Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa to become part of the new order

Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa to become part of the new order

The good news for football fans is that this Premier League season is becoming one of the most competitive ever.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, two members of the affluent and aristocratic cartel, are no longer in the running. I don’t see these two getting back into the running for a spot in Europe thanks to their league standing.

All season long, Liverpool has been in control, and I think Arne Slot is a better fit than his obnoxious and whiny predecessor, Jurgen Klopp.

Sometimes, Mikel Arteta’s embarrassing Arsenal flatters to deceive. Are they all that good, really?

I certainly have my doubts, although that’s not to take anything away from the Toon’s performance against the Gunners at the Emirates earlier in the week.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest are this season’s surprise package and former Newcastle striker Chris Wood is their goalscoring talisman.

After a decent couple of months under new boss Enzo Maresca, Chelsea have shown recent vulnerabilities.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City seem to be on the slide. These blips often happen to once dominant sides but I think the 115 charges relating to Man City’s finances are also taking their toll.

Just like us, Aston Villa have aspirations of challenging the established order. They are going to be hovering around the top six come the end of the campaign.

Teams like Fulham, Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton have proved they are well worthy of their top flight status.

In the long run this is going to make things so much harder for traditionally well supported teams like Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland, to ever gain a foothold in the EPL, if or when they ever get there.

Southampton have been a club in decline for a while. When they inevitably go down this year there will be no swift return like last season.

My other two tips for relegation are Leicester City and Everton.

There has been no real new manager bounce at the King Power Stadium since the appointment of Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

Everton have turned to David Moyes once again, to try and revive their flagging fortunes. I honestly cannot see Moyes turning things around and a lot of their supporters appear unhappy that he’s returning.

Then finally to Newcastle United and what I think lies in store.

Well, I think we are going to win all of our next four Premier League games (Wolves, Bournemouth, Southampton, Fulham) for starters. Eddie’s team are playing with supreme confidence and flair again.

In the remainder of the season we still have to go to Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and Villa. We’ve got Chelsea and Forest at home.

These six clubs are now our main rivals.

This is how I think the top six will look at the end of the season.