The English Premier League finally begins and is set for a roaring start with new football stars and exciting match-ups
Arsenal’s FA Community Shield win against Chelsea last Sunday – in which Arsene Wenger finally overcame Jose Mourinho – gave it the early season spotlight.
But Arsenal’s North London rival, Tottenham Hotspur, can steal the attention on the opening weekend of the 2015-2016 English Premier League season.
Tottenham travels to Manchester United in the pick of the first matches. Circling rumours about the potential transfer of former Spurs forward Gareth Bale from Real Madrid to the Red Devils will add intrigue to this match at Old Trafford.
The clash between last year’s fourth- and fifth-placed sides – the marquee game of the opening weekend – will see Louis van Gaal’s new look United try to unsettle Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Spurs do not have major changes from last season other than at the back, where 26-year-old Toby Alderweireld has signed from Atletico Madrid after excelling on loan at Southampton last season.
The United faithful, though, will be eagerly awaiting the first glimpse of new signings Memphis Depay, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Matteo Darmian in the Premier League. And there could very well be lumps in their throats when new signing Sergio Romero takes his place between the posts, replacing the magnificent David de Gea who is on his way to the Bernebeu.
United, bolstered by the money from the sale of Bale’s former Real Madrid teammate Angel di Maria to Paris Saint-German, is said to have launched an aggressive bid for the Welshman and three of his teammates. The 13-time Premier League winners lost 2-0 to the French champions in the last game of their US tour.
Overall, van Gaal’s men gave a good account of themselves, defeating Barcelona 3-1, with Wayne Rooney on target. Depay opened his account for the Red Devils during their 3-1 win against Major League Soccer (MLS) side San Jose Earthquakes. He has also linked up well with Rooney.
United fans will be hoping the duo can combine against Spurs to lethal effect, while the North Londoners will rely heavily on star striker Harry Kane.
This looks set to be a comfortable victory for United, with the new signings keen to impress.
Prediction: Manchester Utd 3-1 Tottenham
Stoke City vs Liverpool
Liverpool face a big challenge with a Sunday trip to the Britannia Stadium, where they were thumped 6-1 on the final day of last season to give departing captain Steven Gerrard a farewell to forget.
Somehow Brendan Rodgers kept his job, despite a miserable sixth place finish.
He will have no excuses for a similar result in 2015-2016, especially after an unprecedented summer spending spree.
Although winger Raheem Sterling moved to Manchester City, the Reds have brought in a host of reinforcements, including seasoned players such as midfielder James Milner, defender Nathaniel Clyne and striker Christian Benteke.
Milner settled in seamlessly during the pre-season and was one of the better performers on the Australian and Asian tour, even when the Reds were held to a shock 1-1 draw by a Malaysia XI.
Stoke did enough in last month’s Barclays Asia Trophy in Singapore, to show that it is likely to secure another mid-table finish.
This game, which is likely to feature ex-Liverpool striker Peter Crouch who has a habit of scoring against his old club, should be entertaining.
Prediction: Stoke 2-2 Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion vs Manchester City
Manchester City’s pre-season has been less than perfect. City, having won the 2013-2014 Premier League title, suffered heavy defeats to VfB Stuggart (4-2 in Germany) and Real Madrid (4-1 in Australia) in addition to the draw against Roma.
The Citizens face an away trip to West Bromwich Albion on Monday night. This is a potential early banana skin.
They haven’t significantly added to their squad and will again rely heavily on Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Yaya Toure.
Manuel Pellegrini is likely to find himself out of a job if City isn’t in the top two come October. The Chilean will be keen to prove the doubters wrong, who say he has run out of ideas and inspiration.
The Baggies will fancy their chances of an upset, but City should have enough quality to get all three points.
Prediction: WBA 1-2 Manchester City
Chelsea vs Swansea City
Don’t read too much into Chelsea’s loss to Arsenal in last Sunday’s Community Shield. Let’s not forget that David Moyes won the Community Shield in his first official match in charge of Manchester United a couple of years ago – and we know how that ended.
The Blues should tick along nicely this season, even with John Terry turning 35 this year and with Didier Drogba having left to spend his twilight playing years in the MLS.
Expect Mourinho to get the best out of Radamel Falcao, who was a flop at United. The Colombian could well be a perfect alternative to the brutish Diego Costa.
This should be a Stamford Bridge cakewalk against a pretty-passing Welsh side that will concede twice in the first half.
Prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Swansea
Arsenal vs West Ham United
It has taken Monsieur Wenger 14 attempts to get the best of Senhor Mourinho but Arsenal has finally done it, having won the FA Community Shield for the second time in two years last Sunday.
The Gunners have a settled look to their squad, though they are slightly deficient in both central defence and midfield. They’ll be hoping incumbents Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Francis Coquelin have injury-free campaigns.
The title is probably still beyond them but expect another top three finish, another domestic Cup and a better run in Europe.
A London derby at home to start with shouldn’t give them too many problems.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
By Jason Dasey
[su_note note_color=”#b4f1fa”]
About Jason Dasey
Jason Dasey is Senior Editor for ESPN FC in Singapore, Southeast Asia’s No. 1 football website.[/su_note]
ADVERTISEMENTS