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Swansea City vs Manchester United
Wayne Rooney
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After quarter of a century, Manchester United begin a new season with a new manager. David Moyes faces a tough away trip on his Manchester United debut in the last match of the day. United’s central midfield woes have still not been addressed, which means, there may be a chance of seeing the likes of Adnan Januzaj or Jesse Lingaard on the pitch at some stage.
A winning start will go some way towards silencing the doubters for the moment. Swansea have not had such major changes, and fans expectantly wait to see their record signing Wilfried Bony in action. They will play their usual possession based game with a surprise long ball once in a while.
The focus, however, will be on one man. Wayne Rooney was deemed fit enough to play for England during midweek, which means he should be available for selection for his club. If Rooney is left on the bench, Moyes will be facing more questions on the forward rather than the match. A fairly even match to predict, with a more intriguing issue brewing on the sidelines.
Venue: The Liberty Stadium
Kick off: Saturday, 17.30 GMT
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur
Another match where the spotlight will be more on a particular player rather than the match itself. Gareth Bale is likely to be left out, officially due to injury. Spurs fans will be anticipating some on-field action from the likes of their record signing Roberto Soldado, Paulinho and Nacer Chadli.
Palace must get used to starting league games without their former talisman Wilfried Zaha. In this clash of the Londoners, Spurs are expected to register a straightforward win. AVB would hope to keep his boys focused on job at hand, while their board handles the future of their star player. Crystal Palace are one of the favourites for relegation – if they get out of White Hart Lane with a point, it would be a job well done.
Venue: White Hart Lane
Kick off: Sunday, 13.30 GMT
Chelsea vs Hull City
The return of the godfather, just one loss in pre-season, no injury concerns, a promoted team to face first-up, at home. Things look very bright these days if you are a Chelsea fan. New signings Andre Schurrle and van Ginkel, along with returning loanees Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne, should get some taste of the action.
Chelsea are expected to maul the promoted Tigers in their opening game. Mourinho has never lost a league game at the Bridge, and never lost to promoted opponents in this league. The stats are all stacked against Hull City. Against an ecstatic home crowd and up against world class opponents, if Hull can snatch a draw here, it would be quite an accomplishment.
Promoted sides, high on motivation, can be dangerous opponents to face in your first match of the season though, so Mourinho and Chelsea must be wary.
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick off: Sunday, 16.00 GMT
Manchester City vs Newcastle United
Title contenders versus a mid-table team – the last match of the weekend sees the Toon army make the trip to Manchester. Manuel Pellegrini’s debut will be the major talking point in the build up to this. Will City start with their manager’s famous 4-2-2-2 formation? Will Yaya Toure’s free role in midfield be restricted? Which two among their four forwards will start? These questions will be answered in this late kickoff.
This is a fixture neither side would have wanted this early in the season. City are going to adapt to a new system, which may take a while to get into flow. Newcastle should look to take advantage of that slight uncertainty. If City can get into their stride early, Newcastle will find it hard to keep up with them.
For the home team, the result depends on how quickly the players adapt to new tactics. From Newcastle’s perspective, the midfield duo of Tiote and Cabaye must keep Toure, Silva and Fernandinho in check and exercise their own authority if they are to get anything from this match. City are firm favourites.
Venue: The Etihad Stadium
Kick off: Monday, 20.00 GMT
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The most followed football league in the world kicks off in just under twenty four hours; the wait is almost over!
