Who are Premier League title favourites: Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City, Utd?

The caller Premier League play kicks disconnected connected Friday, August 15, erstwhile champions Liverpool entertain Bournemouth.

Arne Slot’s Reds volition beryllium favourites to assistance the trophy erstwhile more, but tin Arsenal amended connected 3 consecutive second-placed finishes? Manchester City are expected to bounce backmost from an uncharacteristically quiescent play nether Pep Guardiola, portion Chelsea are the FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) champions.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look astatine the apt candidates.

Liverpool

Slot’s broadside stormed to a record-equalling 20th Premier League rubric past season. The Reds finished 10 points wide of Arsenal – and that aft taking their ft disconnected the state successful a winless four-game tally to finish.

Florian Wirtz is the large sanction summertime arrival from Bayer Leverkusen and comes with a hefty terms tag of $156m. The German midfielder follows French guardant Hugo Ekitike and Dutch wide antheral Jeremie Frimpong done the Anfield gates.

The second volition beryllium utilised some successful covering for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has joined Real Madrid, and Mohamed Salah, who volition depart midseason to correspond Egypt astatine the Africa Cup of Nations.

Securing the ongoing services of some Salah and Virgil van Dijk, however, was undoubtedly the biggest portion of concern the Reds needed.

Egyptian guardant Salah was heavy linked with the Saudi Pro League and, having topped the goalscoring charts against past play with 29 goals, would person been a immense loss.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot celebrates with the trophy aft winning the Premier League arsenic the now-departed Trent Alexander-Arnold, centre, watches connected [Phil Noble/Reuters]

Dutch defender and Liverpool skipper van Dijk has been the stone upon which the Reds’ fortunes person been built since his accomplishment from Southampton successful 2018.

The pursuit of Aleksander Isak from Newcastle United has been ongoing for immoderate time. Slot has teased the Reds whitethorn instrumentality with a 2nd bid, and if 1 presumption has been successful question, it is an out-and-out striker – Isak’s 23 goals past play proved helium is 1 of the hottest talents successful that role.

“Every squad successful the Premier League is spending money,” Slot said successful the run-up to the caller campaign. “So if we are lone favourites due to the fact that we’ve spent a bit, I would spot that arsenic weird due to the fact that we’ve mislaid a batch arsenic well. But that we are favourites due to the fact that we won it past play and we played truthful well, that’s clear.”

The tragic decease of Diogo Jota, successful a car clang successful Spain successful July, supersedes each concerns of success. Coming to presumption with his nonaccomplishment volition beryllium achy successful grooming and successful matches, with his lack felt successful ways acold beyond the spread the Portuguese guardant leaves successful the starting XI each week.

Arsenal

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal person been the signifier squad of the past 3 seasons successful the Premier League, but 3 second-place finishes successful a enactment are starting to pain profoundly successful northbound London.

Substantial reinforcements person been sought to assistance the Gunners extremity their 22-season hold to assistance the Premier League rubric erstwhile again.

Viktor Gyokeres is the header news, fixed Arteta made small concealed of his vexation with the club’s deficiency of striking options past season.

Viktor Gyokeres is pictured successful the stands during Arsenal’s preseason circuit of Singapore [Caroline Chia/Reuters]

The signing of the Swedish striker from Sporting Lisbon for 63 cardinal pounds ($85m) volition beryllium seen arsenic the champion accidental to adjacent the spread connected Liverpool.

Noni Madueke’s seizure from Chelsea, meantime, divided Arsenal fans. The England planetary does, however, bring further extent and further prime to a guardant line, whose apical scorer past play was Kai Havertz with a paltry 9 goals.

The accomplishment successful midfield from Real Sociedad of Martin Zubimendi, a Euro 2024 victor with Spain, tin lone solidify the already meticulously manufactured strategy Arteta has arranged.

Chelsea

Chelsea volition surely deed the crushed moving pursuing their stunning FIFA Club World Cup occurrence against European champions Paris Saint-Germain past month.

Enzo Maresca’s broadside stormed to a 3-0 win against the Parisians, who swept done the UEFA Champions League – culminating successful their ain 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan – to implicit the treble.

Joao Pedro’s 3 goals crossed the semifinal and last astatine the CWC person already gone a agelong mode towards validating his 60-million-pound ($80.7m) signing from Brighton earlier the tournament. That determination came connected apical of the seizure of chap strikers, Liam Delap from Ipswich and Estevao from Palmeiras.

Chelsea skipper Reece James was presented with the trophy by US President Donald Trump aft winning the FIFA Club World Cup [Hannah Mckay/Reuters]

Estevao scored against the westbound London nine successful his past crippled with his Brazilian outfit during the quarterfinals of the CWC.

Disjointed has agelong been a connection associated with Chelsea connected and disconnected the pitch, surely since their past Premier League rubric triumph successful 2017.

Whether Maresca tin proceed to necktie the squad unneurotic pursuing the CWC triumph, and whether that tourney volition trial the legs of the Blues players aboriginal successful the season, could good beryllium deciding factors successful Chelsea’s rubric challenge.

Manchester City

Will Pep Guardiola’s squad bounce backmost to the signifier that saw them assertion a grounds 4th consecutive Premier League rubric lone a play ago? Or volition the airy blues of Manchester proceed to consciousness the dense load of a broadside that conquered each earlier them, lone to seemingly suffer power of their ain occurrence past season?

The wounded to Ballon d’Or holder Rodri undoubtedly deed City hard past term, and the quality that helium volition miss the commencement of the caller campaign volition besides travel arsenic a immense interest to Guardiola.

For a squad that won an unprecedented five trophies successful 2023, and the record-setting Premier League rubric the pursuing year, to autumn truthful acold past play came arsenic a immense daze to all, not slightest their manager.

Indeed, galore believed past play whitethorn good person been Guardiola’s last term. Even with a two-year declaration hold signed midway done the past campaign, a dilatory commencement to this play volition erstwhile again formed uncertainty wherever erstwhile it seemed unthinkable.

The departure of Kevin De Bruyne marks a passing of the guard, and that lack volition present beryllium doubly felt successful the aboriginal stages with the unavailability of Rodri.

Their 9 league losses past play were much than their 2 erstwhile seasons combined and resulted successful a archetypal decorativeness extracurricular the apical 2 since 2016-2017. The Blues besides crashed retired of the Champions League and League Cup early, and their FA Cup last decision by Crystal Palace meant nary silverware for the archetypal clip successful 8 years.

Pep Guardiola’s clip astatine Manchester City whitethorn good beryllium reaching a crossroads [Lee Smith/Reuters]

Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, defender Rayan Ait-Nouri, winger Rayan Cherki and goalkeeper James Trafford person each been recruited successful the adjacent season.

The summertime spree pushed City’s spending for 2025 past the 300-million-pounds ($403.5m) mark, pursuing the arrivals of Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis successful the January window.

“I’m beauteous definite it’ll beryllium good, but it won’t beryllium a reddish carpet season,” Guardiola said.

“The anticipation astatine the opening of the play is always, let’s spell and effort to bash our best, triumph the archetypal games, get assurance and determination forward. We privation to effort and bash amended than past season, particularly with consistency.”

A unreality that continues to bent implicit the club, however, is that they inactive look 115 charges of breaking Premier League fiscal regulations.

City, who person ever denied immoderate wrongdoing, were charged with the alleged breaches successful February 2023. A verdict during the October planetary break.

Manchester United and the rest

United person defied their fiscal woes to reinvent their beforehand 3 with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo signed earlier successful the window, and the big-money determination for Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.

The Red Devils’ skipper Bruno Fernandes deed retired astatine a “lazy” preseason performance pursuing the 2-2 preseason gully with Everton, and besides called for much reinforcements.

One of the longest serving players astatine the club, England planetary Luke Shaw, besides criticised a “toxic” dressing country civilization that manager Ruben Amorim was trying to change.

Just similar Guardiola, his other fig crossed the Manchester divide, however agelong the reversal successful fortunes takes is apt to instrumentality volition specify however overmuch longer Amorim has astatine the helm.

A dilatory commencement whitethorn mean his tenure hardly lasts a twelvemonth having replaced Eric 10 Hag arsenic manager past November.

New Manchester United subordinate Benjamin Sesko applauds fans earlier the preseason affable with Fiorentina connected August 9 [Andrew Boyers/Reuters]

Newcastle United narrowly missed retired connected a top-four spot, and with it Champions League qualification, past season, having been seen arsenic early-season rubric contenders.

The doubts surrounding their prima name, Isak, formed immense doubts heading into the caller play for Eddie Howe’s side. Should the Swede depart, and with their ain apical target, Sesko, moving to Old Trafford, the Geordies look the astir nether menace of falling abbreviated of past season’s progress.

Aston Villa were different broadside that person threatened to interruption into the Premier League’s elite, having secured Champions League shot 2 years ago, which resulted successful a tally to the quarterfinals past year.

Ivory Coast guardant Evann Guessand has been signed from French nine Nice for a reported interest of astatine slightest 30 cardinal euros ($35m). The 24-year-old winger scored 13 goals past season.

If the transportation merry-go-round continues, however, past Villa striker Ollie Watkins could beryllium the adjacent connected the move, with each of past season’s apical 4 having been linked with a determination for the England planetary astatine immoderate stage.

Indeed, Isak’s aboriginal astatine Newcastle could good beryllium the trigger for whether Watkins remains astatine Villa Park erstwhile the transportation model shuts connected September 1.