Which of the Top 6 Teams Has the Strongest Squad for the 2017/2018 Season? Manchester United?

[GM K]

Now that the transfer window is over, comparing man for man; attack for attack; midfield for midfield; defence for defence; and bench for bench, which of the top 6 squads do you consider to be the strongest for the 2017/2018 season?

Of course, being the strongest does not always mean winning is inevitable, but I'm keen on knowing who we think has got the strongest squad in the league.

 

[Macern]

Man Utd

 

[Schmiznurf]

Definitely us.

 

[Scarecrow]

I think it's City, overall. I don't think there's much between our starting XI, Chelsea's and Tottenham's (maybe they're slightly behind) but our squad is wider, it feels like.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I think it's close between us and City with Chelsea creeping in too.

 

[jetlee]

On paper City's squad is the best, but it doesn't mean too much, because I think it could have been said in the last 4-5 seasons as well, and they've got just one League win in that timeframe to show for it.
This season changing too many from their first 11 can be their downfall or so I hope. Second for me is United with Chelsea at 3rd place.

 

[YzWayne]

A team can have the best player in every position on paper but will be useless if there is no understanding between them. there must be balance in the team.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Pound for pound balance wise probably United.

 

[arthurka]

Us and City. But I would go for us as it seems we have better defensive cover..

 

[Adisa]

City
Us
Chelsea
Arsenal/Spurs
Liverpool

 

[KirkDuyt]

On paper City, but United won the first three so United obviously. Can't you leave the last part of the topic title out? It looks silly.

 

[DWelbz19]

Three way battle between Chelsea, City, and United. Spurs aren't lagging that far behind, and whilst Liverpool are so much weaker defensively their attack is just as good as the rest.

It's going to be another very closely matched PL season, I think.

 

[Irrational.]

Definitely City on paper. Whether they gel or develop any cohesion remains to be seen.

 

[EyeInTheSky]

I think a winger like Mahrez would have solidified the claim.

 

[Ødegaard]

Spurs have a great 11, but meh players behind those. Means they can win with luck on the injury department.

Chelsea have a great 11 with quality behind some positions and they have Hazard. They can obviously win it.

City have a good on-paper squad but have massive balance issues in midfield. Can blow both ways.

United have a good 11, some quality behind some positions but lack a proper left-side. Can blow both ways.

Ultimately, we might have the best squad, but we do for sure have a major weakness in it that hasn't been addressed which can see us ending 6th again if Lady luck isn't on our side.

 

[sincher]

Just to put some PL squads up here for comparison. Tried to cut them off where players are unlikely to play more than 5 games:

Courtois, Moses, Alonso, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger, Kante, Bakayoko, Pedro, Hazard, Morata (Fabregas, Cahill, Zappacosta, Drinkwater, Willian, Batshuayi, Christensen, Caballero)

Lloris, Aurier, Rose, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Sanchez, Wanyama, Dembele, Eriksen, Alli, Kane (Dier, Son, Llorente, Trippier, Davies, Lamela, Winks, Vorm, Foyth, Janssen)

Ederson, Walker, Mendy, Kompany, Otamendi, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, D.Silva, B.Silva, Sane, Aguero (Danilo, Stones, Gundogan, Sterling, Jesus, Yaya, Mangala, Bravo)

Mignolet, Clyne, Robertson, Lovren, Matip, Can, Henderson, Mane, Coutinho, Salah, Firmino (Lallana, Alexander-Arnold, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wijnaldum, Klavan, Moreno, Milner, Gomez, Sturridge, Solanke, Karius)

Cech, Bellerin, Kolasinac, Mustafi, Koscielny, Xhaka, Cazorla, Sanchez, Ramsey, Ozil, Lacazette (Giroud, Elneny, Walcott, Welbeck, Mertesacker, Holding, Iwobi, Coquelin, Chambers, Ospina)

De Gea, Valencia, Shaw, Bailly, Jones, Matic, Pogba, Mata, Mkhitaryan, Martial, Lukaku (Rashford, Ibrahimovic, Herrera, Smalling, Rojo, Lindelof, Darmian, Carrick, Lingard, Fellaini, Blind, Romero)

Pickford, Coleman, Baines, Keane, Williams, Gueye, Schneiderlin, Bolasie, Sigurdsson, Rooney, Sandro (Jagielka, Martina, Holgate, Klaassen, Vlasic, Calvert-Lewin, Davies, McCarthy, Mirallas, Lookman, Besic, Funes Mori, Lennon, Stekelenburg)

One thing I would say is our depth stands out, but the quality of the top 6 is fairly similar across the board. A lot will depend on the star players and the solidity of the defences. Maybe injuries too.

 

[sincher]

Spurs have a great 11, but meh players behind those. Means they can win with luck on the injury department.

Chelsea have a great 11 with quality behind some positions and they have Hazard. They can obviously win it.

City have a good on-paper squad but have massive balance issues in midfield. Can blow both ways.

United have a good 11, some quality behind some positions but lack a proper left-side. Can blow both ways.

Ultimately, we might have the best squad, but we do for sure have a major weakness in it that hasn't been addressed which can see us ending 6th again if Lady luck isn't on our side.

Liverpool have a good 11, with one of the best attacks in the league. Their defence (and keeper) doesn't look great, but if they can hold it steady, who knows? Leicester won the league with a weaker looking defence not so long ago.

 

[DannyDee]

City or us. This may be biased, but I'd give us a slight edge, as City's big question marks are in the spine of their team, while ours are caused more by width. In general, I'll side with the team that has the better G-CBs-CMs-#9 combo. All teams but Arsenal can realistically challenge for the title. I'd probably go.

Us
City
Tottenham
Chelsea
Liverpool
Arsenal.

Tottenham might have the best starting 11 and spine, but I question their depth. I don't really like Liverpool team makeup. An amazing attack, but I question their midfield, cbs and goalies.

 

[GBBQ]

Liverpool have a good 11, with one of the best attacks in the league. Their defence (and keeper) doesn't look great, but if they can hold it steady, who knows? Leicester won the league with a weaker looking defence not so long ago.

The Watford match summed it up; scintillating attack, useless defense. There's a huge pressure on the attack to outscore the opponent in every game and thats not really an ideal way to win a title.

 

[sincher]

Spurs depth looks as good as all the others except us, I would say. We have the strongest second XI, but we need our first team to play much better than last year.

 

[Bobcat]

Liverpool have a good 11, with one of the best attacks in the league. Their defence (and keeper) doesn't look great, but if they can hold it steady, who knows? Leicester won the league with a weaker looking defence not so long ago.

Leicester played/plays it very safe and often sit deep and counter, Liverpool on the other hand play a much higher line and are completely useless at defending set pieces.

Not writing them off completely, but their attack is quite a bit better than their defense

 

[sincher]

The Watford match summed it up; scintillating attack, useless defense. There's a huge pressure on the attack to outscore the opponent in every game and thats not really an ideal way to win a title.

I agree with you, just wouldn't put them out of the picture at this stage. There is a chance they could find an answer - their back four has not really settled yet. Maybe Robertson will change it at LB, maybe Gomez could even replace Lovren? Maybe they start playing Can and Milner to make the midfield more solid?

 

[Z_Wolf]

Winning the league is way more complicated than just having the strongest squad

 

[DannyCAFC]

United or Chelsea for me look the most balanced and strongest all-round squads, City have a plethora of attacking options but win the PL it'll be in spite of their defence, whilst Spurs I think lack the depth with their attacking options and midfield that other sides do. Liverpool are great going forward but midfield they're probably still behind others and their defence is particularly lacking and are worse in the GK department than all the other teams, whilst Arsenal also lack defensive options and their midfield hasn't been great.

 

[Infra-red]

City have the strongest squad and I'd make them favourites for the title.

Chelsea and Spurs have stronger first XI's than we do, but in terms of overall squad depth, it's pretty close, so it will be a question of how well they keep their key players fit.

I think the most likely scenario is a City-Chelsea 1-2 while we battle it out with Liverpool and Spurs for the two remaining CL places.

 

[M Bison]

I think a winger like Mahrez would have solidified the claim.

Agree with this. I think had we signed a RW i'd put us favorites but without i fancy City over us, and Chelsea at least on a par, possibly better, depending on how Morata does.

 

[Ødegaard]

Liverpool have a good 11, with one of the best attacks in the league. Their defence (and keeper) doesn't look great, but if they can hold it steady, who knows? Leicester won the league with a weaker looking defence not so long ago.

Yeah, I just didn't want to include them. Obviously they also can win it.

 

[EyeInTheSky]

Agree with this. I think had we signed a RW i'd put us favorites but without i fancy City over us, and Chelsea at least on a par, possibly better, depending on how Morata does.

I see Chelsea finishing above city. We Just have to make sure we finish above both of them

 

[lysglimt]

this might seem harsh - but can we really talk about the big 6 anymore ? Arsenal are on paper far behind the others now

 

[sincher]

this might seem harsh - but can we really talk about the big 6 anymore ? Arsenal are on paper far behind the others now

Bit premature considering they finished ahead of us last season?

 

[shaky]

this might seem harsh - but can we really talk about the big 6 anymore ? Arsenal are on paper far behind the others now

considering that us, Liverpool and Chelsea have all finished lower in the past few years than Arsenal have in decades, I think it's a bit soon to be kicking them out of the conversation.

 

[Manchester Dan]

I think a lot is made of the City defence that's over exaggerated. We only conceded 6 more goals than the Champions Chelsea last season, who are considered to play a relatively defensive game. All while have Sagna, Clichy, Bravo in the side, and Kompany injured for all but 11 appearances.

Then consider we've added Mendy, Walker, Danilo and Ederson across the back line - every single one of them a significant improvement on the player they're replacing, and I don't think we are in terrible shape at the back. Mangala has also stayed so we've an extra CB option (instead of Kolarov). It's not a disaster at all.

Our weakest position is DM rather than CB, Yaya and Fernandinho are both aging, and Gundogan still hasn't played a game since his injury. I wouldn't be surprised to see Stones given a run of games there at some point.

 

[Bestietom]

On Paper it looks as City have the strongest Squad, but as a Team ( 11 Players) I think that we would be up there against anyone.....

Yes, With a bit of luck and no big injury concerns,I really do think it will be our year to bring back the Premiership trophy to Old Trafford...

 

[RoyH1]

We do. City's defense is suspect and they lack bite in midfield

 

[POF]

City have a fantastic squad. Their defence is questioned but they've spent close to £250m on their 6 defenders other than Kompany. Fernandinho, Yaya, Gundogan, De Bruyne, D Silva in midfield. B Silva, Sterling, Sane out wide and Aguero/Jesus up front. That is just pure quality.

Compare that with Chelsea who are winning leagues with Cahill, Alonso and Moses in the team and very little depth, City really should be blowing them away.

Many say Liverpool lack depth too but their reserves have a lot of talent. Van Dijk, Bertrand, Gabbiadini, Tadic and Romeu are all worthy of being summoned to the first team.

 

[I Believe]

I'm keen on knowing who we think has got the strongest squad in the league.

I suppose it depends on what you mean by the 'strongest' squad?

I think we have overall a better 'balanced' squad and in terms of top players we are 'nailed down' with De Gea, Matic and Pogba in their respective positions.
Liverpool and City have improved, but whilst Liverpool its mainly mid-field and with City mainly upfront, both still have problems in defence.
With Chelsea, the loss of Costa and Matic seriously weakens them, but Morata and their other buys could help stabilise, but if anything not much stronger overall than last season... but they won the title, so are still the team to beat!
Spurs have the 'strength' in terms of consistency, Trippier good substitute for Kyle, but still don't have a 'back up' squad, although they are looking to improve, the Wembley hoodoo also needs to be laid to rest soon!
Arsenal, well its looking distinctly chaotic, the Ox has gone, Sanchez is just about ready to throw his toys out of the pram, Danny Welbeck still making and missing glorious chances on a regular basis and Arsene still doesn't believe you need to have a decent defence to win the PL?
Everton seem to have strengthened, although if this mornings story about Rooney is true, Koeman will have his head in his hands already!

For me, we've all 'bunched up' a bit, in terms of 'stronger squads' but its Chelsea who are still the team to beat, but I think we can do it!

 

[diarm]

Keepers
United
Chelsea
Spurs
City=Arsenal
Liverpool

Full/Wing Backs
Chelsea=Spurs=Arsenal=City
United
Liverpool

Centre Backs
United
Spurs
City=Chelsea
Arsenal
Liverpool

Centre Midfield
United
Chelsea
City=Arsenal
Spurs=Liverpool

Attacking Midfield
Spurs
United=Liverpool
City
Arsenal
Chelsea

Wide Attackers
City
Chelsea
Liverpool
Arsenal=United
Spurs

Centre Forward
United=City=Spurs
Liverpool=Arsenal
Chelsea

Overall Squad
United
City
Spurs
Chelsea
Arsenal
Liverpool

 

[VancouverUtdFan]

United have the most balanced squad out of the contending teams topped with José as manager which is hard to bet against.

Not saying United will win the league as a lot of factors go into that but they do have the best balance in terms of no major flaws or disproportions compared to some of the other clubs. Structure/core for the most part is there and strong enough to carry the load on route to a potential EPL title.


...I believe it'll be a 3 way race in no particular order between United, Chelsea and City at the top, followed by Spurs and Liverpool fighting for that 4th spot. United have the most world class/elite players in comparison to those teams so in terms of star power they have the advantage which should give them an edge. City could have added Sanchez but didn't materialize. In terms of movement on the transfer deadline, worked out great for United in that no rival got a big upgrade to match or best United's overall starting+squad balance, quality, and depth, allowing for José and United to not make any moves to compete with the rest. Definitely the best case scenario for United and have to be the winners considering that all the other rivals couldn't get what they wanted and underachieved in that sense.

 

[Oneunited26]

City have the strongest squad and I'd make them favourites for the title.

Chelsea and Spurs have stronger first XI's than we do, but in terms of overall squad depth, it's pretty close, so it will be a question of how well they keep their key players fit.

I think the most likely scenario is a City-Chelsea 1-2 while we battle it out with Liverpool and Spurs for the two remaining CL places.

So chelsea with their lack of depth are in a better position than us? hmmm, while city seems to be no better than last year. Its like chelsea 06-11 all over again, chelsea are fave despite the edge united had during those years was over looked. A peak Jose Mourinho side is very hard to stop, like we saw 2005,2006,2009,2012,2014, they're a rival's nightmare, even if united are 75% of the way, they got a deep squad with a more effective way of hurting sides even without that magic winger mourinho wanted

Keepers
United
Chelsea
Spurs
City=Arsenal
Liverpool

Full/Wing Backs
Chelsea=Spurs=Arsenal=City
United
Liverpool

Centre Backs
United
Spurs
City=Chelsea
Arsenal
Liverpool

Centre Midfield
United
Chelsea
City=Arsenal
Spurs=Liverpool

Attacking Midfield
Spurs
United=Liverpool
City
Arsenal
Chelsea

Wide Attackers
City
Chelsea
Liverpool
Arsenal=United
Spurs

Centre Forward
United=City=Spurs
Liverpool=Arsenal
Chelsea

Overall Squad
United
City
Spurs
Chelsea
Arsenal
Liverpool

Overall I agree, you look at that united spine, its a monster

DDG
jones, bailly
matic pogba
mkhi
lukaku

You could not get a better set of players to go into a battle. fullbacks, wingers our only weakness which plagued us last year. If martial and rashford can get that extra 15% higher, that is one area I really think will solve our major problem, wingers stretching the play. The key part in our title challenge, we have a strong spine to dominate games, and that is the hallmark of a title winning team

 

[slored1]

City lack a good centre-back and a defensive midfielder to be considered as the best. Chelsea has a very good squad, probably needing just someone else instead of Drinkwater in the middle (Matic). Spurs are solid, but mentally weak.
So I would say it's between us and Chelsea.