Arguably the best league in the world, the English Premier League is finally back, and football-hungry fans are in for a treat of what is expected to be yet another nail-biting, exhilarating, and action-packed season.
Following their Premier League curtain-raiser match in the Community Shield against Manchester City yesterday, all eyes will be on Erik Ten Hag and Manchester United as they will be opening their premiership account against Fulham at Old Trafford on Friday night.
Last season, South Africans got to witness two of their own Benni McCarthy and Lyle Foster contribute as a coach and player at their respective clubs.
Pep Guardiola and Man City made history by successfully defending their title and are now champions for four consecutive seasons, chased doggedly by a rejuvenated Arsenal side until the last day of the season.
The 2024/25 season is unlikely to be any different, as it promises to be yet another exciting installment.
Sunday World looks at what should be the big talking points of the new Premier League season.
Managers making debut seasons:
On the opening weekend of the Premier League season, there will be a quarter of new managers in the dugout and overseeing their first games in the English top-flight game.
For Liverpool, Arne Slot will be traveling away to Ipswich to face Kieran McKenna, who will also be getting his first taste of Premier League football as a head coach.
There is also Enzo Maresca at Chelsea, Fabian Hurzeler at Brighton and Russell Martin at Southampton.
New signings and the breakout star:
Every season, almost every club is expected to bolster its squad with new signings, with Chelsea making the most player acquisitions so far with seven.
Manchester United have made only two in Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, while their neighbours Man City have made one. Arsenal have also brought in a couple of new faces at the Emirates, with Liverpool surprisingly making no signing under Slot.
Last season, Cole Palmer was the breakout star in his first season for Chelsea and this season Zirkzee is tipped to make his mark in the Premier League and hit the ground running with the famous jersey number 11 that was once worn by Ryan Giggs on his back.
Top four prospects:
What makes the Premier League so exciting is not only the quality brand of football displayed but the fact that for the past couple of seasons, the league title, including the top-four Champions League spots, all went down to the wire.
Last season, the top four was made up of champions Man City, runners-up Arsenal, Liverpool, and the surprise package Aston Villa.
This season, based on some of the business made and quality in the squads, Arsenal, Man City, and Liverpool mostly retain their spot, with Man United tipped to be in the mix.
The likes of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Aston Villa are expected to also put up a good fight to be part of the top-four conversation.
Premier League title favourites:
Arsenal finished as runners-up to Guardiola’s Man City by fine margins on two consecutive seasons, and should they pick up from where they left off, Mikel Arteta and his side could just be a ‘third time lucky’ this time around and win their first-ever league title in
20 years.
Despite the odds set to be stacked against them and Man City going into the new season as frontrunners once again, like any other dominant club, their reign will come to an end one day and the Gunners of London seem to be the club closest to dethroning them, and this may just be the season to do it.
