After a relentless summer of football action courtesy of the expanded Fifa World Cup, the new club season is quickly upon us with the English Premier League kicking off this weekend.
Arsenal will be looking to defend the title they won for the first time since 2004, with Mikel Arteta's side already having one trophy in the bag this season, albeit the glorified pre-season friendly that is the Community Shield, after beating Manchester City last weekend.
City, meanwhile, started life after Pep Guardiola's departure with a comprehensive defeat at Cardiff's Principality Stadium as Enzo Maresca began his reign disappointingly. The likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle United will also be starting their campaigns with new faces in their respective dugouts, with Andoni Iraola, Xabi Alonso and Matthias Jaissle appointed as their managers over the summer.
Making their return to top-flight football will be newly promoted sides Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City, with the Sky Blues back in the top flight for the first time in 25 years. See our predictions for the opening round of fixtures below.
Friday: Arsenal v Coventry City (11pm midnight kick-off)
The defending champions saw midfielder Bruno Guimaraes (£75 million) and winger Christos Tzolis (£34m) make their debuts against City, while Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa is close to completinga £51m movee to North London.
Frank Lampard led Coventry to the Championship title last season, finishing 11 points clear at the top of the table. The Sky Blues have spent more than £100 million on new signings during the transfer window, including the likes of goalkeeper Carl Rushworth (£22.5m), midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi (£23m) and striker Taiwo Awoniyi (£9.5m).
Prediction: Arsenal 3 Coventry 1
Saturday: Hull City v Manchester United (3.30pm)
Hull are back in the Premier League after beating Middlesbrough in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, thanks to an injury-time Oli McBurnie goal. The Tigers, managed by Sergej Jakirovic, have spent around £75m during the summer, including a club-record £21.5m on Senegal defender Nobel Mendy.
Michael Carrick guided United to third spot last season, earning him the permanent manager's job at Old Trafford. Improving the midfield has been Carrick's summer focus, with deals completed for Youri Tielemens and Andrey Santos, while Brighton’s Cameroonian international Carlos Baleba is also close to joining.
Prediction: Hull 0 Man United 2
Everton v Crystal Palace (6pm)
Everton, 13th last season, have boosted their midfield by bringing in Championship Player of the Year Hayden Hackney from Middlesbrough (£24m) and the experienced Denmark international Christian Norgaard from Arsenal (£7m). Manager David Moyes will be hoping a deal can be done to bring Jack Grealish back on loan from Manchester City and is still in need of a new right-back.
Pierre Sage has replaced Oliver Glasner as manager of Palace, who ended last season in 15th place, six points above the bottom three but having won the Europa Conference League. The Eagles have brought in winger Dwight McNeil from Everton, with winger Brennan Johnson moving to Merseyside in a straight swap, with the two set to go up against their former clubs at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Prediction: Everton 1 Palace 1
Ipswich Town v Sunderland (6pm)
Ipswich have spent big in a bid to avoid a second top-flight relegation in three seasons. The Tractor Boys – who saw Gary O'Neil replace Kieran McKenna as manager – have forked out around £150m on 12 players, including forward Emersonn (£24m), midfielder Julio Enciso (£26m) and winger Abdul Fatawu (£20m).
Sunderland enjoyed a memorable top-flight return last season with a seventh-place finish – including a home-and-away double win over local rivals Newcastle – earning them a place in Europe for the first time since the 1973/74 campaign. The Black Cats signed Senegal midfielder Habib Diarra for a club record £30m during the summer.
Prediction: Ipswich 0 Sunderland 1
Nottingham Forest v Leeds United (6pm)
The appointment of former Palace manager Glasner is an ambitious one, with the club desperately needing some stability after employing four different coaches in a season that saw them finish 16th. Forest have lost England midfielder Manchester City, but have but have bolstered their defence by bringing in Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande for £34m from Sporting.
Leeds comfortably sealed their top-flight status by finishing 14th last time round and manager Daniel Farke has been given money to spend in this window. A club-record £45m was spent on Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford, while Bosnian centre-back Tarik Muharemovic has joined from Serie A side Sassuolo for £34m.
Prediction: Forest 2 Leeds 2
Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur (8.30pm)
Keith Andrews proved an inspired choice to replace Thomas Frank as Brentford manager, as the Bees ended the campaign in ninth place, just outside the European spots. A club-record £39m was spent on Mali midfielder Mamadou Sangare during the summer.
Spurs have been busy in the transfer market as they look to improve on their 17th-place finish in each of the past two seasons. Manager Roberto de Zerbi has spent heavily on midfielders Sandro Tonali (for a club-record £100m) and Mateus Fernandes (£85m), as well as defender Jan Paul van Hecke (£52m). They have also been linked with Manchester City's attacking duo Savinho and Omar Marmoush, as well as Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo.
Prediction: Brentford 1 Spurs 2
Sunday: Brighton v Aston Villa (5pm)
Brighton are back in European football this season thanks to their eighth-place finish but have lost Danny Welbeck's goals and experience as well as defender Van Hecke during the summer, while midfielder Baleba could also be heading for the exit. Arrivals in Fabian Hurzeler's squad include defenders Luka Vuskovic (£46m) and Pascal Struijk (£20m).
Europa League winners Villa could face a challenging season with Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne all gone, with Ezri Konsa, Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez potentially joining them. Manager Unai Emery has managed to bring in the likes of Switzerland winger Johan Manzambi (for a club-record £51m) and midfielder Joao Gomes (£38m).
Prediction: Brighton 2 Villa 0
Manchester City v Bournemouth (5pm)
Pep Guardiola's glorious City era is over, with his former assistant Maresca now in charge. Player-wise, Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders, Bernardo Silva and John Stones have all left for pastures new. Savinho and Marmoush could yet join them. Anderson was a club-record arrival from Forest, while Ayyoub BouaddiAyyoub Bouaddi is expected to join from Lille (£85m). Expect several more signings before the window closes.
Bournemouth lost manager Iraola in the summer, with German coach Marco Rose now in charge of a side that finished sixth and qualified for the Europa League last season. Rose will be hoping to hang on to midfielder Alex Scott, but will be without key attacker Eli Junior Kroupi for a few months due to injury. New arrivals include defender Antonio Silva and striker Alvaro Rodriguez (both for around £25m).
Prediction: Man City 3 Bournemouth 0
Newcastle United v Liverpool (7.30pm)
A summer of upheaval on Tyneside after their disappointing 12th-place finish has seen manager Eddie Howe depart, as well as key players Anthony Gordon (£69m), Tonali and Guimaraes. New coach Matthias Jaissle will have a youthful squad at his disposal with Ewen Jaouen (£18.5m), Bazoumana Toure (£42m), Sean Steur (£23m), Aladji Bamba (£35m, Lukas Hornicek (£25.7m) and Amar Dedic (£29.5m) all joining, none of whom are over the age of 24, with four under 21.
Liverpool have Ariola at the helm after the sacking of Arne Slot following the club's fall from champions to sixth place last season. Experienced trio Ibrahima Konate, Andrew Robertson and Mohamed Salah have all left on free transfers, while defender Jeremy Jacquet (£60m) and winger Victor Munez (£34.5m) are the only big arrivals so far. There will be pre-match tributes to former Newcastle and Liverpool hero Kevin Keegan, who died in July.
Prediction: Newcastle 2 Liverpool 2
Monday: Fulham v Chelsea (11pm)
Fulham, 11th last season, have Alvaro Arbeloa in charge after the exit of Marco Silva to Benfica, with the former Real Madrid coach quickly signing striker Gonzalo Garcia and midfielder Cesar Palacios from his former club for a combined fee of around £43m. Defensive midfielder Shea Charles has also arrived from second-tier Southampton for £30m.
Alonso's first game in charge will be a West London derby with Chelsea looking to improve on last season's 10th-place finish, which saw three different managers in the dugout. The Spaniard has brought in the likes of defender Maxence Lacroix (£51m) and midfielder Rogers from Villa (for a British-record £117m), while also signing experienced midfielder Jordan Henderson and striker Welbeck.
Prediction: Fulham 0 Chelsea 2
