My personal top 5:
1. Manchester United
Hernandez has been great so far. I really think Hernandez, Nani and Rooney will make the difference this season. They play really well together as we saw in the match vs City (in my earlier post). I'm not a huge fan of de Gea but with Ferdinand and Vidic in the heart of their defense he'll have much less to do compared to other goalkeepers. They will be 2011/2012 champions. Period.
2. Chelsea
Hard to predict, but I think they got a slight advantage over ManCity. Allthough I disagree strongly with using Drogba as a sub, I think F. Torres might provewhat he's worth at last this season. If he doesn't, they need to get Drogba in quick or they won't have the offensive power to keep up with the Manchester clubs. They got some great younger players aswell but I find it hard to predict how they'll do when the going get's tough.
3. Manchester City
They'll probably play with Sergio Agüero and Balotelli up front. We all know those are great players but I'm a little worrried about their consistency. I don't think I have to explain why Balotelli worries me but I don't think Agüero's playstyle is completely fit for the Premier League. Man City does have a very promising and strong centerfield though, with De Jong, Yaya Touré, Kolo Touré and Kompany. AsIsaid, I think the lack of consistency means they won't be able to keep up with Chelsea and United in the long run. They got more quality then Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal however.
4. Arsenal.
They just lost one of the best players around to Barcelona. They'll be fine if they keep the selection fit and injury-free. v. Persie is one of those key-players they really need to compete with the other top teams. If one of those key players get's injured (wich is quite likely to happen at some point) they're in trouble. They won't be able to keep up with City, ManU and Chelsea. Gervinho is impressive so far, haven't seen him play alot but he seems very strong and fast, wich is what the Premier League is all about.
5. Liverpool
They got a thing going with Carrol up front and Kuyt + Suarez from the sides. Backed up by Gerrard that's a great team. The defense isn't what it was a few years ago though, but in the end I think they'll be able to keep teams like Tottenham and Aston Villa (# 6 and 7 for me) of their backs.
Key matches early in the season, as you can see Man United has a real tough start, good way to show the world what they're made of and ensure a good position for this season.
20/8 Arsenal - Liverpool
22/8 Tottenham - Manchester United
27/8 Manchester United - Arsenal
28/8 Tottenham - Manchester City
18/9 Manchester United - Chelsea
18/9 Tottenham - Liverpool
