Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he is “optimistic” about his team’s prospects in the Premier League this season but he has tried to play down talk that it will be another two-horse race between the Reds and Manchester City.

There was a sizeable points difference between the top two and the rest of the league last campaign, but Klopp was keen to emphasise the competitiveness of the other four ‘big six’ clubs:

“We are not that far ahead. That’s always a misunderstanding of the points tally of last season. We played Chelsea — I don’t know how many points more we had, I really don’t, but we played them four times and we didn’t win one game against them. It’s not because we are bad that day, no, we were really good in those games, but over 90 minutes each time, before the penalties [in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals], we never won, so Chelsea are incredibly strong.”

“You have to look at Tottenham, and what they are doing at the moment. They didn’t get worse this year. Arsenal are still there, Man United with a new start, all these kind of things.”

It will be interesting to see how things turn out. Chelsea are playing catch-up in the transfer market so it’s unlikely that manager Thomas Tuchel will have his best eleven in place for the start of the season.

United are starting another campaign under a new manager and it may take some time for Erik ten Hag’s ideas to bed in. Arsenal, meanwhile, have been busy improving their squad this summer but their main ambition will be to finish in the top four.

For many, Tottenham could be the dark horse. They have strengthened their team and, in Antonio Conte, they have a manager who has won the Premier League before.