<\/p>\n
The new Premier League season begins on Saturday morning Australian time with questions a plenty of the biggest clubs in England before they embark on new campaigns.<\/p>\n
Champions Arsenal kick things off against Championship winners Coventry at the Emirates with the spotlight shining brightly on the Gunners as they are highly fancied to defend their title.<\/p>\n
\ufeffGet all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Challengers are lining up, however, with Manchester United daring to dream under Michael Carrick after the former Red Devils captain inspired a remarkable turnaround in an interim role last season.<\/p>\n United will travel to Hull in the opening matchweek and Australia\u2019s Lucas Herrington may make his Premier League debut after the 18-year-old secured a blockbuster move to the biggest league in the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n Of course, the new managers Andoni Iraola at Liverpool, Enzo Maresca at Manchester City and Xabi Alonso at Chelsea will attract a lot of interest.<\/p>\n As will Tottenham\u2019s Roberto de Zerbi after saving Spurs from an almighty relegation scare last campaign.<\/p>\n There is also the matter of a dark cloud hanging over the Premier League, which remains unresolved.<\/p>\n While a host of new rules are also set to create some interesting moments.<\/p>\n Here are the biggest talking points ahead of the 2026\/27 Premier League season!<\/i><\/p>\n Ange & Ronaldo make 1st pre-game speech | 00:41<\/p>\n WILL ARSENAL GO BACK-TO-BACK?<\/b><\/p>\n The champions are the overwhelming favourites to go back-to-back after a statement 3-0 Community Shield victory against Manchester City in Cardiff<\/a> on Sunday.<\/p>\n City were Arsenal\u2019s title rivals last campaign and even though Mikel Arteta\u2019s men held firm to end the club\u2019s 22-year title drought, scars still lingered.<\/p>\n City defeated them in the League Cup final at Wembley and took all three points at the Etihad late in the season before briefly going top of the table.<\/p>\n So, the demolition job at the Millennium Stadium, which began with a Riccardo Calafiori goal in the opening minute, was widely viewed as changing of the guard.<\/p>\n With Pep Guardiola leaving, Liverpool starting a new era under former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola and doubts about how Manchester United will handle having European football on their calendar again, most experts are backing Arsenal to be champions once again – even if they failed to sign Brazil and Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr.<\/p>\n \u201cI just can\u2019t see anybody stopping Arsenal. They\u2019ll win it quite comfortably. I don\u2019t see a single weakness in them regarding the Premier League,\u201d former Arsenal and England forward Paul Merson wrote in a column for Sky Sports.<\/p>\n \u201cThey do have a few weaknesses in the Champions League but for the Premier League, they remind me of when Manchester City first started dominating the league: two players in every position.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the most eye-catching aspects of Arsenal\u2019s squad is its midfield depth.<\/p>\n World Cup winner with Spain, Mikel Merino, said he and his Gunners\u2019 teammates form a midfield that is \u201cprobably the best in football\u201d.<\/p>\n Declan Rice will have a point to prove after a World Cup campaign marred by illness, while captain Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze and Merino\u2019s Spanish teammate Martin Zubimendi all went to the World Cup too.<\/p>\n Plus, teenage sensation Max Dowman provides an exciting option off the bench.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to make it so that everybody complements the player next to them,\u201d Arteta said of his midfielders in a recent interview. <\/p>\n \u201cSo that we have this variability, this diversity with the qualities that we need. Today we\u2019ve seen it, we\u2019ve changed it and we brought other qualities in different moments of the game. That\u2019s a really strong thing to have.\u201d<\/p>\n The centre of the park only got stronger for Arsenal as they signed Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United for \u00a375m.<\/p>\n The Gunners had rejected him five years ago, but now believe the former Newcastle captain will give them added steel in the engine room.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he describes himself as a warrior,\u201d Arteta said. \u201cI think he\u2019s a warrior with a tremendous quality as well and intuition and leadership and charisma that is going to help us, that is going to really ignite something different in the team.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to go to the next level and are very, very much convinced that we\u2019re going to need players with such a personality, desire and character to push everybody inside the organisation to go even higher.\u201d<\/p>\n The talk around Arsenal this pre-season has echoed that of Liverpool 12 months ago.<\/p>\n The Reds were highly fancied to go back-to-back after a bumper summer transfer window.<\/p>\n Arsenal have not revamped as drastically as Liverpool did, but climbing the mountain again is never easy – especially for a squad that have had little time to put their feet up due to international commitments. <\/p>\n \u201cThe last two times Liverpool have won the title the next season they have not been able to replicate it. They have had relatively poor seasons,\u201d former Premier League winger Andros Townsend told BBC Radio 5 Live.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you get over the line, that huge relief. Do you go into the summer with the same sort of aggression and mentality?\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n \ufeffAussie \u2018Rolls Royce\u2019 just landed a massive PL move. It might only be the start for the teen \u2018phenom\u2019<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Socceroos star joins powerhouse in $33m record move… as Aussie European assault continues<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Inside Aussie star\u2019s $32m move to \u2018legendary\u2019 club that made Ronaldo… and his wild reveal<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Arsenal cruise past City in Shield | 01:28<\/p>\n DO MAN UTD LACK \u2018STAR DUST\u2019?<\/b><\/p>\n From Ruben Amorim\u2019s sacking to the end of the season, no team accumulated more points than Manchester United.<\/p>\n The Red Devils\u2019 resurgence under former captain Michael Carrick earned him the full-time manager\u2019s gig and after a third-place finish United fans are daring to dream.<\/p>\n But last campaign, Carrick was literally able to take things one week at a time.<\/p>\n United were absent from European football and were knocked out of both domestic cups at the first hurdle.<\/p>\n With Champions League nights returning to Old Trafford, this season is a different proposition for United.<\/p>\n But with the club\u2019s \u2018Project 150\u2019 setting the goal of being Premier League champions by 2028 – the club\u2019s 150th anniversary – the clock is ticking.<\/p>\n Liverpool great Jamie Carragher believes it is too much to ask after years of turmoil.<\/p>\n \u201cI personally just don\u2019t think Michael Carrick\u2019s got that stardust as a manager to win a Champions League or a Premier League,\u201d he said on The Overlap podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not saying it\u2019s going to go wrong. What Manchester United have had for the last six months, need that for another 12 months of not being the circus, not being the story all the time, and Carrick brings you that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWith Carrick\u2026 there\u2019s no circus around United,\u201d Carragher added. \u201cIt feels very calm. He came in, calmed everything down, got Champions League football. The aim for Manchester United next season is to make sure they\u2019re in the Champions League again.\u201d<\/p>\n The circus may roll back into town, however, with the spotlight shining on a few United stars.<\/p>\n Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa will bolster the midfield and will come with high expectations.<\/p>\n But the biggest focus will almost certainly be on the returning Marcus Rashford.<\/p>\n After he was banished by Amorim and spent long spells at Barcelona and Aston Villa, the academy product is back with United.<\/p>\n The 28-year-old attracts plenty of attention in the English press and the focus on him led to a feisty exchange between Carragher and United great Gary Neville on The Overlap podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cCan we do a podcast without mentioning Rashford?\u201d Carragher said.<\/p>\n \u201cStop it. Oh my God. It\u2019s like the Trent [Alexander-Arnold] and Rashford\u2026 like a little part of the podcast. The Trent part or the Rashford part.\u201d<\/p>\n Rashford replied to the clip in a post on X, saying: \u201cThanks, Jamie. It would be great to be able to get my head down and play football without my name being mentioned every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Sporting CP announce Irankunda signing | 02:12<\/p>\n CAN REDS BOUNCE BACK?<\/b><\/p>\n Liverpool\u2019s tame title defence led to the sacking of Arne Slot, but new manager Andoni Iraola will have no time to wait.<\/p>\n After a fifth-place finish and a season for the likes of Florian Wirtz to find his feet in the Premier League and record signing Alexander Isak to overcome injury issues, the former Bournemouth boss has been challenged to recreate Slot\u2019s maiden campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cThem days are gone from when I played, when managers came in and it was like a four-or five-year project to try and win the league or come close to winning the league,\u201d Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports at Royal Ascot in June.<\/p>\n \u201cThem days are gone and I said that when Arne Slot came in, you know, Jurgen Klopp\u2019s team finished third, you\u2019ve got to go for the league and he won the league, and it\u2019s the same with Iraola.<\/p>\n \u201cLiverpool finished fifth last season, nowhere near good enough.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I\u2019m not expecting Liverpool to win the league next season, but we are Liverpool. We\u2019re going to spend big in the summer.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of great players and yeah, we\u2019re gonna challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n Liverpool are yet to make the splash they are truly after in the transfer window.<\/p>\n Centre back Ronald Arajuo has joined on loan from Barcelona with a \u20ac55 million option to buy next year, fellow defender Jeremy Jacquet has completed a move from Rennes on the \u00a360 million deal that was agreed to last season and member of Spain\u2019s World Cup winning squad Victor Munoz joins from Osasuna.<\/p>\n But the Reds are yet to land the big fish they really want – Bradley Barcola.<\/p>\n The PSG and France star has been targeted as Liverpool\u2019s ideal Mohamed Salah replacement.<\/p>\n Iraola will need such deals to get done to strengthen his squad to compete across the Premier League and the Champions League.<\/p>\n \u201cLast season at Liverpool wasn\u2019t great, the style of play wasn\u2019t as good as it had been and they conceded far too many goals,\u201d Liverpool legend Michael Owen told Metro.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Slot leaving and Iraola replacing him means a new style of play. He brings a lot of excitement from the way he played at Bournemouth, but Liverpool are a much bigger club and the pressure mounts up now.<\/p>\n \u201cI do think Liverpool need more, but it looks like Barcola is the one they want and it will cost them a huge amount of money to get him in. But if they can do that and add more depth, more quality, then they can really challenge for the title.\u201d<\/p>\n Herrington seals record Hull move | 02:03<\/p>\n WILL TOTTENHAM FINALLY RE-EMERGE?<\/b><\/p>\n Tottenham are featuring prominently in experts\u2019 top six predictions.<\/p>\n After back-to-back 17th place finishes, new manager Roberto de Zerbi has been thanked for avoiding relegation by being given a summer spending spree former Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou, who is now in charge of Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League<\/a>, could only have dreamt of.<\/p>\n The likes of Cristian Romero, Djed Spence and Guglielmo Vicario have all departed.<\/p>\n But Tottenham have splashed \u00a392.5 million on defensive midfielder Sandro Tonali from Newcastle, \u00a385 million on ex-West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes and \u00a360 million on centre back Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton.<\/p>\n While Spurs have also added former Bournemouth centre back Marcos Sensi, ex-Liverpool left back Andy Robertson and former Burnley goalkeeper Martin D\u00fabravka on free transfers. <\/p>\n De Zerbi\u2019s haul of new signings even have former Tottenham midfielder Victor Wanyama daring to dream.<\/p>\n \u201cTottenham Hotspur will be first because they had a rough season last year, and now they know what it takes,\u201d the Kenya international told Pulse Sports. <\/p>\n \u201cNow, they are hungrier, and they have signed more players, and they have a new manager. He is a really good manager and has a good reputation in the English Premier League and he will be looking forward to winning it.\u201d<\/p>\n Others have stopped well short of saying they can win the league.<\/p>\n But many are expecting a bounce back like Manchester United enjoyed last season without European football.<\/p>\n Plus with newcomers Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City tipped to struggle, they will surely not find themselves in a relegation scrap once again.<\/p>\n \u201cManagers like (new Chelsea boss Xabi) Alonso and De Zerbi have so much opportunity to put better ideas into the players\u2019 heads by playing once a week,\u201d former Arsenal and England forward Paul Merson wrote in a column for Sky Sports.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing I\u2019ve noticed about Tottenham over the last few years is they never had a dominant midfielder. They were decent at the back, not bad up front – especially when Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski were there – but never had a dominant midfielder.<\/p>\n \u201cI look at the midfielders they\u2019ve bought now and they\u2019re going to be a real handful for a lot of teams. They\u2019ve shored up defensively.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny how football works. Last season, Spurs were virtually relegated and they went to Aston Villa, who could have near-on sent them down. Spurs won the game, stayed up and are now going to take Villa\u2019s place in the top six.<\/p>\n \u201cVilla could have taken Spurs out of the equation and been \u2018that team\u2019. Now I\u2019m not sure Villa can finish above Spurs anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n PSG win back-to-back UEFA Super Cup | 01:34<\/p>\n WHAT\u2019S GOING ON WITH MAN CITY CHARGES?<\/b><\/p>\n A dark cloud hovering over the Premier League remains is the more than 100 charges against Manchester City of breaching financial rules from 2009 to 2018.<\/p>\n It is an issue that is testing the patience of rivals with Arsenal chief executive Richard Garlick telling BBC Sport on the eve of the new season: \u201cIt has gone on for a while.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody – the league and the teams – would want the clarity around what\u2019s going to happen next.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s not something that I can control. It\u2019s not something that I can speculate on.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I just hope that there is a solution very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n While Premier League chief executive Richard Masters also addressed the \u201chuge complex\u201d case, which relates to City\u2019s alleged failure to provide accurate financial information, to comply with financial fair plays rules, breaches of profitability and sustainability rules as well as failure to co-operate with the Premier League\u2019s investigation from 2018 to 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cI do accept it\u2019s taking longer than expected, and I understand that people want to find out as soon as possible what\u2019s going on, but I simply can\u2019t provide that,\u201d Masters said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur rules are very clear – we have to follow the process, and there\u2019s only one real clear route through, which is to allow that process to reach its natural conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n It remains uncertain when the matter will be resolved as City start life after Pep Guardiola under former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.<\/p>\n Herrington’s manager talks record deal | 08:59<\/p>\n WHAT ARE THE NEW RULES?<\/b><\/p>\n The International Football Association Board (IFAB) have introduced new rules that will come into affect in the Premier League including changes to substitutions, throw-ins, goal kicks and more power being given to VAR officials.<\/p>\n Like in the World Cup, players will not be allowed to dawdle when coming off the pitch.<\/p>\n They will be given ten seconds to come off the pitch and if they fail to do so, their replacement will have to wait one minute to come in – this rule already caught out Middlesborough\u2019s Will Lankshear in their League Cup win against Wrexham<\/a>.<\/p>\n Time wasting is also in the gun via a five-second countdown for throw-ins or goal kicks.<\/p>\n If the allotted time is exceeded, a throw-in will be given to the opposition or a corner will be awarded to the opposition if the goal kick takes too long.<\/p>\n VAR will be allowed in intervene if they believe a player has been wrongly shown a second yellow card, while to combat goalkeeper\u2019s going down to allow manager\u2019s to have a tactical time-out, the team will have to nominate an outfield player to leave the pitch for a minute.<\/p>\n Supporters will also be able to access more communication between on-field referees and VAR with the Premier League Match Centre to provide direct quotes, which will also be shared on the league\u2019s website and social media channels.<\/p>\n Ref cam will also include audio and the Premier League will now publish the full judgments made by the Key Match Incidents (KMI) panel on refereeing decisions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n