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Football fans around the world are buzzing about the return of the Premier League, with the new season getting underway this evening (August 5).
Crystal Palace will host Arsenal in the campaign's opening clash, ahead of what will be a unique season.
For the first time ever, a Winter World Cup will pause England's top flight for six weeks, meaning the season will begin earlier than usual.
Manchester City are the strong favorites to win their fifth title in six years, despite losing their Community Shield clash with Liverpool last weekend. Erling Haaland is arguably the most talked about signing of the summer, with many questioning if the superstar forward will fit into Pep Guardiola's side.
Jurgen Klopp's side are once again tipped to be City's closest challengers, having signed Benfica forward Darwin Nunez for a club-record fee of £85 million.
Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will all be chasing a top four spot, having all made significant additions to their squads.
Nottingham Forest are set to make play in their first season back in the Premier League for 23 years. They were promoted from the Championship alongside Bournemouth and Fulham.
All three clubs will look to avoid relegation alongside Everton and Leeds United, who barely stayed up last season.
Ahead of the opening clash at Selhurst Park, fans took to Twitter to rejoice at the Premier League's return after nearly three months away:
Paul Merson predicts former side Arsenal will win opening Premier League clash
Former Arsenal and England playmaker Merson recently made his opening day predictions in a column for Sportskeeda.
The pundit claimed that the Gunners were "the most impressive team during pre-season." He predicted that Mikel Arteta will get the better of Arsenal icon Patrick Vieira and his Crystal Palace team.
Ahead of the clash in south east London, Merson predicted a 3-1 victory for Arsenal, as he explained:
"I know Arsenal didn't start their Premier League campaign well last year, but they had several COVID cases in their squad back then. I don't see how Crystal Palace are going to stop Arsenal from scoring this weekend. Palace are a hard team to visit under lights, but this is a summer night."
He further added:
"Arsenal need to make a statement now. This is a big game for them because they need to lay down a foundation. If they lose here, people will assume that they're flaky and still the same old Arsenal. If they want to make it to the top four this season, they need to win this game."
