They have been so fortunate to get into the top 4, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs have been woefull and Brighton have been robbed by VAR otherwise they would be right up there as well.
Next season won't be easy for them as everyone else strengthens
I have a funny feeling that next season is going to be very hard indeed.
Liverpool are finally finding a bit of form and Klopp is the only one who comes close to Pep in terms of points and challenging at the top. They need to bring in some new faces but are capable of getting to around 90 points if they can stop the silly mistakes. They will definitely be top 4 next season.
Newcastle are almost certainly going to go wild this summer. There's talk of Neymar and I wouldn't be surprised at all if he went there as they will pay the fee and the wages. Howe has done a brilliant job there and they're not easy to beat. Once they get a bit more quality in the squad they will be difficult to shift from the top 4. If they can bring in someone in the Neymar bracket I think they could even push on to title challengers - they won't win it, but might be in the race till the start of April.
Chelsea have enough players - and endless money - to buy a top 4 space. I don't rate Pocchetino but he will get enough of that squad to make them challenge for a top 4 spot.
Arsenal were unlucky this season in that they could also have been around the 85-90 point mark but not win the league due to who they are up against. It's no disgrace coming 2nd to the best football team England has ever seen. I think they will really push for a top 4 spot.
Spurs are also another team who - if they keep Kane and Son - and bring in a competent manager will almost certainly push for a top 4 spot. They may be the least likely in my list but have done it before.
As for United, next season will be tough. New owners potentially will almost certainly give Ten Haag a decent amount to spend and will have high expectations. They have an expensive squad and it needs some major surgery to compete for the title. De Gea needs replacing as he isn't a sweeper-keeper which is what ETH wants. £80m Maguire has no confidence, £38m Lindelof isn't good enough, £80m Sancho has lost all form, £39m van de Beek isn't good enough, Casemiro needs replacing soon, Varane seems injury prone, Martial isn't interested, Bailly doesn't play. That's a lot of money spent with little resale value and generally the squad is really thin for what has been spent.
I think next year will be hard for Ten Haag - the squad isn't big enough and the expectations will grow and unless he performs miracles, there's no way they will progress from 3rd. I just see them outside the top 4 again if I'm honest.
