snowball into a full-blown crisis by Christmas.

The only saving grace is that – a visit from Tottenham aside – United’s first six games look reasonably gentle.

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