Man City head to Chelsea as Liverpool face Premier League Opening Weekend banana skin

The wait is finally over – the Premier League is back tomorrow. It’s been almost three months since the end of last season and while we’ve had the Euros, Copa America and the Olympics to whet the appetite, there’s nothing quite like the weekly highs and lows of domestic football.

Ahead of an action-packed opening weekend, we’ve taken a closer look at some of the key clashes.

City start title defence against new-look Chelsea

Manchester City enter the new Premier League season with ambitions of winning their fourth consecutive title and their first step on that journey is a trip to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea. While there have been question marks over the long-term future of Kevin De Bruyne, City still have a star-studded squad despite the loss of Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid.

The reigning champions head into their opening game as favourites but they’ll be wary of their west London counterparts. Chelsea are in the infancy of yet another new chapter, this time under Enzo Maresca, who previously spent a year learning his trade as Pep Guardiola’s assistant.

The Italian guided Leicester to promotion last season and faces a battle to get Chelsea back into the Champions League following their sixth-placed finish last time out. In true Chelsea fashion, they’ve splashed out again in the transfer market by bringing in nine new faces so far, including Pedro Neto from Wolves.

With such a huge squad to pick from, it’s hard to predict who will be selected to take on the might of City. Regardless of the other 10 players, one guaranteed starter is former City man Cole Palmer, who shone during his debut campaign at Chelsea as he scored 22 Premier League goals.

With the England star on their side, Chelsea will feel that they can take the game to anyone. But if their recent friendly is anything to go by, City should start their title defence with three points. The two sides met in a pre-season game across the pond earlier this month and two-time Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland reminded everyone of his class by smashing in a hat-trick in a 4-2 City win.

Potential banana skins for Liverpool and Spurs

While on paper they could be considered the easier fixtures, nobody wants to face a newly-promoted side on the opening weekend. The new kids on the block are an unknown quantity, eager to make an impression and still on a high from their promotion heroics in the previous campaign.

For Liverpool and Tottenham, they’ll have to navigate these early challenges and hope to get through unscathed. Jurgen Klopp will no doubt be laughing to himself on a beach somewhere that Liverpool have once again been dealt with the dreaded Saturday lunchtime kick-off.

Yet it’ll be no laughing matter for his replacement, Arne Slot, if he fails his audition against new boys Ipswich. Despite the changing of the guard, Liverpool have been remarkably quiet in the transfer market, bringing in no new faces so far.

And while Slot would have ideally liked some additions, he’ll be confident that his current squad can compete for now, with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota firing in pre-season.

Ipswich impressed last year playing attacking football and they did well to keep hold of boss Kieran McKenna amid summer interest from more established clubs. The Tractor Boys are back in the top flight for the first time since 2002 and while they’ve strengthened well, they’ll be wary of being too bold and not having a ‘Plan B’ in certain games, which was ultimately Burnley’s downfall last year.

Elsewhere, Spurs travel to another promoted side in Leicester. Meetings between the two sides have traditionally been high scoring, with at least four goals in each of the last five matches.

There may well be goals in this clash. Tottenham caught the eye with their attacking play under Ange Postecoglu last season and they’ve bolstered their attacking ranks by splashing out on Dominic Solanke. Meanwhile, Leicester scored 89 goals on the way to the Championship title and have made smart additions up top.

Arsenal and Manchester United target strong starts

While they ultimately missed out to City again, Arsenal were even closer to the title last term, finishing just two points behind the champions. They’ve dusted themselves off, regrouped and they’ll fancy their chances at finally closing the gap this time around.

Jurrien Timber is back from injury, new signing Riccardo Calafiori adds defensive depth and Kai Havertz is finally showing glimpses of the huge potential he has. The Gunners take on Wolves, who they did the double over last season.

The Midlands outfit were no pushovers last year as Gary O’Neill silenced his early critics. But they’ve got work to do before the transfer window closes after losing two key players in Neto and Max Kilman.

And in the opening fixture of the new campaign, Manchester United welcome Fulham to Old Trafford. The Red Devils have been splashing out under their new ownership. They’ve already brought in exciting youngsters Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee for big fees, with Matthijs De Ligt not far behind.

But Fulham will hold no fear going into the clash. The west London side won 2-1 in this fixture back in February and they’ve added Emile Smith-Rowe to their attack, who has popped up with a couple of goals in pre-season.

All eyes will be on the Premier League curtain raiser on Friday night and Erik ten Hag will be desperate to avoid a pressure-building defeat after surviving the sack by the skin of his teeth. United looked solid enough in their Community Shield defeat to rivals City but they’ll need key players like Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford to rediscover their form if they’re to have any chance of challenging for the top four.

Premier League opening weekend fixtures

Friday 16th August

 Manchester United v Fulham – 8pm

 Saturday 17th August

 Ipswich Town v Liverpool – 12:30pm
Arsenal v Wolves – 3pm
Everton v Brighton – 3pm
Newcastle v Southampton – 3pm
Nottingham Forest v Bournemouth – 3pm
West Ham v Aston Villa – 5:30pm

 Sunday 18th August

 Brentford v Crystal Palace – 2pm
Chelsea v Manchester City – 4:30pm

 Monday 19th August

 Leicester v Tottenham – 8pm

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