The 2024-2025 Premier League kicks off on Friday and does so again with Manchester City as the favourite and the rival to beat for Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and the rest of the great and historic teams of English football.
With six titles out of the last seven in the English league, including the last four the hegemony is clear for Josep Guardiola’s team in what is considered by many to be the most demanding and tough league championship in the world.
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To start with, City have already won their first official title of the season by beating their neighbours Manchester United on penalties last Saturday (7-6 after a 1-1 draw).
“Starting the season by winning a title is good. We are very happy about it,” Guardiola said after the victory at Wembley.
“The objective is not to win the Premier League, it is to try to win the next game, that is what we have to do,” he said. And that next game sees him face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, in the first big clash of the new edition of the championship.
Argentine Julian Alvarez has left the club for Atletico de Madrid, but the club has a new ‘citizen’ who is exciting, the Brazilian Savinho, who impressed last season with Girona, the revelation of the Spanish League.
The Slot era begins
For the last two seasons, Arsenal have been runners-up. Only once did the London club manage more points than the 89 they collected last season, but it was not enough to dethrone City.
Mikel Arteta’s team had a chance until the final matchday and the hopes of finally making the big leap are based on the team from then.
Italian international Riccardo Calafiori adds further quality to the Gunners’ defence and German Kai Havertz, who excelled in the second half of the season, should once again be the team’s go-to striker.
At Liverpool, the new Premier League marks the start of life without Jurgen Klopp, the charismatic German coach who has been with them in recent years. The Anfield manager is now occupied by Dutchman Arne Slot, who has come from Feyenoord in the Netherlands.
The Reds’ pre-season has been exciting so far, with wins against Arsenal, Manchester United and Sevilla, but the ‘Slot effect’ will be felt with the start of official matches, starting with Saturday’s visit to newly promoted Ipswich.
Manchester United, who finished just eighth in the Premier League last season, have strengthened their position to avoid repeating such a disappointing season.
Following the departure of Raphael Varane (Como) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham), Manchester United had already strengthened its defence by signing a young French centre-back from Lille Leny Yoro (19 years old), for an estimated sum of around 70 million euros [almost $77 million].
On Tuesday, United announced the signing of two players from Bayern Munich, Dutch defenders Matthijs De Ligt and Moroccan defender Noussair Mazraoui, both old acquaintances of coach Erik Ten Hag, who had them under his command at Ajax when the Amsterdam club were Champions League semi-finalists in 2019.
Manchester United will also have the honour of opening the new Premier League season on Friday against Fulham.
Defender Luke Shaw will not be on the squad for the game, having been injured in pre-season and having been ruled out for United’s first three league games.
