Alvarez could be Man City’s trump card this season. — AFP
THE new Premier League is underway and as can be expected, we are in for another roller-coaster ride, filled with excitement and entertainment.
With the “Big Six” having strengthened their squads, we trust this season will deliver a tightly contested championship of the highest order in world club football.
And with the FIFA World Cup slotted in for Qatar between Nov 21 and Dec 18, it could be disrupted somewhat but not near enough to derail the momentum that the Premiership has built its legacy on.
There may be a few injuries here and there, but that should add to the twists and turns in the run-up to the end of the season.
At the forefront, staking a claim for more glory and a third league title in a row, will be the favourites Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola has made this team the envy of British football and they look more formidable than ever.
In particular, the additions of centre-forward Erling Haaland and his highly-rated striker partner Julian Alvarez should be worth watching.
Their third off-season signing, combative midfielder Kalvin Phillips, is likely to add to the mix of flair and muscle, and extend the depth of talent that the Citizens possess.
Even with the departure of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, Guardiola will believe that he has adequate resources to stave off the ambushes of their main threats.
Bidding to thwart City’s ambitions of a fifth league title in six years will be Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, who themselves will be keen on landing a 20th league crown, and second in four years.
The Merseyside club have already got one win over the Sky Blues this season, having pipped City to the Community Shield.
The Reds lost Sadio Mane to Bayern Munich, but they retained the services of Mohamed Salah, their talisman, with a contract extension and also brought in Darwin Nunez from Benfica in a club record £85mil (RM459mil) deal, to add more panache up-front.Arsenal had a good pre-season and won all five of their friendly matches.
They definitely look like contenders for a top-four finish. The Gunners missed out on the Champions League last season by one place on the log.
Spanish manager Mikel Arteta will be looking to Jesus to deliver upfront for them, with support from Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal, who were scheduled to face Crystal Palace in their opener last night, also beefed up their defence – something that should hold them in good stead.
Their north London rivals, Tottenham, who finished in fourth place last season, also look set for a strong campaign.
Spurs spent big to bring in Richarlison, Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma, Clement Lenglet and Djed Spence as they aim to challenge on multiple fronts.
It will be interesting to see how Antonio Conte copes with the pressures of playing in Europe’s elite club cup competition, in between Premiership assignments.
The performances of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min will also come under the microscope.
Chelsea, despite Thomas Tuchel’s remark that they might not be ready for the new season, should be there, or thereabouts.
A top-four place would be the least to ask for from a club that won’t have Roman Abramovich at the helm for the first time in almost two decades.
Some good business done in the off season saw them let Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen move to Spain, and then bring in the much sought-after Kalidou Koulibaly. The arrival of Marc Cucurella is still pending.
Manchester United, under new manager Erik ten Hag, are also expected to improve after a disastrous last season, when they finished sixth.
The Red Devils should be aiming to finish in the top four. Anything less will again be deemed a failure.
Man United’s desire to bring in Frenkie de Jong remains on the table, and now Benjamin Sesko’s name has also been thrown into the hat.They did sign central defender Lisandro Martínez for something in the region of £58mil (RM314mil), and will have been buoyed by that.
Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial looked good in pre-season and ten Hag will hope to see them deliver up-front this season.
The future of Cristiano Ronaldo remains uncertain (at the time of going to press), but either way, his impact may not count for much if some of those mentioned here really get their act together.
Premier League new boys AFC Bournemouth, Fulham and Nottingham Forest are expected to challenge last season’s relegation battlers to remain in the top tier of English football.
Forest have recruited heavily and may be the only new side to stay up, with the odds on Bournemouth and Fulham heavily backed to go down.
Everton, Leeds and Southampton, who barely escaped relegation, do appear at risk of being sucked into another dogfight at the bottom of the table.
But it is at the top where the spotlight will focus, and there, Man City and Liverpool look like the teams to beat.
