Alan Shearer joins Gary Lineker and Micah Richards for Match of the Day this Saturday at 22:20 BST on BBC One and the BBC Sport website for highlights of six Premier League games.

I really hope I am wrong and they do even better this time, but finishing fifth would still be a great achievement, and keep the club on track for where they want to go.

Fifth might still be enough to keep Newcastle in the Champions League too – the two countries with the best overall record in Europe this season will get an extra place in 2024-25 – but even then the competition looks like being extremely fierce.

Newcastle have made some really good signings this summer, and have spent a lot of money to strengthen their squad – but so have all the other teams going for those places.

This time, Eddie Howe has got to deal with the demands of Champions League football too, while trying to maintain the intensity in his side’s play that has got them there.

Howe likes young, fit and hungry players with the energy for his way of playing and he has signed three more of them in Sandro Tonali, Tino Livramento and Harvey Barnes.

I loved what Newcastle did last season, and I am expecting something very similar when they go again this time.

The dream is winning a trophy, and they came close to ending their long wait for silverware in February when they reached the Carabao Cup final. I’d love to see them go deep in a domestic cup again, and obviously go one step further and win it this time.

I have not got the same expectations about the Champions League, but just having those big European nights back again will be unbelievable.

The electric atmosphere we used to get for those occasions at St James’ Park when I was a player is something I will never forget, and the place will be rocking even just in the group stage – I can’t wait.

‘Haaland could score as many, or even more’

There is lots to look forward to for Newcastle but, being realistic, they cannot think about winning the Premier League this season. Manchester City are still the team to beat and I don’t see that changing over the next 10 months.

Even by their own high standards, City had incredible success last time out to win the Treble, and become champions of Europe for the first time.

How do they follow that? Well, part of Pep Guardiola’s job is to keep his players hungry for more and he has done it brilliantly so far – they have won the Premier League in five of the past six seasons, with the team continually evolving during that time.

It doesn’t ever seem to make any difference when they lose key men, so I am not expecting them to slow down now Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez have left.

Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic are both very good signings and I wouldn’t be surprised if they brought in another attack-minded player in the next few weeks as well.

They are going to be just as solid at the back and they definitely won’t struggle for goals – Erling Haaland will make sure of that.

Haaland absolutely smashed his first season in the Premier League and his challenge now is to repeat his incredible numbers.

He hit 52 goals in 54 goals in all competitions in 2022-23 and, playing for City, he will have the chances to score as many, or even more. I have no doubt he will bang them in again, it is just a question of how many he will get.

Haaland only turned 23 a few weeks ago and at that age, as a striker, you are still learning and developing parts of your game – I certainly was.

You can see he loves scoring goals – it’s what he lives for – so it is a scary thought for defences that he is going to get even better, especially playing under a manager like Guardiola.

‘Arsenal need Jesus fit’

Arsenal pushed City closest last season and I can see them having a good go this time too.

You don’t spend as much as they have this summer to finish second again – you do it because you want to finish top. They have certainly backed Mikel Arteta in the transfer market, and their ambition is clear.

They paid a lot of money for Declan Rice but, once Chelsea had paid £100m-plus for Enzo Fernandez in January, Rice was always going to go for a similar fee.

Rice is a leader, and an excellent player too. We’ll have to wait and see how Arteta fits him and Thomas Partey into his midfield, but breaking forward is a strong part of Rice’s game so he can certainly do that part of it if he is asked to.

My only worry for the Gunners is around Gabriel Jesus. He will miss the start of the season with a knee injury, so who plays up front in his absence?

They have brought in Kai Havertz from Chelsea, who played up front in Sunday’s Community Shield win, but he’s never been outstanding as a number nine or given you any great hope he can play there for long periods and score enough goals.

Eddie Nketiah came in and had a decent run when Jesus was out for three months after the World Cup but, if Arsenal want to win the league, they need to have Jesus fit.

‘Man Utd will continue to improve’

Talking of strikers, it is going to be interesting to see how Rasmus Hojlund gets on at Manchester United, once he has recovered from his injury.

He’s only 20 and, again, £72m is a lot of money but obviously they are buying for his potential as well.

We will have to wait and see how he and Marcus Rashford link up, and who will play where, but Erik ten Hag has obviously made a decision to go with youth rather than trying to sign a more established striker.

Ten Hag had an impressive first season, making the Champions League places, winning the Carabao Cup and reaching the FA Cup final and I am expecting them to build on that, and continue to improve.

I don’t see them as having enough to win the league, but they have made some good signings that fit Ten Hag’s gameplan.

We are going to see them pressing from the front even more when Hojland plays, and having Andre Onana in goal means they can play out from the back, something that didn’t always work for them with David de Gea.

Who else will figure in race for top four?

Liverpool are spending big as well, especially by agreeing a British record fee of £111m for Brighton midfielder Moses Caicedo, which is exactly the sort of statement their fans were hoping for in the transfer market.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are the only team to have stopped City from winning the title since 2017, when they were champions in 2020, but they are not at that level at the moment.

Their aim is really just to get back into the top four, because they need Champions League football – and that’s why they are looking to spend that sort of money on Caicedo, as well as Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.

I don’t have any worries about their attacking options, and they’ve revamped their midfield after the departures of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and James Milner, but let’s see how they get on defensively – I am not convinced.

It’s hard to know what to expect from Chelsea but it is surely impossible for them to be as bad as they were last season, which was an embarrassment for them. Mauricio Pochettino won’t allow that to happen again.

I would say Aston Villa are my dark horses to make the top six but they are not really a surprise package because of how well they did once Unai Emery took charge midway through last season.

They have already shown they belong in this group of teams, and with Emery’s experience they will be in and around it again.

Tottenham’s aim will be to get back up there too, but their chances of making the top four look a lot slimmer now that Harry Kane is on his way to Bayern Munich.

Spurs obviously didn’t want to see him leave on a free but it’s a massive blow for new manager Ange Postecoglou to lose his star player now, right at the start of the new campaign.

Kane had a brilliant season last year, scoring 30 goals in 38 league games, and his form was only overshadowed by Haaland’s amazing scoring feats.

Despite that, Tottenham still only finished eighth. Without him, how are they going to even match that?

Alan Shearer was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.