Five talking points for the new English Premier League season
Manchester City face a strong challenge from Arsenal as the champions look to win an unprecedented fifth successive Premier League title.
Liverpool start a new era with Arne Slot replacing Jurgen Klopp, while Erik ten Hag is under pressure to deliver at Manchester United after narrowly avoiding the sack.
AFP Sport looks at five things to watch out for when the new season gets under way tomorrow, when United host Fulham at Old Trafford (9pm SA time) ...
Slot’s big shoes to fill
Liverpool fell short of giving Jurgen Klopp a glorious goodbye as they stumbled down the final straight last season to finish third.
Arne Slot has the unenviable task of replacing the German, who restored the Reds to the top of English and European football, while also bringing his larger-than-life personality to Anfield.
The Dutchman will struggle to match the cult of Klopp, but the early signs are positive that he can continue to win on the field.
Liverpool have swept all before them in pre-season, beating Arsenal, Manchester United and Sevilla.
But they are yet to make a single signing in the transfer window.
Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad had been linked as a potential new anchor for the midfield but he turned Liverpool down.
Slot has spoken of the similarities between his and Klopp’s style of play as one of the reasons he was poached from Feyenoord for the job.
And he will be hoping for a fast start to ease any fears over Klopp’s departure with a kind run of fixtures in the early months of the season.
Arsenal’s time?
Only once have Arsenal ever won more points in a Premier League campaign than the 89 they collected last season, and it was still not enough to dethrone Manchester City.
Fuelled by that painful near miss, Mikel Arteta’s men are the coming force in English football.
The Gunners have steadily improved over the past three seasons, and finished second in each of the past two campaigns.
Italian international Riccardo Calafiori adds even more quality to what was the best defence in the league last season.
But it is at the other end of the field where Arsenal may still find themselves short.
Kai Havertz had a fine second half to his first season at the club after a slow start.
The German is set to maintain his place as Arteta’s centre-forward as Arsenal have again decided not to go into the market for a striker.
Ten Hag’s short leash
Manchester United’s shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City in May was enough to save Ten Hag’s job, and even earned the Dutchman a new contract.
Yet the former Ajax boss remains on a short leash after United’s worst Premier League finish of eighth.
United have been one of the most active English clubs in the market, splashing out on Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee, with deals for Bayern Munich defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui completed on Tuesday.
But in a worrying repeat for Ten Hag of last season’s injury woes, Yoro has already been sidelined for three months by a broken bone in his foot.
United open the season at home to Fulham tomorrow, and Ten Hag can ill afford a poor start or questions will quickly be raised again over his future.
Ipswich return
Leicester and Southampton have bounced back into the Premier League at the first time of asking, but Ipswich are fresh faces as they return to the top flight for the first time in 22 years.
Kieran McKenna has masterminded back-to-back promotions to bring the Tractor Boys back into the big time, and keeping hold of the Northern Irishman despite interest from Chelsea and Brighton has been vital to Ipswich’s chances of survival.
The scale of the task they face is laid bare by the fact that all three promoted sides last season were relegated.
Maresca’s difficult choices
New Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has a baptism of fire as his side host Manchester City on the opening weekend, but the Italian is certainly not short of selection options.
In keeping with previous transfer windows since a takeover fronted by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly, the Blues have spent big money on young talent from around the world over the close-season.
That includes Pedro Neto in a £54 million move from Wolves and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who shone for Maresca last season in Leicester’s promotion from the Championship.
However, Chelsea’s summer business has swelled their squad to upwards of 50 senior players.
That leaves Maresca with a difficult balance of trying to instil his style of play on a dressing room that will have a lot of players unhappy at their lack of playing time. | AFP
Premier League Opening Weekend Fixtures (SA times)
Tomorrow – 9pm: Manchester United v Fulham
Saturday – 1.30pm: Ipswich Town v Liverpool. 4pm: Arsenal v Wolves, Everton v Brighton, Newcastle v Southampton, Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth, West Ham v Aston Villa
Sunday – 3pm: Brentford v Crystal Palace. 5.30pm: Chelsea v Manchester City
Monday – 9pm: Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur