Can Arsenal dethrone history-chasing Man City? …as EPL takes off today
After last season broke a Premier League record for most goals scored, with 1,246 in all, a new campaign is set to kick off this weekend, following a summer break dominated by international football.
Euro 2024, the Copa America and an absorbing Olympics tournament all caught the eye throughout the English top flight’s off-season, but now it is back to grab the limelight.
From today August 16 through to Sunday May 25, 2025, a total of 380 matches will ultimately determine the final Premier League standings, and which of the 20 teams will claim top spot.
The crown is Manchester City’s to lose, and they are now aiming for an unprecedented fifth successive title.
Bestriding English football with absolute dominance, Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City side have won the Premier League in each of the last four seasons, a run of success that no top-flight team have ever managed before.
Over the last seven years, only once have they missed out back in the pandemic-scarred 2019-20 campaign, when Liverpool had to win 26 of their first 27 matches to see off City’s challenge.
Although Julian Alvarez has departed and Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness struggles are all the more frequent, Guardiola’s squad looks strong as ever before embarking on their latest quest for trophies.
Perhaps they might struggle for motivation, though or could a potential punishment for breaking the Premier League’s financial rules finally scupper their plans?
Some 115 charges still hang over them, with a long-awaited hearing slated for late autumn nearly two years after they were first reported. If found guilty, City could face a points deduction or even alb expulsion from the top flight.
Of course, the club hierarchy denies wrongdoing, and Guardiola’s talented squad are already adept at tuning out white noise and holding their closest rivals at arm’s length.
While Arsenal and Liverpool in particular will believe they can wrest the title away from City’s iron grasp, should they fail to post at least 90 points that aim will surely come to naught once again.
Instead, they may be embroiled in the familiar race for a top-four finish; but if English clubs fare better in Europe than last season, five Champions League places could yet be up for grabs.
Arsenal’s attempt to go one better than the past two years will face a series of early tests, as they soon face City and old foes, Tottenham Hotspur, in successive matches, while playing three of last year’s top five within the first few weeks.
Liverpool new boss, Arne Slot, is intent on toning down Klopp’s heavy-metal football and keeping control in the Guardiola style, but that may take some adjusting to amid a transitional phase for the Merseyside club.
Other contenders might therefore enter the mix, and Chelsea under Enzo Maresca, who won the Championship with Leicester City last season may well be among them.
Manchester United are certainly considered to be one of the Premier League’s so-called ‘big six’, but the fallen giants came up short last season, finishing only eighth in their second year under Erik ten Hag.
They did beat rivals, Manchester City, in the FA Cup final, though, and some interesting recruitment both on and off the pitch could help the Red Devils mount a top-four challenge again.
On their day, United can match most teams, but after clinging on to his job, Ten Hag must now produce more consistent results. Shoring up a leaky back line would help in that regard only relegated Sheffield United conceded more shots last term.
Championship winners, Leicester City, dominated most of last season in England’s second tier, but losing their manager to Chelsea with Maresca being closely followed by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall leaves some uncertainty about their chances of staying up. -SportsMole
