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After a long wait, the Premier League season would finally be starting this Sunday. All the matches would begin at the same time and title holders Manchester City would face Arsenal at the Emirates. Pre-season friendlies had been exciting to watch but no fan would take the result too seriously. Fans had been more concerned about which players will be coming in and who had been sold in the summer. One of the highest profile moves involves Riyad Mahrez who joined the Citizens from Leicester City.
The newly promoted Championship clubs namely Fulham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Cardiff City had all been active in the transfer window too. They are determined to boost and prepare their squads in order to escape the tough relegation battle in the Premier League. Out of the top six clubs, Tottenham and Manchester United are probably the two least active in the transfer window. The former has yet to sign or sell any player this summer. As for the latter, Mourinho had been complaining about the lack of summer activity for his side.
Arsenal will be playing their first post-Wenger era competitive match this weekend. Unai Emery had worked extremely hard in July and August to find the best formation suited for the players that he has. Unlike Wenger's training sessions, the Spanish manager takes on a more vocal and active role in them. Hopefully, those clubs with a new manager will be able to prosper under a new tutelage. Here are three exciting matches that everyone must watch:
#3 Liverpool vs West Ham
Jurgen Klopp brought in Alisson Becker to resolve his side's goalkeeping woes. The Brazilian international is one of the many players who would be enjoying their first season at Anfield. With Xhedran Shaqiri and Naby Keita, Liverpool now looks to be a genuine contender for the Premier League title. Last season, Mohamed Salah had been tasked to lead the attacking line and he did exactly what he had to. In this upcoming season, it is expected of the forward to replicate his success and propel Liverpool to further heights.
Meanwhile, for West Ham, David Moyes after the end of the season and Manuel Pellegrini took over. The former Manchester City manager had been busy in the transfer window, which includes the signing of Jack Wilshere for free. In order to boost the defence, the Chilean had also brought in Lukas Fabianski, from Swansea City who was relegated.
In the recent pre-season matches, West Ham had lost just one in seven games. Going into the match, they tested themselves against Angers FC and Mainz, and scored a goal in each. As for Liverpool, the club lost to Borussia Dortmund in the International Champions Cup. Thereafter, Klopp led his side to victories against Manchester City and Manchester United.
The pressure is on the East London club to perform after a change of managers and signing so many players. If Liverpool wants to begin the season on the right foot, it would be crucial to secure a victory against Pellegrini's side this Sunday. The biggest test for the Reds would be to see how their defensive line works out amidst a defensive crisis and whether Alisson can perform in the Premier League.
#2 Manchester United vs Leicester City
Before the season even begins, Mourinho seems to be losing his patience with the board over the lack of summer signings. Fans are worried that he would not last long as the club's manager. His relationship with Anthony Martial has soured further as the Frenchman failed to return to training after heading back to Paris to witness the birth of his child. At the same time, Paul Pogba and his agent were said to be forcing a move away to Barcelona. With the lack of signings and frustrated players, Mourinho could have a difficult opening game against Leicester City.
Although the Red Devils overcome Real Madrid in their last ICC match, the team suffered a humiliating 1-4 defeat in hands of Liverpool. Going into the match against the Foxes, the home team has a few injury concerns. During the pre-season, the club suffered a triple injury blow and they may not recover in time for the opening match.
For the Foxes, their most recent friendly against Valencia ended up in a 1-1 draw. Claude Puel lost both Riyad Mahrez and Ahmed Musa in the transfer window. Jamie Vardy who had been in action with the England squad for World Cup 2018, could miss the opener at Old Trafford. After their amazing Premier League title victory under Claudio Ranieri, Leicester had largely been unable to regain their unbeatable form.
The focus would be on Manchester United in this match. A defeat would definitely anger Mourinho further and given his character, he could get into even more disputes with the board. There will be very high expectations of Alexis Sanchez who joined the club back in January. The former Arsenal player failed to impress the fans since his move and dragged his team down to often. If he would like to regain some reputation among the fans, he would have to be consistent right from the beginning of the match.
#1 Arsenal vs Manchester City
Guardiola led his side to a convincing victory against Chelsea in the FA Community Shield. It could be the first of many trophies that the Spaniard would be able to win in this season. Although many World Cup stars have just resumed their training sessions, Guardiola still has a strong first team which consists of Riyad Mahrez, Leroy Sane, and Sergio Aguero. The energetic and strong forwards would be looking forward to facing a vulnerable defence line from Arsenal.
Despite Unai Emery's efforts to improve the quality of defenders on his new side, the centre-back partnership remains a weak link. Additionally, with Sead Kolasinac set to miss up to eight weeks of action and Nacho Monreal unfit, Arsenal is having a defensive crisis. It is certainly a good time for the Citizens to exploit Arsenal's weakness at the back.
However, the game is not totally hopeless for the Gunners. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette both had a great pre-season. They were able to find the net as often as they would have liked and Mesut Ozil looks ready to start all the action in the midfield. Considering the number of first-team stars who are likely to be involved in the match, Arsenal actually has an upper hand as compared to Manchester City.
It would be an exciting clash between the two sides at the Emirates. In the previous season, Guardiola was unable to lead his side to a season without losing a single Premier League game. For his near flawless squad, the team would want to ensure that they set the tone of the season right and climb to the top of the table as quickly as possible. The Gunners would be looking forward to seeing who Emery selects for his starting eleven in the first competitive match under a post-Wenger era.
