Moment before the opening whistle: Power ranking of the Premier League teams

If the Premier League were starting today... Wait. It might not be starting today, but it starts the day after tomorrow, and this is the perfect time for a "power ranking". This is by no means a prediction of the final table in May, but an attempt to identify the differences that exist even when everyone — the rich and the poor, the big and the small — still has zero points, zero goals against, and zero goals for.

1. Ironi Tiberias | One shake-up too many. Legionnaires like Kais Ganem and Bar Cohen have arrived, a defensive anchor in the form of Ondrej Baco is still here, and even if Guy Hadida and Stanislav Bilenkyi have left and taken with them about half the goals Tiberias scored last season, it's not terrible. At least not as terrible as the current scandal in Tiberias, the forbidden IV drip affair, which tore the club apart and led to the parting with coach Eliran Hudeda after four and a half years. It will result in long suspensions, and if the club survives, it will be a miracle the likes of which Israeli sports hasn't known since that one against Badalona.

2. Maccabi Petah Tikva | A war movie. The newcomer lost its best Israeli (Niv Yehoshua), and its outstanding foreign player (Frank Rivollier) crossed the road. It lost its first three Toto Cup matches, and on the sidelines stands Ziv Arye, who for a very long time was a one-team man and occasionally still drives on Highway 1 out of habit, even though he has long had nothing to look for in Jerusalem. These are the materials from which one of the weakest teams in the league is made.

3. Hapoel Jerusalem | Crossing the wall. John Otumao was sold to France's Reims for more than 1.5 million euros. In their absence, the one who will determine where this team goes is Vitalie Damascan, who arrived from Reine together with Christ Tiéhi. The responsibility will be placed on him to save the attack, which scored only 26 goals in 33 matches last season.

4. Bnei Sakhnin | Grey is rising. No matter what, don't watch Sakhnin matches this season. Since Yossi Abukasis was appointed in the middle of last season, Sakhnin has scored in only two of its ten matches under Sharon Mimer's successor. No significant change is expected: they will know how not to concede often enough to stay in the league, but not much beyond that.

5. Hapoel Ramat Gan | Like new. No team in the league has undergone a revolution like the one that befell the newcomer: a squad overhaul and a new stadium in Rehovot. Six new foreign players, local reinforcement like Maxim Plakushchenko and Moshe Semel, two victories in the Toto Cup — Ramat Gan will stay in the league, and Messay Dego will close a full season at a team for the first time since his time at Maccabi Haifa. All on the condition that he manages to survive the first three rounds against the big clubs.

6. Hapoel Petah Tikva | The hunger games. The second album test for Omer Peretz. Chipwaka Songa and Itay Rotman have left, and the great achievement of last season might create a feeling of satiety. It seems that rivals have strengthened, and even if it won't be the sixth side in this hexagon, it certainly won't deteriorate low enough to truly risk relegation.

7. Hapoel Haifa | Not every day is a derby. It is possible that the victory in the derby in the first round of the Toto Cup will be remembered as the team's peak moment, but if things connect, Hapoel Haifa will have something to say in the fight for a place in the upper playoff. The reinforcement is not high profile — middle-class players like Wahib Habiballah and Shay Elias, and foreign players such as William Agada and Ariel Mendi. With Haim Silvas on the sidelines, one can at least believe that the floor will be higher than last season.

8. Kiryat Shmona | The quiet season. Despite the departure of Christian Martinez and Mordechai, Kiryat Shmona shone in the group stage of the Toto Cup. Top scorer Adrian Ugrisa is still here, but his departure could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. In its current form, it deserves to be positioned as the best team among the less good teams, but the face is downwards.

9. Maccabi Netanya | Where is the defense? Seems like the top candidate to grab the last ticket to the upper playoff. Mathias Dabo, Bassam Zaarura, Maor Levi, Oz Bilu, and young talents Alex Talpa and Yarin Abuhazira make up the greatest potential in the league outside the big ones. The problem: last year Netanya conceded 55 goals. If there is no significant improvement, all the offensive brilliance will not help.

10. Maccabi Haifa | What has changed? The cuckoo's nest of Israeli football. Four new foreign players, a national team goalkeeper, a promising youngster like Yair Mordechai — apparently, Maccabi Haifa shuffled the deck after last season's fiasco. In fact, nothing truly significant has changed. The club is still managed by the same people, and Barak Bakhar looks like someone who is moving away from finding the solution. It is impossible for Maccabi Haifa to finish below fifth place, but unfortunately, it is probably not less impossible to finish much higher.

11. Hapoel Tel Aviv | Seriously this time. The team that made the fewest changes in the off-season, and if judging by the victories over Ludogorets and Katowice in the Conference League qualifiers, it knew well why. Although they lost their best player, Loizos Loizou, the Reds gain the continuity that no other team has. If Douglas Owusu makes people forget Loizou, Hapoel can even fantasize about a championship.

12. Maccabi Tel Aviv | All or nothing. More than any other team, the power assessment of Maccabi Tel Aviv requires adding "as of the time of writing". Will Roy Revivo stay? What will be the quality of the foreign players? There is more hidden than revealed. It seems that Maccabi is two players away from returning to being the best team in Israel, but it is also one player loss away from becoming the fourth best team in the league.

13. Hapoel Be'er Sheva | A light touch. A team one victory away from qualifying for the most prestigious tournament in the world, but as long as they don't bring a replacement for Kings Kangwa, there is one team in Israel better than them. The good news: this Be'er Sheva still has a lot of room to grow. One precise adjustment, and it is first again, and by a gap.

14. Beitar Jerusalem | It's time. As of this moment, the top candidate for the championship. The elimination against Austria Vienna has allowed them to focus on the league. The attack is the best in the league, the defense is not weak enough to ruin it, and the bench should be deeper.