Premier League predictions: Liverpool trounce Fulham, Spurs off to a flyer

Arsenal kick off new season with a trip to Crystal Palace on Friday

FRIDAY: Crystal Palace v Arsenal, 11pm: Arsenal have signaled their intent to challenge for a top-four berth this season with some signature signings, not least Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus and Portugal midfielder Fabio Vieira. Selhurst Park is never an easy place to visit and the Gunners will have to show plenty of grit to come away with a positive result. Prediction: Palace 1, Arsenal 1. Getty Images

SATURDAY: Fulham v Liverpool, 3.30pm. Darwin Nunez has already endeared himself to Liverpool fans with a fine cameo off the bench in the 3-1 Community Shield victory over Manchester City. The Uruguayan will be hoping for a starting role against Fulham, who have traditionally found the going tough against the Premier League's biggest guns. Prediction: Fulham 0, Liverpool 4. AP Photo

Bournemouth v Aston Villa, 6pm: Bournemouth bounced straight back after their relegation from the Premier League in 2021. Scott Parker has added no new signings to his squad that finished runners-up in last season's Championship while Aston Villa counterpart Steven Gerrard can count on the services of Brazilian pair Diego Carlos and Philippe Coutinho. Prediction: Bournemouth 1, Villa 1. Getty Images

Leeds United v Wolves, 6pm: Leeds stayed up by the skin of their teeth on the final day of last season, but with star forward Raphinha having departed for Barcelona, it remains to be seen how Jesse Marsch compensates for the brilliant Brazilian. Wolves' form tailed off towards the back end of 2021/22 as they failed to win any of their final five games to finish 10th. Prediction: Leeds 0, Wolves 2. PA

Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest, 6pm: Two clubs who have been plenty busy in the transfer market over the summer. Dutch defender Sven Botman will form part of a defence that on paper looks as good as many in the top tier. Nottingham Forest stormed to promotion via the play-offs after being rooted to the foot of the table when manager Steve Cooper was appointed in September 2021. Prediction: Newcastle 2, Forest 0. Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton, 6pm: Tottenham look best placed to challenge Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the table, especially with Richarlison added to a star-studded front line already boasting Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. Ralph Hasenhuttl has been four years at the Southampton helm but there has been little sign of progress. Could this be the year the Saints step up? Prediction: Tottenham 3, Southampton 0. Getty Images

Everton v Chelsea, 8.30pm: After a period of uncertainty following a protracted takeover, Chelsea moved fast to replace the departing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen with Kalidou Koulibaly while four-time Premier League winner Raheem Sterling should provide the goals Romelu Lukaku couldn't. Everton can not endure another season like last where they only ensured survival with a game to spare. Everton 0, Chelsea 2. AP Photo

SUNDAY: Leicester City v Brentford, 5pm: Brentford showed they were more than a match for most teams in the league in an excellent debut campaign while Leicester's largely fizzled out before it even ignited. With Newcastle testing Leicester's resolve to keep James Maddison, the Foxes could be in for another season of struggle. Leicester 1, Brentford 1. Getty Images

Manchester United v Brighton, 5pm: Fitting that Cristiano Ronaldo - who reportedly has told Manchester United he wants to quit the club - should mark his return to action against the team he last faced in the Premier League in May. That day was one to forget for all concerned at the club as Brighton ran out 4-0 winners. But United have a new man in charge in Erik ten Hag. Fans will hope for a rapid uptick in form and performances under the Dutchman. Prediction: United 2, Brighton 2. AFP

West Ham United v Manchester City. 7.30pm: City will be reeling more from their abject performance against Liverpool last weekend perhaps more than they will the result, a 3-1 defeat. With Raheem Sterling, Fernandinho and Oleksandr Zinchenko gone, it will be interesting to see how City look to supply their superstar signing Erling Haaland. Prediction: West Ham 1, City 2. Getty Images

The 2022/23 Premier League season kicks off on Friday with a London derby with Arsenal away to Crystal Palace.

Arsenal have been on a heavy recruitment drive this summer, with Gabriel Jesus the signature signing from Manchester City.

With Alexandre Lacazette gone, manager Mikel Arteta will look to the Brazil striker to fire the goals to take the Gunners back into the top four and Champions League football for the first time since 2017.

Patrick Vieira enjoyed a successful first season in charge of Palace, guiding the Eagles to a 12th-place finish. The Frenchman will hope to build on that this campaign, starting with a win against the club he graced as a player and captain.

Saturday features a stacked card of six games. Last season's runners-up Liverpool get their campaign up and running against Championship winners Fulham in the early kick off (3.30pm UAE).

The Reds already have their hands on a trophy after winning last week's Community Shield match against Manchester City where star signing Darwin Nunez announced his arrival in England by making a goal and scoring in the 3-1 win at Wembley.

The Uruguayan is set to spearhead a fearsome front three that includes Luis Diaz and last season's joint Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah.

Four matches kick off at 6pm with the other promoted clubs - Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest - at home to Aston Villa and away to Newcastle United respectively. Leeds United welcome Wolves to Elland Road before Chelsea travel to Everton in the 8.30pm match.

Champions Manchester City are in action on Sunday with West Ham United their first opponents in the 7.30pm kick off.

City fans will hope to see more energy from new singing Erling Haaland, who looked lacklustre in the Community Shield defeat to Liverpool in which he completed only seven passes and smashed a gilt-edged chance against the crossbar.

The day's proceedings sees Leicester City lock horns with Brentford (5pm) and Manchester United - in which Erik ten Hag takes charge of a Premier League match for the first time - against Brighton & Hove Albion.

To read Steve Luckings' predictions of all the matches on opening weekend, click on the picture gallery above.

The biggest summer transfers

Perr Schuurs - Ajax to Torino (£8m). AFP

Paco Alcacer - Villarreal to Sharjah (loan). Getty Images

Matheus Nunes - Sporting to Wolves (£38m). AFP

Tanguy Nianzou - Bayern Munich to Sevilla (£16.9m). AFP

Alan Virginius - Sochaux to Lille (£3.8m). AFP

Thilo Kehrer - PSG to West Ham (£10.1m). Getty Images

Pervis Estupinan - Villarreal to Brighton (£15.1m). Getty Images

Destiny Udogie - Udinese to Tottenham (£15.1m). Loaned back to Udinese. Reuters

Sergio Gomez - Anderlecht to Manchester City (£11m). Photo: Manchester City

Alex Collado - Barcelona to Elche (loan). AFP

Remo Freuler - Atalanta to Nottingham Forest (£9m). AP

Marc Bartra - Real Betis to Tranbzonspor (undisclosed fee). Getty Images

Giovani Lo Celso - Tottenham to Villarreal (loan). Getty Images

Cheikhou Kouyate - Crystal Palace to Nottingham Forest (free). Getty Images

Emmanuel Dennis - Watford to Nottingham Forest (£20m). Getty Images

Nico González - Barcelona to Valencia (loan). AP Photo

Luca Pellegrini - Juventus to Eintracht Frankfurt (loan). AFP

Daniel Wass - Atletico Madrid to Brondby (£1.7m). EPA

Pablo Marí - Arsenal to Monza (loan). AP

Dries Mertens - Napoli to Galatasaray (free). AFP

Jordan Veretout - Roma to Marseille (£9.3m). Reuters

Christian Benteke - Crystal Palace to DC United (undisclosed fee). AFP

Maxwell Cornet - West Ham United to Burnley (£17.5m). PA

Georginio Wijnaldum - PSG to Roma (loan). AFP

Lucas Torreira - Arsenal to Galatasaray (£5m). AFP

Marc Cucurella - Brighton to Chelsea (£55m). Getty Images

Ademola Lookman - RB Leipzig to Atalanta (£12.6m). PA via AP

Renato Sanches - Lille to Paris Saint-Germain (£12.6m). AFP

Riqui Puig - Barcelona to LA Galaxy (free). AP Photo

Alex Telles - Manchester United to Sevilla (loan). AFP

Carney Chukwuemeka - Aston Villa to Chelsea (£20m). Reuters

Kasper Schmeichel - Leicester City to Nice (£1m). AFP

Mattia Viti - Empoli to Nice (£10.9m). AFP

Gabriel Slonina - Chicago Fire to Chelsea (£8.3m). Reuters

Bernd Leno - Arsenal to Fulham (£3m). AFP

Charles De Ketelaere - Club Brugge to AC Milan (£26.8m). AFP

Joe Rodon - Tottenham to Stade Rennais (loan). AFP

Borja Mayoral - Real Madrid to Getafe (£8.4m). EPA

Cesc Fabregas - Monaco to Como (free). EPA

Alexis Beka Beaka - Lokomotiv Moscow to Nice (£11.7m). AFP

Marcus Tavernier -Middlesbrough to Bournemouth (£10m). Getty Images

Aaron Ramsey - Juventus to Nice (free). AFP

Orel Mangala - Stuttgart to Nottingham Forest (£12.7m). AFP

David Raum - Hoffenheim to RB Leipzig (£21.8m). Getty Images

Oscar Mingueza - Barcelona to Celta Vigo (£2.5m). Getty Images

Jules Kounde - Sevilla to Barcelona (£45m). AFP

Dwight McNeil - Burnley to Everton (£20m). Getty Images

Arnaud Kalimuendo - PSG to Rennes (£21m). Getty Images

Filip Kostic - Eintracht Frankfurt to Juventus (£14.4m). EPA

Salvatore Sirigu - Genoa to Napoli (free). Reuters

Mikkel Damsgaard - Sampdoria to Brentford (£12.7m). EPA

Malang Sarr - Chelsea to Monaco (loan). AFP

Issa Diop - West Ham United to Fulham (£15m). Getty Images

Alexis Sanchez - Internazionale to Marseille (free). Getty Images

Timo Werner - Chelsea to RB Leipzig (£18m). AP

Amadou Onana - Llle to Everton (£33.8m). AFP

Emirhan Ilkhan - Besiktas to Torino (£3.8m). PA

Gonçalo Guedes - Valencia to Wolves (£27.5m). AP Photo

Conor Coady - Wolves to Everton (loan). Getty Images

Anthony Modeste - Cologne to Borussia Dortmund (£3.8m). EPA

Angeliño - RB Leipzig to Hoffenheim (loan). Getty Images

Marcos Senesi - Feyenoord to Bournemouth (£12.6m). AFP

Isco - Real Madrid to Sevilla (free). EPA

Raheem Sterling - Manchester City to Chelsea (£50m). Getty Images

Lisandro Martinez - Ajax to Manchester United (£46m). Getty Images

Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich to Barcelona (£38.3m). AFP

Hugo Ekitike - Reims to Paris Saint-Germain (loan). AFP

Thomas Henry - Venezia to Verona (£3.8m). Getty Images

Takefusa Kubo - Real Madrid to Real Sociedad (£5.2m). Getty Images

Kalidou Koulibaly - Napoli to Chelsea (£33.8m). EPA

Chancel Mbemba - Porto to Marseille (free). EPA

Breel Embolo - Borussa Monchengladbach to Monaco (£10.6m). EPA

Christian Eriksen - Brentford to Manchester United (free). PA

Raphinha - Leeds United to Barcelona (£49m). Getty Images

Federico Bernardeschi - Juventus to Toronto FC (free). Getty Images

Andrea Cambiaso - Genoa to Juventus (£5.9m). Getty Images

Arturo Vidal - Inter Milan to Flamengo (free). Getty Images

Mohamed Bayo - Clermont to Lille (£11.8m). AFP

Francisco Trincao - Barcelona to Sporting (loan). Getty Images

Samu Castillejo - AC Milan to Valencia (undisclosed fee). PA

Lewis Ferguson - Aberdeen to Bologna (£3m). PA

Keane Lewis-Potter - Hull City to Brentford (£16m). PA

Alessio Romagnoli - AC Milan to Lazio (free). Getty Images

Nathan Collins - Burnley to Wolves (£20.5m). PA

Andriy Yarmolenko - West Ham United to Al Ain (free). AP Photo

David Ospina - Napoli to Al Nassr (free). Getty Images

Kristian Thorstvedt - Genk to Sassuolo (£8.4m). Reuters

Andreas Pereira -Manchester United to Fulham ( £10m). Getty Images

Gabriel Jesus - Manchester City to Arsenal (£45m). Getty Images

Steven Bergwijn - Tottenham Hotspur to Ajax (£26.5m). AP Photo

Andreas Christensen - Chelsea to Barcelona (free). AFP

Sébastien Haller - Ajax to Borussia Dortmund (£30.8m). AFP

Flynn Downes - Swansea City to West Ham United (£12m). PA

Junior Messias - Crotone to AC Milan (£3.8m). Reuters

Luis Sinisterra - Feyenoord to Leeds United (£21.3m). AFP

Brais Méndez - Celta Vigo to Real Sociedad (£12.8m). Getty Images

Moussa Niakhaté - Mainz to Nottingham Forest (£8.7m). Getty Images

Romeo Lavia - Manchester City to Southmpton (£12m). AP Photo

Tyler Adams - RB Leipzig to Leeds United (£20m). AP

Axel Witsel - Borussia Dortmund to Atletico Madrid (free). EPA

Maya Yoshida - Sampdoria to Schalke (free). AP Photo

Tyrell Malacia - Feyenoord to Manchester United (£12.9m). AP Photo

Zeki Celik - Lille to Roma (£6m). AFP

Ritsu Doan - PSV Eindhoven to Freiburg (£6.5m). AFP

Divock Origi - Liverpool to AC Milan (free). AFP

Rolando Mandragora - Torino to Fiorentina (£7m). EPA

Joao Palhinha - Sporting to Fulham (£17m). Getty Images

Franck Kessie - AC Milan to Barcelona (free). Getty Images

Trezeguet - Aston Villa to Trabzonspor (£3.4m). AFP

Kalvin Phillips - Leeds United to Manchester City (£45m). Reuters

Giulian Biancone - Troyes to Nottingham Forest (£5m). AFP

Giuliano Simeone - Atletico Madrid to Real Zaragoza (loan). EPA

Raoul Bellanova - Cagliari to Inter Milan (loan). Getty Images

Richarlison - Everton to Tottenham (£50 million). PA

Fabio Carvalho - Fulham to Liverpool (£5 million). PA

James Tarkowski Burnley to Everton (free). Getty Images

Sime Vrsaljko - Atletico Madrid to Olympiakos (free). AP Photo

Dean Henderson - Manchester United to Nottingham Forest (loan). PA

Luuk de Jong - Sevilla to PSV Eindhoven (£3.4m). AP Photo

Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Roma to Inter Milan (free). Reuters

Cenk Tosun - Everton to Besiktas (free). Reuters

Andre Onana - Ajax to Inter Milan (free). Getty

Moussa Sissoko - Watford to Nantes (£2m). AFP

Corentin Tolisso - Bayern Munich to Lyon (free). AFP

Vitinha - Porto to Paris Saint-Germain (£34m). AFP

Romelu Lukaku - Chelsea to Inter Milan (loan). PA

Lorenzo Insigne - Napoli to Toronto FC (free). AP

Sven Botman - Lille to Newcastle United (£31.9m). AFP

Takumi Minamino - Liverpool to Monaco (£15.5m). Getty Images

Alphonse Areola - Paris Saint-Germain to West Ham United (£7.8m). AFP

Lucas Leiva - Lazio to Gremo (free). Getty Images

Joselu - Alaves to Espanyol (free). Getty Images

Matt Turner - New England Revolution to Arsenal (£4.7m). Reuters

Fernandinho - Manchester City to Athletico Paranaense (free). PA

Bartol Franjic - Dinamo Zagreb to Wolfsburg (£6.9m). Getty Images

Wahbi Khazri - Saint-Etienne to Montpellier (free). AFP

Tobias Figueiredo - Hull City to Nottingham Forest (free). PA

Pietro Pellegri - Monaco to Tornio (£3.9m). Getty Images

Erling Haaland - Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City. Getty Images

Malcolm Ebiowei - Derby County to Crystal Palace (undisclosed). PA

Taiwo Awoniyi - Union Berlin to Nottingham Forest (£17m). Getty Images

Gareth Bale - Real Madrid to Los Angeles FC (free). PA

Lucas Alario - Bayer Leverkusen to Eintracht Frankfurt (£5.6m). PA

Sadio Mane - Liverpool to Bayern Munich (£28m). Getty Images

Armindo Sieb - Bayern Munich to Greuther Fürth (undisclosed fee). Getty Images

Nick Pope - Burnley to Newcastle (£10m). PA

Ki-Jana Hoever - Wolves to PSV Eindhoven (loan). PA

Ryan Fredericks - West Ham United to Bournemouth (free). Getty Images

Mario Götze - PSV Eindhoven to Eintracht Frankfurt (£3.4m). Getty Images

Fabio Vieira - Porto to Arsenal (£30m). EPA

Antonio Rudiger - Chelsea to Real Madrid (free). PA

Merih Demiral - Juventus to Atalanta (£17.2m). AFP

Giovanni Simeone - Cagliari to Hellas Verona (£10.3m). AP

Marc Roca - Bayern Munich to Leeds United (£10m). PA

Yves Bissouma - Brighton to Tottenham (£25m). PA

Gavin Bazunu - Manchester City to Southampton (£12m). PA

Darwin Nunez - Benfica to Liverpool (£64.3m). PA

Aurelien Tchouameni - Monaco to Real Madrid (£85.3m). AFP

Nemanja Matic - Manchester United to Roma (free). EPA

Ryan Gravenberch - Ajax to Bayern Munich (£20m). EPA

Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus to Los Angeles FC (released). Getty Images

Cameron Carter-Vickers - Tottenham to Celtic (£6m). AFP

Alexandre Lacazette - Arsenal to Lyon (free transfer). AFP