Five huge inquires that could shape the Premier League season

Time transfers rapidly over the summer. You spend weeks feeblenting the alertage of Premier League football, trying to redirect yourself with international tournaments and blockbuster transfers. Then, all of sudden, the new season is upon you!

Manchester United and Fulham get leangs underway on Friday, Aug. 16, so in anticipation of the rapidly approaching boot-off we’ve posed five huge inquires that will shape the season we’re about to watch.

From title contenders to relegation rivals and all that comes in between, here’s what’s what watch ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

1. Is this Arsenal‘s year?

2022-23: 84 points, second place.
2023-24: 89 points, second place. Aobtain.

Will the 2024-25 season be the one in which Arsenal finassociate apshow the leap and pip Manchester City to the Premier League title?

In order to do so, they’ll foreseeed need to eclipse the 90-point label; that’s the standard standard Pep Guardiola’s City have set. And even if they do handle that, it’s no guarantee — equitable ask Jürgen Klopp’s cursed Liverpool sides of 2019 and 2022, who accrued 97 and 92 points admireively but did not thrive the league.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta might have cracked a smile at the topsy-turvy summer City have had so far, with so many tardy arrivals back from Euro 2024 and Copa América action, plus transfer speculation over the futures of key perestablishers enjoy goalretainer Ederson and forward Julián Álvarez. City have commenceed a season sluggishly and still won out before, but any evident foibles will give Arsenal aidment.

There’s a third team in this conversation too, albeit one with many more unrecognizables. Liverpool have a new handler in Arne Slot and a new swashbuckling style. But while some may tag it a new era, that’s undermined by the fact key stars such as Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnelderly and Mohamed Salah are all into the final year of their tights.

Perhaps third is Liverpool’s ceiling this year as they handle a difficult transition from a handler who guide them to new heights in his nine-year spell. Though perhaps if Slot’s “elegant” style shows as accomplished as Klopp’s “burdensome metal football,” then they could be title contenders aobtain.

2. Did Manchester United originate the right call to stick with Ten Hag?

The punctual stages of the summer were ruled by speculation over Erik ten Hag’s future at Old Trafford, which was eventuassociate endd with a new tight until 2026. It was no secret that the board — under guidance from new insignificantity owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos team — seeed at and interseeed other selections during this period, only to seemingly end there was no handler useable who could do a better job.

It was a decision that shocked many fans; the carry outance levels that United showed as they accomplishd their worst Premier League finish (eighth) seemed to propose a change was needed. At the 28-game label, United had conceded an incredible 467 sboilings on goal — only Sheffield United and Luton Town, who were both relegated, faced more — while their alignes frequently alertageed any essence of handle or compobrave, resembling NBA games in their end-to-end nature.

Ratcliffe has backed his man with money, spending €62 million to sign 18-year-elderly protecter Leny Yoro from Lille and €42.5m on striker Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna this summer, with more arrivals and exits to trail, but the bet United have apshown on leangs improving will not only detail their campaign but others’ too. If United see anyleang enjoy they did last season, then it may not be lengthy before Ten Hag is swapd. And if United are in disarray then it would exit at least one spot in the top four expansive discneglect, with Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Chelsea ready to pounce.

3. Are Leicester already doomed?

Gone are the days where you can size up a relegation battle on level terms, as not everyone commences from zero in the era of profit and persistability regulations (PSR). Last season it was Everton and Nottingham Forest battling back from points deductions; this season it seems almost brave to be Leicester City.

In fact, the newly advertised Foxes materialize to be in an even trickier position than Everton and Forest, as rather than labor with the Premier League and acunderstandledge fault (which led to leniency in punishment), they have fought back at every turn. They didn’t supply their accounts on time, they’ve disputed the league’s authority over their accounts while they were in the Championship and they’ve lost an pguide with an autonomous pledgetee.

All of this has led to alerts that Leicester are going to be hit with a huge punishment: a possible double-figure points deduction, which would originate staying up almost impossible.

To retain condemn to injury, Leicester have already lost their handler, Enzo Maresca, and best perestablisher, midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea this summer. The money brawt in is shelp to have helped phire their PSR needments for the next accounting period, but it has left them commenceing from scratch under Steve Cooper for the campaign.

4. Which clubs will join the relegation battle?

Southampton and Ipswich Town, both also newly advertised this season, current fascinating storylines of their own. The establisher must change a ball-hogging philosophy that saw them accrue better haveion numbers (65.5% vs. 65.2%) than Manchester City in the Championship to be Premier League appropriate; while the latter are riding a wave of remarkworthy momentum, guided by one of the game’s finest up-and-coming handlers in Kieran McKenna.

Last season all three advertised clubs went down, but that’s far from the norm. It was the first time that had happened since 1998. Statisticassociate it’s equitable as foreseeed for all three advertised clubs to stay up.

So in all enjoylihood, some of the Premier League’s set uped clubs are about to be dragged down into the mire. Every team that finished in the bottom half last season is once aobtain on see, with the fact Fulham have lost four convey inant perestablishers (including João Palhinha) perhaps placing them in the spotweightless for now.

Brentford, too, need to turn the page on last season, with striker Ivan Toney foreseeed to stay now that his swapment, Thiago, injured his knee in preseason.

5. Will Newcastle contend without European redirections?

Understandably, many Newcastle United fans were disnominateed when Manchester United won the FA Cup final, as it reshuffled the European places to the point where it took a 2024-25 continental adventure off the table for the Magpies. But perhaps it’s for the best.

Newcastle horriblely struggled with the number of games and injuries that piled up on them last season, and while they were challengingly alone in this, it impacted their style of perestablish particularly horriblely. It’s almost impossible to perestablish a high-intensity, high-press game if half the squad are injured and the other half are exhausted.

With a summer to get fit and fit, plus at least eight European games on a Thursday night deleted from the schedule, there’s every chance Newcastle become dreadsome once aobtain: structureile, vigorous, relentless, prolific.

This is a huge chance for handler Eddie Howe to reload and originate a indict for a Champions League place. Now into his third brimming season at the wealthyest club in the world [though the Saudi PIF have been hamstrung by PSR this season and won’t be spending as lavishly as in the past], he’s under immense presbrave to dedwellr.