The 2025-26 Premier League play is almost upon america and location is truthful overmuch intrigue arsenic teams look to adjacent nan spread pinch reigning champions Liverpool and decorativeness successful nan Champions League spots.
With a grounds number of teams successful European competitions, nan spot of nan Premier League is possibly astatine its peak, and nan promoted teams each look beardown and prepared for nan nine-month gauntlet that awaits from August until May.
Let’s return a look astatine nan cardinal storylines heading into nan caller season.
Can new-look Liverpool get nan equilibrium right?
After spending large connected 4 caller cardinal signings this summertime (and perchance adding striker Alexander Isak successful nan coming weeks for a British grounds transportation interest of complete $150 million), reigning Premier League champions Liverpool person not stood still. But their costly rebuild has shown signs of early increasing pains.
German playmaker Florian Wirtz is simply a generational talent and looks for illustration a bargain, moreover for $133 million. Forward Hugo Ekitike is still earthy but will people plenty. New afloat backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong are breathtaking and energetic. Yet nan equilibrium has been disconnected successful preseason and head Arne Slot knows it.
Liverpool will people successful bunches but it’s each astir getting nan equilibrium right, particularly successful defense and retired wide. With Trent Alexander-Arnold sold to Real Madrid and Andy Robertson now a backup, Liverpool’s spot for truthful agelong has been retired wide defensively. This play they’ll person a new-look attacking statement and beryllium susceptible connected nan antagonistic arsenic caller players fig retired really to get nan all-important equilibrium right. That is nan occupation for Slot and knowledgeable leaders for illustration Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah to benignant out.
Liverpool’s title bid whitethorn get disconnected to a somewhat shaky commencement arsenic they effort to fig it each out. Add successful nan perfectly tragic nonaccomplishment of guardant Diogo Jota this summer aft he was killed successful a car clang and Liverpool person been moving done a lot. But they will get location and nan talent they person is undoubted. The large question: tin each of their caller attacking players play together from nan start? Liverpool are still nan favorites to triumph nan title again, but location are plentifulness much questions than answers heading into nan opening game.
Gyokeres could beryllium nan last portion successful Arsenal’s trophy-hungry jigsaw
For truthful agelong Arsenal person wanted, and needed, a due halfway guardant to decorativeness goal-scoring chances. Now they person it successful Viktor Gyokeres. The Swedish striker buried a header successful their last preseason crippled and you could spot nan cogs swirling astir wrong nan heads of Arsenal fans. “Hang on, is this it!?”
The comparisons to erstwhile Erling Haaland arrived astatine Manchester City are plentiful and though Gyokeres still has a agelong measurement to spell to scope those levels, connected a simplistic level this should work. Arsenal create truthful galore chances, whip successful truthful galore crosses and they drew 14 games successful nan Premier League past season. Gyokeres’ presence will surely thief them triumph much of those tight games and that will adjacent nan spread to Liverpool arsenic nan Gunners purpose to debar a fourth-straight second-place decorativeness and yet triumph a trophy.
At this constituent they will return nan League Cup, FA Cup and of people a first-ever Champions League title. But aft a beardown summertime of early spending successful nan transportation market, Arsenal person possibly ne'er been person to winning nan Premier League for nan first clip since 2004. It each hinges connected Gyokeres finishing disconnected nan chances Bukayo Saka and Co. will put connected a sheet for him.
Change of culture, caller guardant statement has Manchester United looking up
Manchester United head Ruben Amorim deed nan reset fastener difficult aft a reliable first 8 months successful charge. Last play was a disaster successful nan Premier League but United showed they could still emergence to nan juncture arsenic they made it to nan Europa League last wherever they mislaid to Tottenham. That astir apt did them a favour arsenic they person nary European action to interest astir this play and Amorim tin activity longer and harder connected nan training crushed pinch his squad.
In preseason each nan talk has been astir a alteration successful civilization astatine United. They person moved connected Marcus Rashford, while Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund are next, and a statement has been drawn successful nan sand. This underachievement can’t spell on. United person added existent value and acquisition successful onslaught pinch Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko coming in.
Over nan past 12 years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, location person been truthful galore mendacious dawns astir United rekindling their glory days. Amorim knows a top-six decorativeness and a beardown cup tally is nan very slightest United request to execute this play if they’re going to show group they’re backmost connected nan correct path. United person been going done this rebuild for astir of nan past decade but it still feels very akin to nan New England Patriots’ existent achy rebuild aft nan glory days of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. But there’s dream that United tin beryllium competitory and if they tin enactment coagulated defensively they now person nan correct operation of players, and characters, successful onslaught to triumph games.
The civilization is changing and Amorim’s broadside person had a superb preseason. Can they support it going amid a reliable commencement to nan play arsenic they look each of Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea successful their first 5 games?
After Club World Cup glory, Chelsea tin situation for nan title
Chelsea person immoderate superior momentum heading into nan caller play arsenic Enzo Maresca’s young broadside won nan Club World Cup, unexpectedly, this summertime and that has seen them turn massively successful confidence. Cole Palmer is their prima but caller recruits Joao Pedro, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens will springiness them an other cutting separator and decisiveness successful nan last third.
That’s nan point Chelsea missed past play arsenic Maresca’s broadside dominated games but couldn’t put teams away. They person nan Champions League to look guardant to excessively and location is nary slowing down successful signing caller players arsenic Xavi Simons, Alejandro Garnacho and others are linked pinch moves to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s immense squad was nan main logic they could triumph nan Club World Cup. If Maresca tin equilibrium and rotate well, watch out.
Other storylines to support an oculus on…
Record 9 Premier League teams will play successful Europe
Get utilized to plentifulness of Premier League teams rotating their lineups arsenic a grounds 9 teams will compete successful European competitions this season. Six teams are successful nan Champions League pinch Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle joined by Tottenham Hotspur courtesy of nan second winning nan Europa League past season. Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest will beryllium successful nan Europa League and Crystal Palace are successful nan Conference League. Having this galore teams successful Europe will beryllium intriguing arsenic squads will beryllium stretched to their limits, particularly successful nan autumn and wintertime months.
Americans ain 11 teams
There are now 11 teams retired of nan 20 successful nan Premier League that are either afloat aliases part-owned by Americans. Two newly-promoted teams successful Leeds United and Burnley are owned by U.S. based groups and pinch nan duo of Birmingham City (Tom Brady is involved) and Wrexham (Ryan Reynolds and Co.) successful nan second-tier besides owned by Americans and pushing difficult for promotion to nan Premier League this season, we could soon spot adjacent to 66 percent of nan Premier League owned by U.S. investors.
Manchester City continues to hold for a verdict
After winning four-straight titles, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City rallied to decorativeness 3rd spot past play arsenic caller signings successful January kicked them on. City person added nan likes of Ait-Nouri, Cherki and Reijnders successful nan summer, and moreover if they aren’t favorites for nan title, they will beryllium up there. But location is still plentifulness of uncertainty astir their early arsenic nan verdict regarding nan 115 charges from nan Premier League against them (the charges are for a play from 2009 until 2018) still loom.
Nobody knows precisely what will happen, and when, arsenic City are patient successful their declare that they are innocent. On nan transportation City will look to get backmost to being title contenders and they should beryllium up there. Off nan pitch, aft galore years of uncertainty, it’s still a enigma what will hap next.
Promoted clubs tin subordinate instant relegation trend
Leeds person spent a lot, and well, while Burnley person besides been awesome pinch nan transfers they’ve made. But Sunderland person possibly amazed everyone nan most. They’ve been capable to motion important players for illustration Granit Xhaka and Simon Adingra and nan 3 caller teams look group to effort and extremity nan rot for newly-promoted clubs.
In each of nan past 2 years, each 3 promoted clubs person been instantly relegated and it hasn’t been peculiarly competitory arsenic nan spread betwixt nan Premier League and second-tier grows bigger. But location is simply a existent dream that these 3 person learned from nan mistakes of others, while nan likes of Brentford, Bournemouth and Wolves person mislaid immoderate of their champion players this summertime and nan relegation scrap should beryllium a batch closer.
Joe Prince-Wright, NBC Sports
Joe Prince-Wright, NBC Sports