The English Premier League (EPL) season begins on Friday night when Manchester United face Fulham. Al Jazeera Sport looks at some potential title contenders with the biggest question: can anyone stop Manchester City?
Pep Guardiola’s team became the first team to lift the English top flight on four consecutive occasions in May and to win five trophies in 2023.
In a surprising move, Julien Alvarez opted to leave the Cityzens for Atletico Madrid in the summer, having won two Premier League and Champions League titles in his two years at the club.
The 24-year-old striker was considered City’s future, but his willingness to allow the Argentine to move on shows the depth and confidence Guardiola and City have to continue lifting the team to even more ambitious heights.
The move came after Manchester City signed Brazilian striker Savinho from French side Troyes. The 20-year-old player spent last season on loan at Girona, in Spain, where he helped the minnows reach third place in the Spanish league, LaLiga.
City’s Premier League title defense begins on Sunday with a trip to big-spending Chelsea, who make our list as one of two outsiders to win the league, but let’s start with the two teams who came closest to stop City’s already record.
Arsenal (last season – 2nd)
For most of last Premier League season, Arsenal were the team to beat, but they finished second behind City for the second season in a row.
Mikel Arteta’s side played with enthusiasm and swagger in the 2023/24 season that made Guardiola sit up and take notice of his former protégé and his charges.
The challenge now for the Gunners is to do better. They spent much of last season at the top of the table – but were unable to match City’s record in the final two months of the season, harrowingly conceding the title to their northern rivals in the final week.
Two points was an unbearably difficult decision for an Arsenal team looking to end a 20-year wait to win the league once again, but it will give them hope that some of last year’s slip-ups can be overcome.
The signing of Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna is Arteta’s only addition to the squad ahead of the season opener against Wolves on August 17, but the 22-year-old’s arrival is expected to greatly improve a squad that already boasted the league title. best defense last year.
Liverpool (last season – 3rd)
In the early stages of the season, it looked like Liverpool would give Jurgen Klopp the perfect send-off in his final season as manager of the club.
Apparently, the confirmation of the German’s departure seemed to send the Anfield club into a free fall.
The Reds won 12 of their first 15 games last season but failed, finishing with just four wins from their last 10 games.
The English Football League Cup was secured with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in March and, at that stage, a quadruple was on the cards for Klopp.
The team’s form under new manager Arne Slot is the talk of the Premier League.
His predecessor ended a 30-year wait to be crowned English champion and secured a fifth European title. It will be an incredibly tough act to follow for the Dutchman, who joined from Feynoord, and winning the league at his first attempt could be too much hope for even the most optimistic Liverpool fan.
Manchester United (last season – 8th)
Manchester United can never be excluded from a renaissance – it is the hallmark of the club that rebuilt itself after the tragedy of the 1958 Munich air disaster.
The failure to win a Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013 weighs increasingly heavily on the club, especially given the rise of rivals Manchester City.
The takeover of football operations by Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group was set to mark the start of a new era at Old Trafford, and it is likely to happen, but how long that will take is the question – as is how long current manager Erik ten Hag will be given to take the club forward.
The Dutchman won the EFL Cup two seasons ago and ended the last campaign by beating City in the FA Cup final – a feat that probably saved his job.
The end-of-season review by operation INEOS took some time and despite the cup victory in May, ten Hag had to wait until early July to be sure his job was safe for now, with the announcement of a contract extension.
There was little time left for business in the summer transfer window.
Joshua Zirkzee arrived from Bologna in mid-July in the hope that the 23-year-old Dutch striker could bolster depleted attacking options, while a lack of numbers at the back was painfully apparent for United last season.
The expected arrivals of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich should bolster the defense, but the timing suggests the inconsistent planning that has plagued United’s transfer strategies since Ferguson’s departure.
Glimpses of the United of old have been present throughout Hag’s ten tenures, but the Dutchman will certainly need a good start if his side are to challenge – if not, last season’s incessant rumors about his future will surface once again. time.
Chelsea (last season 6th)
Another season, another change of coach for Chelsea.
Mauricio Pochettino appeared criticized during his year in charge at Stamford Bridge and spent much of his time highlighting a team that relied heavily on youth.
The Argentine’s departure was no surprise and now new coach Enzo Maresca, despite strong support, appears to be facing the same problem.
Eleven new players were signed by the Blues, which marks the third consecutive transfer window in which the club has surpassed its rivals in the number of signings and the total value of deals carried out.
However, among newcomers, the average age is under 21. However, almost 300 million dollars were spent, so expectations will be, as always, very high.
Maresca is entering just his fifth season as manager, having previously had spells at Parma and Leicester City, and the biggest challenge the Italian is likely to face is maintaining a squad of over 50 senior players. Only 25 can be registered for the Premier League ahead of the new season.
Throughout the new season, you’ll be able to keep up to date with the latest football news, as well as live text commentary from selected matches, via Al Jazeera Sport’s football page.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
