A comprehensive preview for the top 6 ahead of the new premier league season entailing what to look forward for each club, key players, their overall expectations prior to this new season.
The most pressing question ahead of the 2018/2019 season is, can the rest of the contenders catch up with Manchester City or do they begin their era of league dominance, compelling arguments can be made for both that is why this new season will be one of the most entertaining and compelling seasons to watch.
Although Manchester City recorded a near perfect points total at the end of the previous season some of their performances in the league and in Europe were far from that. Liverpool poses as the most dangerous threat to City having beaten them comprehensively in their match-ups in the league as well as in Europe. Also, some speculate that if Sadio Mane hadn't received a red card for his pressing troubles when the sides first met each other in the Etihad stadium, their whole league campaign would have turned out differently, it was only after beating Liverpool resoundingly at home did City go on record-breaking winning run.
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If Premier League sides, in general, are not afraid of City and give a really good account of themselves, the champions can be got at, their derby defeat to Manchester United & their loss to Wigan in the League Cup are both prime examples. With two goals down at the end of the first half Mourinho plans to stifle this city side had completely gone out of the window, he and the players were only left with one option, that was to attack this side and that they most certainly did have turned around a two-goal deficit into a famous away victory. Moreover, Wigan had nothing to lose against City and got their reward from being brave and playing on the front foot. Let's have a look at each of the top 6 club individually to see what their fans can expect ahead of this new season.
1. Manchester City
It would be rude not starting with Manchester City's name first as the are the reigning/defending champions of the premier league.
Last season, talk around Manchester City quickly shifted from 'if they were going to win the league' to when they were actually going to. Pep Guardiola proved that his style could successfully be implemented in England, supplementary to that he achieved record breaking feats.( First team to reach a century of points,broke the record for most consecutive premier league wins, most goals scored in a season and lastly having the most away fixture wins).
Manchester City were great in possession and were lethal on the counter-attack most teams just couldn't deal with the pace and precision that they offered on the ball. Kevin de bruyne's long diagonal pass to Leroy Sane bypassing two lines of four Stoke players in their 7-2 home win against stoke was a personal highlight for me of his passing ability. KDB ( Kevin De Bruyne ) has really excelled under Pep the last season who transitioned him from a attacking midfielder to a well rounded central midfielder and has certainly gotten the best out of him, whats's scary for the rest of the Premier League title contenders is that Pep states that this crop of players can still improve...
What made Manchester City such a formidable side was not only how good they were on the ball but also how good they were off it. Pep Guardiola employed his counter-pressing system which was as good as his great Barcelona (2008/09) team that had won the treble.The consistent drive that each and every city player showed to regain possession off the ball throughout the season was unmatched.Part of Manchester City achieving the same heights this season will depend on Pep Guardiola's ability to convince/motivate his players to put in the same if not more efforts this season.
When it comes to having league winning campaigns the most consistent side in the league always wins,there's still lots of catching up to do for the rest of the contenders who are still way behind city and it's hard to look past city as strong favorites ahead of this season as well.
Key player : Kevin De Bruyne.
2.Manchester United
We now move on to the red half of Manchester who has seen their best league finish since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club. Whatever the critics might say about Jose Mourinho and his style of play. United have improved a lot from when he joined.
What's disappointing for Jose and the United fans ahead of this season is the summer transfer window signings or lack thereof. United have made very niche signings trying to fix their deficiencies in the squad, bucking their trend of having 'big money' marquee signings ( Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba). Jose has expressed his concerns about the support he has received from the United board who are right to have their own apprehensions as Mourinho's third season at a club rarely meets with success. A lot of things have been said about United and their style of play in the press but Jose has delivered trophies however significant or insignificant they might be. Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochentino who have both done a great job at their respective clubs but still haven't delivered trophies, not a lot is said about that in the media.
United's issues still lie in the defense where Jose hasn't had a back four he can rely on for a majority of the season, the two defenders he signed ( Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof) since taking the job have barely featured together, but the most important issue I feel is the first choice fullbacks ( Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia), they are not dynamic enough nor do they have the delivery from wide areas that they used to have. Diogo Dalot is a good signing but I don't think he'll be featuring at the start of the season. The kind of performances Paul Pogba turned up within the World Cup, there's no doubt about his quality or his temperament to perform on the biggest of stages, the question that irks most United fans is whether or not he'll be provided a platform to get the most out of him. With Jose's backroom staff having a re-shuffle, consistency in the league will be difficult to achieve, I expect them to fair better in the knockout competitions they take part in.
Key player: Paul Pogba
3.Chelsea
Chelsea's supporters might have grown accustomed to the perpetual manager merry go round that takes place at their club and now it's Saari's turn at the helm. Chelsea's revolving door policy has had a lot of detractors but you just can't deny the success it brings to the club. It's Chelsea's youth academy that pays the the price because of the revolving door policy for the managers at the club with John Terry being the last youth prospect to have established his place and a successful career at the club. It's not the fact that the club's academy lacks talent ,every new manager who joins the club is not willing to take a chance on the youth or give them ample time to settle in the first team squad as there's always a pressure to deliver at Chelsea.
Napoli's title-contending run and the performances they displayed in their league gained worldwide acclaim, they had even the most casual football fan rooting for them in the Italian league title race. The signing of Jorginho is an important one, they style Sarri is going to implement will be drastically different than what Antonio Conte had them playing and having a player on the pitch who knows what the manager wants to achieve will go a long way in Chelsea successfully implementing his style. For Chelsea to achieve anything this season their forward Alvaro Morata must have a good season.
Some may say that a major reason Napoli falling out of the title race with Juventus was the lack of squad depth they had, but Sarri very rarely changed his side it was always the same eleven that turned up, with the intensity & the number of games that they played, it definitely had an effect on them in the latter stages of the league season where they dropped a lot of points and eventually bowed out of the race. For Sarri to be successful at Chelsea he must effectively utilize the squad depth he has at his disposal.
Key player: Jorginho
4.Liverpool
Liverpool has made some of the best deals in the transfer market in recent years and has addressed almost all the issues that they had, most important of all, almost a majority of their signings will go straight into the first team. The signing of Alisson Becker who was one of the best goalkeepers in the Champions League last season will be a great addition to the squad and Fabinho will add to the squad depth. All of the signings made are quality, experienced signings and are players who will fit Jurgen Klopp's philosophy.
The signing of Xherdan Shaqiri will add another element in Liverpool's attacking options and Klopp will more comfortable with resting Salah for when he needs to. We all know that Shaqiri is a mercurial talent and although inconsistent he is premier league proved, which is a huge bonus. Naby Keita will be a handful to handle, the only concern with him is that because of his tenacious nature he tends to become a bit of a yellow card magnet, apart from that the roaming playmaker can do it all.
If Liverpool can keep Mo Salah fit for the length of the season and if the Egyptian national can reciprocate the goalscoring form he had last season, Liverpool can achieve big things this season. Although a long-term injury to Virgil Van Dijk can complicate things for them.
Key Player: Mo Salah
5.Arsenal
With Arsene Wenger finally parting ways with Arsenal, this truly marks an end of an era and now the gooners can officially say that they are in transition.
Unai Emry has not been shy to stamp his authority on the club by letting go of Jack Wilshere and Santi Carzola who were endeared by fans and bringing in the likes of Lucas Torreira, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sokratis Papastathopoulos ( the most difficult name to pronounce in football). Emry has brought in characters that has Arsenal has lacked over the years. There's no doubt that Arsenal can play some of the most beautiful football but it's when they are challenged physically by teams is when they suffer the most. These signings will add the bite and resilience they were lacking.
Unai Emery may not be the most exciting manager but he does bring some pedigree with him, winning three consecutive Europa League titles with Sevilla is no mean feat. With most of the players in his squad either not going or returning early form the World Cup means that he has had time to work with most of the squad and get his ideas across. Emery has a good record working with traditional number 10's and the prospect of him working with Mesut Ozil is an exciting one for Arsenal Fans. I expect Arsenal to be the surprise package this season but am not sure about their consistency.
Key Player : Mesut Ozil
6.Tottenham Hotspur
Last but certainly not the least, we move on to Tottenhan, much has been made about how or what Tottenham Hotspur looks like aerially but Mauricio Pochettino has done a phenomenal job at the club. Whether it be bringing through the youth or making astute signings, Pochettino has made the most with what he has got and has propelled Tottenham to compete among the best of sides in the Premier League.
Tottenham's first team can beat any top Premier League team on it's day and they have also shown the ability to perform in Europe against formidable opposition.The question lies with it's squad depth. Pochettino is reluctant to send any youth team prospects on loan as he believes that the best coaching they can get is at the club itself and not anywhere else, because of which many of them miss out valuable first team experience. The other problem is that he doesn't get the support he needs from the board at times related to making signings. Pochettino's sides have a bad knack of having a considerable level drop off during the last ten games of the season when they always tend to loose points or end up dropping points from winnable positions.This can be attributed to the lack of squad depth or rotation.
Harry Kane plays a crucial part in Tottenham having a good season or not, he is the focal point of their attack much of their play goes through him added to that he is one of the most lethal finishers in the league.The problem begins when or if he gets a long term injury, they are just not the same side without him.
Key Player : Harry Kane
With Chelsea having their periodic managerial change, Manchester United making substantial improvements ,Liverpool making astute summer signings to bolster their squad, the beginning of a new era at Arsenal and with Tottenham not losing any of their core players of the squad, this promises a lot of exciting and enticing fixtures in the Premier League. Some teams will still look to frustrate Manchester City while others may go out and attack them. For the reigning champions this will be a difficult season as the contenders have improved and other teams may have found out ways to beat them or not to get beaten by them at the least . A lot of variables are at play here and it's safe to say the title race won't be over by December this time around.
