The Premier League is back!
The Premier League gets underway once again on August 11. Defending champions Manchester City open up the campaign with a Friday evening trip to Burnley, managed by City legend Vincent Kompany. The remainder of matchday 1 will be played out over the weekend.
Treble winners City remain favourites
Pep Guardiola’s City are favourites to retain their title. Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle United are thought by many bookies to be in the mix if City slip up. Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and Hove Albion and Aston Villa are rated as outsiders.
Last season’s captain İlkay Gündoğan has left City for Barcelona during the summer and there have been rumours of other departures. However, young players such as Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis are expected to play a greater role. The signings of Mateo Kovacic, who slotted straight into the midfield at the Community Shield and World Cup star Josko Gvardiol mean that the Citizen’s squad still has phemonenal quality and depth.
Arsenal, who defeated City on penalties in the Community Shield, will be looking to build upon last season’s second placed finish. They have spent big in a bid to bridge the gap to City with Declan Rice and Kai Havertz coming in.
Manchester United will be looking to add a little more consistency. Erik ten Hag’s side fought on four fronts last season and secured a return to the Champions League and a victory in the EFL Cup. Newcastle United, who by their own admission are ahead of schedule in their development under their new owners, will be looking for Champions League qualification again, however, how Eddie Howe’s side cope with Eurupean football will be key. Brighton and Aston Villa will both face similar issues. Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham all had disappointing campaigns to a lesser or greater degree last time out. All have made changes to their squads and will be hoping for improvement. At the time of writing Spurs have come to an agreement with Bayern Munich over the sale of Harry Kane, however, it remains to be seen as to whether the player departs.
New boys predicted to be in the relegation battle
Newly promoted Luton Town and Sheffield United are favourites for relegation. The Blades have suffered a number of departures from their promotion winning squad and, at the time of writing, have not secured replacements. Burnley, Bournemouth, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Everton will be hoping to be clear of the bottom three this season. Wolves look vunerable after the departure of manager Julen Lopetegui.
The season is scheduled to finish on May 19 2024.
