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The Premier League will resume for the 2023-24 renewal of the competition on August 11 and football fans all over the world will be eagerly counting down the days until kick-off. There is plenty to look forward to as well, with Arsenal hopefully closing the gap on Manchester City at the top of the table, while there’s very little to separate the likes of Manchester United, Newcastle United, Liverpool and Chelsea in the Premier League top four odds.
At the other end of the spectrum, surprise play-off winners Luton Town are being given very little chance of surviving relegation and they could be joined back in the Championship by fellow promoted side Sheffield United come the end of next season. Bournemouth, Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Everton are some of the other sides tipped to be in contention for the drop.
It’s a long season and anything could happen. So instead of jumping the gun, let’s start from the beginning and take a look at some of the standout fixtures from the opening weekend of Premier League action.
Burnley vs Man City
As it has done for the last couple of seasons now, the Premier League will kick off with a Friday night fixture and Burnley get the ball rolling as they host defending champions Manchester City at Turf Moor.
On paper, this should be a straightforward start to the season for Pep Guardiola’s swashbuckling side as they look to carry on from last year’s treble. But there is an added layer of interest to this fixture as former Sky Blues captain Vincent Kompany will be in the home dugout hoping to spoil Man City’s opening night.
The Belgian has transformed the Clarets into an attractive team after transitioning away from their old route-one style and they lost just three times en route to Championship glory last term. This is a big step up in class though and Man City should prove way too strong for Burnley on the night.
Newcastle vs Aston Villa
While there will be a lot of eyes on Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest in Saturday’s early kick-off to see whether the Gunners can continue on their fine form last year and challenge Man City for the title once again, we’re skipping over it as there are more attractive games on the opening weekend — including Newcastle vs Aston Villa.
The Magpies were tipped for big things after their Saudi-led takeover made them one of the richest clubs in the world, but not many would have backed them to land a top-four spot last season. You can’t really argue that their success was financially driven either, as they have invested smartly in talent.
The pressure is now on Eddie Howe to carry on this upward trajectory, but Villa will be a tough start to the campaign. The midlands side went under the radar somewhat under Unai Emery in the latter half of last season and ultimately claimed a Europa League spot. They’ve also strengthened with the arrival of Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans. This will be an interesting watch.
Chelsea vs Liverpool
Chelsea and Liverpool will still be disappointed with how they performed last season and both will be hoping to make amends for that this year. The consensus amongst football fans and pundits alike is that you can’t keep a side as capable as Liverpool down for long and that’s backed up by the fact the Reds are third favourites to win the title.
Jurgen Klopp has brought in two promising youngsters to bolster his ageing midfield in the form of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. If they can hit the ground running in a red shirt and the rest of the squad can rediscover their relentless form of years gone by, then Liverpool could be a force to be reckoned with again.
This game at Stamford Bridge won’t be easy though and Klopp’s task of starting the season with a win is perhaps made more difficult by the fact it’s going to be hard to know what to expect from this new-look Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino.
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Sheffield United vs Crystal Palace, Bournemouth vs West Ham, Brighton vs Luton Town, Everton vs Fulham, Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United vs Wolves are the other fixtures on the opening weekend.
