Another Premier League season is over, and the winners and losers have been confirmed.

Manchester City have won a fifth title in the past six years and might yet end the campaign with a historic treble. Arsenal ran them close, while Manchester United and Newcastle returned to the Champions League. Brighton qualified for Europe for the first time in their history, while Unai Emery took Aston Villa from relegation candidates to the Europa Conference League.

At the other end of the table, Southampton, Leeds United and Leicester fell through the trap door into the Championship, while Everton only survived by the finest of margins.

Here's a look at the players who have had seasons to remember and those who will want to quickly forget.

BEST XI OF 2022-23

Goalkeeper: Nick Pope (Newcastle United)
Defenders: Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Sven Botman (Newcastle United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United)
Midfielders: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Rodri (Manchester City), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton & Hove Albion), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Newcastle's charge into the Champions League has been built on a solid defence. Eddie Howe has, first and foremost, made them hard to beat, and it has started at the back. Newcastle ended the season with the joint best defensive record in the league thanks, in part, to Pope, Trippier and Botman. Pope has kept 14 Premier League clean sheets in his first season at St James' Park, while Trippier has also chipped in with seven assists from right-back. Trippier, with his experience at the highest level, has been transformative for Howe's side since arriving from Atletico Madrid.

Luke Shaw has been consistent at left-back for Manchester United and looked just as comfortable at centre-back on the occasions Erik ten Hag has asked him to fill in.

Ruben Dias' role in Manchester City's fantastic run at the end of the season cannot be underestimated. He has taken on added responsibility in the centre of City's defence when John Stones has shifted into midfield, and he's Pep Guardiola's leader at the back.

Meanwhile, Dias' City teammate Rodri has been the best holding midfielder in the league this season. He barely missed a game and would have been in the running for the club's player of the year award had it not been for Haaland and those phenomenal numbers.

Elsewhere in midfield, Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo have been outstanding for Brighton as they qualified for Europe for the first time in their history. Mac Allister's technical ability on the ball has been key to the way manager Roberto De Zerbi wants to play, and reaching 10 league goals from midfield is an impressive return. His form for Brighton and Argentina at the World Cup has naturally sparked interest from Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City.

Much of Arsenal's success this season has been based on the form of their wide players, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, although Martin Odegaard also deserves a mention. Saka recorded 11 assists while Martinelli scored 15 goals -- attacking output that helped Arsenal maintain their title challenge even when Mikel Arteta was without Gabriel Jesus after the World Cup.

Haaland has to be in the team of the year after breaking the Premier League single-season record with an incredible 36 goals, but Kane also deserves his place after finding the net 30 times in a Tottenham team that has struggled. Kane has been the highlight in an otherwise poor season at Spurs and would have run away with the golden boot had it not been for Haaland's historic campaign.

WORST XI OF 2022-23

Goalkeeper: Illan Meslier (Leeds United)
Defenders: Clement Lenglet (Tottenham), Lyanco (Southampton), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea)
Midfielders: Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Jonjo Shelvey (Nottingham Forest), Stuart Armstrong (Southampton)
Forwards: Richarlison (Tottenham), Kai Havertz (Chelsea), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Chelsea)

No team has conceded more goals in the Premier League this season than Leeds United, and Meslier has had such a tough season in goal that the first thing Sam Allardyce did when he came in as manager was to drop the young Frenchman to the bench.

Chelsea have had such a disastrous season that any number of their players could qualify for a worst XI, but Cucurella has been particularly disappointing considering it cost around £55 million to bring him in from Brighton last summer.

Maguire has been so bad this season that the Man United captain has barely had a game. He started Erik ten Hag's first two games in charge -- defeats to Brighton and Brentford -- but has since started just seven league games as the Dutchman has preferred Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw at centre-back.

Southampton finished the season rock bottom of the table on 25 points, six points adrift of Leeds in 19th. Plenty of Saints players should be in the mix -- only James Ward-Prowse is really exempt from criticism after a thoroughly awful season -- but Lyanco and Stuart Armstrong have been the worst of a bad bunch.

Phillips ended the season with a Premier League winners' medal but didn't really contribute at all. Despite arriving at Manchester City from Leeds in a £45 million deal last summer, the England midfielder started only two league games all season. Meanwhile Shelvey has had a forgettable spell at Nottingham Forest after joining from Newcastle in January. He made eight appearances -- winning none -- and gifted a goal to Aston Villa in a 2-0 defeat at Villa Park, also falling out with manager Steve Cooper.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has managed just one league goal all season, while Chelsea teammate Kai Havertz hasn't fared much better. Chelsea finished in the bottom half of the table for the first time since 1996 and managed to score only 38 goals in 38 games -- fewer than Leicester and Leeds, who will both be playing in the Championship next season.

There was a lot expected of Richarlison after his goals kept Everton up last season, but it has not gone well at Tottenham. The Brazilian scored only one league goal during a debut campaign at Spurs that will be best remembered for his row with former manager Antonio Conte. They also conceded 63 goals this season, more than any other team in the top 10; Lenglet isn't the only Spurs defender to struggle, but he had a poor season following his loan move from Barcelona.

The 2022-23 Premier League is now consigned to the history books. Manchester City are the champions, Leicester City, Leeds United and Southampton have been relegated, and Erling Haaland has broken countless records to end up as the division's top scorer with 36 goals.

But what about next season? The fixtures for the 2023-24 Premier League campaign will be published in less than three weeks (June 15), and the builders are all set to move into Luton Town's tiny Kenilworth Road to make sure that the 10,356-capacity ground is ready for the big kickoff on Aug, 12 following their promotion from the Championship via the playoffs (stream a replay of the final on ESPN+.)

There is already so much to look forward to next season. Can City become the first team in English football history to win four successive titles, will promoted Burnley, Sheffield United or Luton all survive, and how many more goals will Haaland score?

So with the dust barely having settled on 2022-23, here are some way-too-early predictions of what we will see next season.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Liverpool to push Man City all the way

Liverpool finished in fifth place, 22 points behind champions Manchester City, so Jurgen Klopp's side have a lot of catching up to do next season. They must somehow find a way to bridge the gap and, from a purely mathematical perspective, they have to win another seven games and find another draw from somewhere just to move level with Pep Guardiola's team. Liverpool simply need to rediscover the consistency that has made them City's closest rivals in recent years, but the good news is that everyone starts from scratch in August, so that 22-point gap will be reset to zero.

Achieving four in a row will be City's challenge next season and another potential piece of history for Guardiola's players to create. They will be favourites to finish top of the pile again, but if Liverpool can do their business quickly and efficiently this summer, they will be the team most likely to beat City to the title. They have a forward line as good as any in Europe, so if they can tweak the midfield and defence, Liverpool will be back.

A nine-team battle for the top four

The days of the so-called "Big Six" are coming to an end. In fact, they may already be over. Just ask Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, two members of that group who have each failed to even qualify for Europe next season. Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal make up the rest of that sextet, and they usually scrap it out for the four Champions League spots.

However, Newcastle United have broken into the top four this season, and they are unlikely to disappear off the radar now that they are backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. Aston Villa are a team on the rise under Unai Emery and could challenge for the top four next season, having achieved a seventh-place finish this term. And every season throws up a surprise team chasing the top six. It was Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford in 2022-23 and both teams could be back next season.

But if you want an outside bet for a team capable of breaking into the top four, keep an eye on West Ham United's summer business if they win the Europa Conference League to qualify for the Europa League. West Ham have a huge fan base, a big stadium and stability. If they win their first trophy since 1980 next week, the club could take off.

Kane to rival Haaland for the Golden Boot

Erling Haaland has deservedly claimed the headlines for his goal-scoring feats at Manchester City this season. His 36 goals set a new record for most scored in a Premier League season and he has hit more than 50 in all competitions. But it has slipped under the radar that Tottenham's Harry Kane pushed Haaland close by scoring 30 goals himself, in a team that has struggled all season and failed to qualify for Europe.

Kane's consistency for Spurs has been incredible. He has hit 20 or more Premier League goals in six of the past nine seasons. This year was the second time he has broken the 30-goal barrier. Even if Kane stays at Spurs next season, it is a safe bet to assume he will break the 20-goal mark again, but if he moves to a bigger club capable of winning major honours, he could see his goal output accelerate just as Haaland's has done at City.

And if Kane also starts next season in Manchester, but in United red rather than City blue, he could be the man to put United back in title contention at the same time as igniting an intriguing rivalry with Haaland for the Golden Boot.

Arsenal to face a battle for top four

The 2022-23 season was Arsenal's best hope of winning the Premier League title, and they will find it much tougher in 2023-24. Mikel Arteta's team have lost the element of being a surprise package, so opponents now know what to expect. And the Arsenal players must overcome the psychological blow of throwing the title away in the closing weeks of the campaign.

But added to that is the additional demand of playing in the Champions League next season. Arsenal will have to be at their best twice a week all the way until Christmas, and that is a tough ask of a team that is still young and needing to strengthen this summer. With City unlikely to fade away and Liverpool and Chelsea both having the players to bounce back after miserable seasons, Arsenal face a challenge to avoid being dragged back into the pack next season.

New owners or bust at Manchester United

Everyone at Manchester United wants the long-running takeover saga to be resolved as quickly as possible, but there is no sign yet of the Glazer family accepting the bids that are on the table to buy the club. Without new owners and a change of approach at Old Trafford, United can only go so far under manager Erik ten Hag.

The former Ajax coach has done exceptionally well to get United into the top four in his first season in charge, especially as a lack of finances led to him adding striker Wout Weghorst to his squad on loan in January to cover for the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Weghorst wasn't good enough and failed to score a single Premier League goal in 17 appearances, but his signing was made because the Glazers don't have the finances to take United back to the top.

If the Glazers remain in charge, it will be more of the same -- patching up and hoping for the best. So if United are to compete for the Premier League and Champions League, they need new owners to arrive this summer.

Aston Villa to win the Europa Conference League

Aston Villa are a club with a proud European history, having won the European Cup in 1982, and they will compete in next season's Europa Conference League after sealing qualification on the final day of the campaign. And although next season will be Villa's first in European competition for 13 years, they will automatically be one of the favourites to win the Conference League because of their manager, Unai Emery.

Of those still involved in the game, only Europe's super coaches such as Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti can rival Emery's record of four major trophies on the continent. Emery won three Europa Leagues with Sevilla and one with Villarreal and he also took Arsenal to the final in 2019 before losing to Chelsea in Baku. So while Villa's squad might be packed with European novices, they have a master of the terrain with Emery who knows exactly how to get to the final and win.

As it stands, Villa's big rivals will be teams including Bayer Leverkusen, the fifth-placed team in France (Rennes, Monaco or Lyon) and the seventh-placed sides in Italy (Juventus, Roma or Atalanta) and Spain (one of five teams including Osasuna and Athletic Club). So with Emery at the helm, Villa could go all the way.

Leicester to bounce back

The Championship promotion race next season will involve heavyweight clubs such as Leeds, Southampton, Middlesbrough and Sunderland, but they will all be left trailing in Leicester's wake. Relegation on the final day of the season for the 2015-16 Premier League champions was a hammer blow for the Foxes, but few clubs have ever dropped out of the top division with such strong prospects of bouncing straight back.

Leicester will lose eight out-of-contract players including Youri Tielemans, Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey, while the future of star midfielder James Maddison is unclear. But the financial problems that contributed heavily to their relegation were resolved in February with the owners writing off debt of £194 million. The club are well placed to overcome the shock of relegation and, with the right appointment as manager, Leicester should dominate the Championship and return to the Premier League at the first attempt.

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Luton to stay up

Luton Town's promotion to the Premier League is a genuine football fairy tale considering they were in the fifth-tier National League just nine years ago. Their home at Kenilworth Road, built in 1905, will be a culture shock for rival players and supporters, but so will Rob Edwards' team of hungry players, many of whom have earned their shot at the big time by carving out careers in the lower leagues.

One of them, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, has been on every step of Luton's journey from non-league to Premier League, so don't underestimate the spirit and determination within the squad to grab their chance in the top flight.

Luton will have to scrap for every point they earn, but they will make the most of their desire, organisation and the unique surroundings of Kenilworth Road to write another incredible chapter in their story by avoiding relegation.

Wrexham to take another step toward the Premier League

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds love a great storyline, and Wrexham's Hollywood A-list owners will have noted how Luton Town have made it to the Premier League less than 10 years after winning promotion from the National League.

Can Wrexham do the same? You bet! But first they have to escape League Two next season, and that will be a tough challenge for Phil Parkinson's team. But in League Two, three teams go up automatically followed by one through the playoffs, so with all of their financial resources and momentum -- not to mention players such as Paul Mullin, Jordan Davies and maybe even goalkeeper Ben Foster -- Wrexham should go up again.

They need three more promotions to reach the Premier League, and they will get the first of them next season.

DALLAS -- After receiving a two-game suspension in the Western Conference finals, Stars forward Jamie Benn thought his season might be over.

The Stars lost Game 3 to go down 3-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights, the same contest in which Benn cross-checked Mark Stone in the jaw to earn a first-period game misconduct and subsequent two-game ban. But the Stars won the next two games without Benn, giving their captain a chance to return for Game 6 on Monday night in Dallas (8 p.m., ESPN).

"I was praying we were going to play two solid games just to get another chance and another kick at it here. I'm really proud of the guys," said Benn, who was the first player to hit the ice for practice. "It sucks watching, especially in playoffs. The guys had two gutsy efforts. Character wins and a lot of confidence in this room."

Benn has 11 points in 16 games for the Stars, including three goals.

The Stars used Benn's absence as a rallying cry to push the series to six games. It was reminiscent of their first-round win over the Minnesota Wild, when they vowed to keep playing in the postseason until Joe Pavelski could return from his Game 1 injury.

"We didn't want the season for him to end like that," Stars forward Radek Faksa said. "We talked about Pav's injury and how we wanted to get him back in the series. We talked about the same thing with Jamie: that we have to do anything to get him back in the series. And we did."

To a man, the Stars have said they weren't disappointed that Benn earned a five-minute major and a game misconduct just 1:53 into Game 3. They saw it as an overly aggressive mistake from a player who was amped up for a critical home game.

"Listen, what happened with Jamie ... he's not a suspension-a-month guy. He plays a physical, clean game all the time. He crossed the line one night. It's a non-issue," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. "I don't think it's fair to paint him with that brush based on one incident. He's always been a clean, physical, intimidating player. And he's going to jump right back into that [tonight]."

Asked if he might have to control his emotions in another critical home game, Benn answered: "Probably."

It's expected Benn will play on a line with rookie Wyatt Johnston. Forward Evgenii Dadonov will miss Game 6 with a lower-body injury, and there is an expectation that forward Ty Dellandrea could be slotted with Benn and Johnston, although the Golden Knights were preparing for the possibility that it could be Tyler Seguin joining that line.

"I don't think it'll change really much, right? Obviously, I'm sure he'll be excited to play. Nobody likes sitting, especially in the playoffs, so I'm sure he'll be excited to get back," said Stone, Vegas' captain. "But I don't think it changes really any dynamic of the game. One team is trying to fight to move on, and one team is fighting to stay alive and force a Game 7."

BOSTON -- Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is confident his team has gotten over the emotional ending of Game 6's heartbreaking loss to the Boston Celtics and will respond well in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night.

Spoelstra said the team regrouped after Derrick White's buzzer beater on Saturday night "by the next day," and he believes it will do what it needs to do to earn its second trip to the NBA Finals in four seasons.

"Everybody's fine," Spoelstra said after Monday's shootaround. "We have great mental stability with our group, and we understand that we have a big audacious goal. It's not just this game, it's not just this series. So it's going to be a lot of things that happen along the way. Like I said after the game [Saturday], we've had a lot of experience, unfortunately, with those kind of losses, but we've come back and also have experience bouncing back from those in a very powerful way."

Heat players repeated the same theme Monday, believing that they are ready for the challenge after dropping three straight games to the Celtics and trying to avoid becoming the first team in NBA history to lose a playoff series after holding a 3-0 lead.

"The way I see it is we're making history either which way," Heat guard Gabe Vincent said. "What side of history do we want to be on? So we're looking forward to the opportunity."

The mood around the Heat was loose Monday as they took shots after shootaround with Rick Ross blaring from a speaker on the TD Garden floor.

"We're blessed with the opportunity to play in Game 7," Heat guard Max Strus said. "Right back in the position we were last year. We're all excited. We're ready for it. We're ready for the competition. Just can't wait for the ball to go up in the air and get this thing going."

Spoelstra has repeatedly drawn strength from the fact that the Heat have been through a variety of close games throughout the season and found a way to bounce back. He remains steadfast that his team, which could become just the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to reach the Finals, is ready for the challenge.

"Our guys love to compete, and our guys are the men in the arena -- so we know what it feels like," he said. "And when you're trying to accomplish something very challenging there's going to be bumps, there's going to be tough times. But I'm just really happy for our guys, they get to experience a Game 7. ...

"This is what you dream about. You spend all your time training in the summer for moments like these. They're not for everybody, but neither are we."

The Oakland Athletics designated first baseman Jesus Aguilar for assignment on Monday.

Aguilar, 32, is batting .221 with five home runs and nine RBIs in 36 games this season, his first in Oakland. He was 1-for-20 in his past seven games.

Aguilar is a career .253 hitter with 114 home runs and 402 RBIs in 10 seasons with six teams. He was an All-Star in 2018 with Milwaukee, slugging a career-high 35 home runs and driving in a career-best 108 runs.

The Tampa Bay Rays placed closer Pete Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list Monday because of left hip inflammation.

Fairbanks said his hip "locked up" on him while warming up before the ninth inning of Sunday's 11-10 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. He did not enter the game.

The IL move is retroactive to Sunday. In a corresponding move, the club recalled right-hander Trevor Kelley from Triple-A Durham.

Fairbanks, 29, is 0-1 with a 1.54 ERA and five saves in 13 relief appearances this season. Fairbanks, who last pitched Friday, went on the injured list earlier this season with right forearm inflammation.

Kelley, 30, is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in six appearances (two starts) for the Rays this season.