The new Premier League season gets underway this Friday evening when Crystal Palace take on Arsenal, signalling the start of nine months of drama and excitement.

Sportsmail is bringing you a comprehensive preview of every side in the division and assessing how their fortunes could fare over the season.

You can read Part One and Part Two. The third part here covers Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle.

Manchester City won a fourth Premier League title in five seasons - but can they do it again?

LEICESTER CITY

Arrivals: None

Departures: Vontae Daley-Campbell (Cardiff City, free); Tyrese Shade (Swindon Town, free); Will Russ (Fleetwood Town, free); Jacob Wakeling (Swindon Town, free); Callum Hulme (released); Edin Jakupovic (released); Khanya Leshabela (Crewe Alexandra, loan); Ben Nelson (Rochdale, loan)

Good summer?

Well, if Leicester fans expected a cavalcade of new faces through the door, they will have been sorely disappointed. Leicester are the only club in Europe's top five divisions not to buy anyone so far this summer.

Even worse, they've got Newcastle United sniffing around key creator James Maddison and Chelsea targeting impressive defender Wesley Fofana and we're a long way out from deadline day yet.

It all feels like something of a crossroads for Brendan Rodgers and the Foxes, who could only finish eighth last season when many expected them to push for Europe.

Will continuity prove more important than shiny new signings and Leicester put together a top six challenge? Or will frustration creep in as the Rodgers era quickly turns stale?

Success would be…

Everything clicking again and Leicester finding the consistency of results to give the settled top six a run for their money.

Remaining injury free would be a good start after the likes of Fofana, Jamie Vardy and James Justin spent chunks of last season on the sidelines. Keeping Maddison would also be handy - Leicester want £60m for him.

They hurt enough of the big teams to steal a top six spot and get back into Europe, or they replicate their FA Cup success from 2020.

Disaster would look like...

They lose Maddison and Fofana to offers they can't refuse, leave it too late to bring in replacements and decline into mid-table mediocrity.

Patience is lost with Rodgers and it's back to the drawing board after the progress that has been made in recent years.

The man in charge: Brendan Rodgers

If Leicester fail to get back into the European places, you can see the final whistle blowing on Rodgers' time in charge.

He will mitigate a mid-table finish by saying that he wasn't backed in the transfer market but the rot may already have set in.

Still, Rodgers has plenty of fire in the belly and if there's one club that has surprised us in the past...

The key man: James Maddison

18 goals and 12 assists in all competitions last season underlined just how important Maddison is to Leicester's attack and it's little wonder Newcastle would like him.

Leicester are demanding top dollar and it's an appreciation of how important he is. He will be very hard to replace if they lose him.

Sportsmail's prediction: 9th

With no new signings, it's hard to see how Leicester have improved. Expect a small, but frustrating, regression.

LIVERPOOL

Arrivals: Darwin Nunez (Benfica, £85m); Calvin Ramsay (Aberdeen, £6.5m); Fabio Carvalho (Fulham, £7.7m)

Departures: Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich, £35m); Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest, £16m); Takumi Minamino (Monaco, £15.5m); Ben Davies (Rangers, £4m); Rhys Williams (Blackpool, loan); Owen Beck (Famalicao, loan); Divock Origi (AC Milan, free); Loris Karius (released); Sheyi Ojo (Cardiff City, free); Ben Woodburn (Preston North End, free); Elijah Dixon-Bonner (released); Luis Longstaff (released); Sean Wilson (released); Conor Bradley (Bolton Wanderers, loan); Adam Lewis (Newport County, loan); Billy Koumetio (Austria Wien, loan); Vitezslav Jaros (Stockport County, loan); Marcelo Pitaluga (Macclesfield, loan); Anderson Arroyo (Alaves, loan); Tom Clayton (Swindon Town, undisclosed)

Good summer?

After their dreams of the Quadruple ended in disappointment during the final week of last season, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool have evolved ready to have another pop.

The long-standing Mane-Salah-Firmino forward line is no more following Mane's departure to Bayern Munich but the signing of Darwin Nunez, though far from cheap, should compensate for anything lost in terms of firepower.

Any shortcomings are miniscule in this slick and well-practised side, who combine incredible technical quality with an unbreakable resolve.

Liverpool's summer has been a positive and forward-looking one and, ultimately, there's no question they are the best equipped to take the title fight to City again.

Success would be…

Winning it all. Liverpool showed remarkable stamina to keep fighting on all fronts last season but came up just short.

Nunez adapts to the Premier League better than Haaland does and bangs in the goals to keep Liverpool's noses in front of City at the top of the table.

They have enough strength in depth to make it through to another European final. You wouldn't put any of that past them.

Disaster would look like…

Haaland haunts them like the Frankenstein footballer he is, smashing in goal after goal while Liverpool's new-look front line fails to fire.

They suffer another freak defensive injury crisis and begin to leak annoying goals. Either scenario could see them slip back in a title race of fine margins.

It really is hard to see them not winning anything, however, or finishing lower than second.

The man in charge: Jurgen Klopp

Allayed fears that he might walk out when he extended his contract through until 2026 during the heat of the Quadruple chase last season.

The greatest challenge for any manager is to refresh their team and keep them moving forward. Klopp will hope his new front line will achieve that.

The win over City in the Community Shield is a nice little early season boost.

The key man: Darwin Nunez

Liverpool didn't dawdle in replacing Mane, quickly wrapping up the £85m signing of Uruguay international Nunez from Benfica within days.

It's a hefty price tag and it may weigh heavily as he makes the step up to English football. Mane scored 23 goals in all competitions last season and Nunez will be expected to match or exceed that.

Sportsmail's prediction: 2nd

Will push City hard but like last time they may come up just short.

MANCHESTER CITY

Arrivals: Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund, £51m); Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United, £50m); Stefan Ortega (Arminia Bielefeld, free)

Departures: Raheem Sterling (Chelsea, £47.5m); Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal, £45m); Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal, £32m); Gavin Bazunu (Southampton, £15m); Romeo Lavia (Southampton, £12m); Pedro Porro (Sporting Lisbon, £7.2m); Darko Gyabi (Leeds United, £5m); Ko Itakura (Borussia Monchengladbach, £4.3m); Fernandinho (Atletico Paranaense, free); Lewis Fiorini (Blackpool, loan); Jayden Braaf (Borussia Dortmund, free), James Trafford (Bolton Wanderers, loan); CJ Egan-Riley (Burnley, free); Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Burnley, free); Tommy Doyle (Sheffield United, loan); Callum Doyle (Coventry City, loan); Zack Steffen (Middlesbrough, loan); Arijanet Muric (Burnley, undisclosed); Cieran Slicker (Rochdale, loan)

Good summer?

The strongest team in the Premier League have simply got even stronger. They have upgraded at centre forward with the signing of Erling Haaland - for the very good value price of £51m - and so certainly won't be short of goals.

Pep Guardiola also identified the need for a deep-lying midfielder and they've got one of the best in England international Kalvin Phillips.

City have only played a couple of friendlies - beating Club America and Bayern Munich during a brief pre-season tour to the United States.

And Guardiola won't be unduly worried about their loss to Liverpool in the Community Shield over the weekend. Expect them to be the favourites for every competition they enter.

Success would be…

Finally ending their wait for the Champions League. Last season's dramatic semi-final loss to Real Madrid added to the feeling that European glory might never come their way.

Guardiola won't hang around forever so if City are ever going to conquer Europe, it has to be now. They certainly have the personnel to do it.

You suspect they would trade a loosening of their domestic dominance to win the top prize.

Disaster would look like….

It seems highly unlikely but Haaland fails to fire in English football and City find themselves playing catch-up as Liverpool storm out of the blocks.

Once again, they fall short in Europe because Guardiola can't resist some unnecessary tactical tweak ahead of a crunch knockout game.

The Spaniard announces he's going to leave for a new challenge at the end of the season and the mood dips.

The man in charge: Pep Guardiola 

We don't quite know how long Pep will stay in charge though he has hinted he is open to staying until 2025.

Much will depend on how the team fares this season and what silverware they end up with. Guardiola will be as devoted as ever and his team keeps getting stronger.

He just needs to win the Champions League to make absolutely sure of his legacy.

The key man: Kevin De Bruyne 

Expensive new signings may have come in but it'll be the Belgian pulling the strings and conducting the orchestra yet again.

City's player of the season again last time and as fundamental to their success and everything good they produce as ever.

Sportsmail's prediction: 1st

City are likely to set the standard once again and in theory they should be even stronger. Catch them if you can.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Arrivals: Lisandro Martinez (Ajax, £55m); Tyrell Malacia (Feyenoord, £14.7m); Christian Eriksen (Brentford, free)

Departures: Andreas Pereira (Fulham, £10m); Paul Pogba (Juventus, free); Juan Mata (released); Jesse Lingard (released); Nemanja Matic (Roma, free); Dean Henderson (Nottingham Forest, loan); Edinson Cavani (released); Lee Grant (released); D'Mani Mellor (Wycombe Wanderers, loan); Reece Devine (released); Paul McShane (released); Connor Stanley (released); Paul Woolston (released); Dylan Levitt (Dundee United, undisclosed)

Good summer?

Steps have certainly been taken in the right direction. Erik ten Hag has come in with a sense of mission to restore United to where they should be and isn't taking any nonsense.

Their pre-season tour was a resounding success with vibrant, attacking performances but the defeat to Atletico Madrid underlined that United remain far from transformed after last season's disappointments.

While Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia are all good signings, United have been unable to land Ten Hag's priority target - Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona.

Plus the saga over Cristiano Ronaldo, who has made clear he wants to leave Old Trafford, threatens to completely overshadow the opening weeks of the campaign, something a control freak like Ten Hag will absolutely hate.

Success would be…

United hit the ground running and adapt quickly to Ten Hag's style of football to produce some entertaining displays.

They then sustain their form thanks to added depth of quality within the squad, with everyone buying into Ten Hag's vision, to sustain a challenge for the Champions League places.

A lengthy run in either the Europa League or one of the domestic cups would also be welcome given it's five years and counting since United won anything.

Disaster would look like….

A hiding by Liverpool in the third game of the season brings about a crisis of confidence and Ten Hag struggles to get his team to commit to his hard-pressing, hard-running style.

The Europa League turns into a real slog causing a build-up of injuries and fatigue, compromising United's top four chances with their back line looking as brittle as before.

There's no discernible sign of progress from the sorry mess Ten Hag inherited as they limp into sixth spot.

The man in charge: Erik ten Hag 

The Dutch coach certainly means business and has wasted little time one exerting his authority. Pre-season showed promising signs of buy-in from most of the players. 

How he copes without De Jong and how he handles the Ronaldo situation will be acid tests.

The key man: Bruno Fernandes 

Cut a sulky figure quite often last season but his 'Hail Mary' passes make United's forward line tick. 

Ten Hag will place his faith in him to take risks and be the creative dynamo. Plus he might get penalties duties back.

Sportsmail's prediction: 6th

The scale of Ten Hag's rebuilding mission is about to become apparent. United must be patient as they take small steps in the right direction.

NEWCASTLE UNITED

Arrivals: Sven Botman (Lille, £35m); Matt Targett (Aston Villa, £15m); Nick Pope (Burnley, £10m); Charlie McArthur (Kilmarnock, undisclosed)

Departures: Ciaran Clark (Sheffield United, loan); Jake Turner (Gillingham, free); Jack Young (Wycombe Wanderers, undisclosed); Oisin McEntee (Walsall, free); Mohammed Sangare (Accrington Stanley, free); Freddie Woodman (Preston North End, undisclosed); Isaac Hayden (Norwich City, loan); Jeff Hendrick (Reading, loan); Daniel Langley (Gateshead, loan); Lewis Cass (Port Vale, free); Dwight Gayle (Stoke City, undisclosed)

Good summer?

These are heady times on Tyneside but for all the cash that could have been splashed, Newcastle have actually been pretty restrained and focused on areas of weakness rather than vanity buys.

They have signed Sven Botman for £35m, Matt Targett for £15m and Nick Pope for £10m but there may well be more to come with Leicester's James Maddison very much in their sights.

The vibes from Eddie Howe and his players during their Austrian training camp were positive and wins over Atalanta and Athletic Bilbao in back-to-back home friendlies last weekend mean Newcastle will open a season in good spirits for the first time in a long while.

Success would be…

Giving the big boys a real run for their money and breaking into the European positions. Or ending a wait for a domestic cup dating all the way back to 1955.

The Saudi takeover and Howe's appointment obviously transformed last season but for all the good wins, they took some pastings against the likes of Tottenham and Manchester City.

Being competitive in each and every game would be a big step in the right direction. A better league standing and cup runs will stem from that.

Disaster would look like…

A season without any discernible progress. Early cup exits like their embarrassing loss to Cambridge United and no improvement on last season's 11th place finish.

It will be frustrating to invest so much in the squad and not get any early reward for the outlay. Mind you, the best things take time.

The man in charge: Eddie Howe

Howe didn't put a foot wrong last season and looks every inch the right choice to take Newcastle forward in these extraordinary and exciting times.

He appears determined to put together the jigsaw of a winning side piece by piece rather than demanding lots of flashy signings purely to flex financial muscles.

The key man: Allan Saint-Maximin

Can be spectacular and infuriating in equal measure but he is certainly a real handful for opposition defences and a popular member of the squad.

Only scored five times last season so should be expected to do an awful lot better than that.

Sportsmail's prediction: 7th

Qualifying for Europe has to be the next ambition for Newcastle and they should make a decent fist of it.