Hope springs eternal every August with the kickoff of the Premier League season, and this year is no different.
We hope for a close title race that goes down to the wire. We hope for one team to break up the natural order by sneaking into the top four. We hope for a surprise team to overachieve, or a breakout player to stun us with his goal scoring ability.
Sometimes our hopes are fulfilled. Sometimes they’re not. But almost always, the Premier League provides us with plenty of entertainment and drama.
Here are five stories to keep an eye on this season.
Both Manchester clubs re-tool in a huge way
Manchester City and Manchester United suffered through “off” seasons (by their high standards) in 2015-16, finishing fourth and fifth in the table. So it hardly came as a surprise to see both clubs re-tool this summer, starting with hiring new managers: Jose Mourinho at United, Pep Guardiola at City. Both teams also spent big in the transfer market, with the Red Devils paying a world-record €105-million fee to Juventus for Paul Pogba. Other high-profile United buys included defender Eric Bailly and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The club also picked up Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free transfer. Not to be outdone by their city rivals, the Blues splashed big money on defender John Stones, and midfielders Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan. You don’t bring on managers such as Mourinho and Guardiola, and you don’t spend big money on marquee players to finish fourth and fifth. Manchester City and Manchester United sent a message with this series of moves: They’re in it to win it this season.
Chelsea turns to Antonio Conte
After firing Jose Mourinho last season, Chelsea turned to Guus Hiddink, but we always knew that was a stop-gap measure. After the Blues’ disastrous finish (10th, after winning the title the previous year), they were certain to hire a full-time replacement who would change the country-club culture and challenge the team’s under-performing stars. Enter Antonio Conte, the former Juventus and Italian team manager. Conte has a reputation as a tactically astute manager who wears his passion on his sleeve—he demands the very best from his players, and will accept nothing less. A disciplinarian who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, Conte could be exactly the type of manager to whip Chelsea into shape and turn them back into title contenders.
Can Leicester City repeat as champions?
What the Foxes achieved last season was truly remarkable. But can they do it again? Can Jamie Vardy score goals as frequently as he did a year go? Can Riyad Mahrez continue to pull the playmaking strings effectively as he did in 2015–16 when he was voted the league’s top player? Can Leicester balance their Premier League responsibilities with playing in the UEFA Champions League for the first time? Can they overcome the loss of key midfielder N’Golo Kante, who has moved on to Chelsea? Can manager Claudio Ranieri inspire this team to greatness, to play over its collective head like it did in its historic, title-winning campaign?
The newcomers
The list of foreign stars who’ve taken the Premier League by storm in their debut seasons includes such legendary players as Gianfranco Zola, Thierry Henry and Jurgen Klinsmann. In recent years, Diego Costa and Alexis Sanchez were among the foreign imports who impressed in their first campaigns in England, while Memphis Depay and Bastian Schweinsteiger failed to make a big splash. The group of foreign newcomers to English soccer’s top flight this season is an impressive one, topped by Ibrahimovic (Manchester United), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) and Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea). As always, it’ll be interesting to see who adapts to the English game the quickest and makes the biggest impact.
Canadian content
Continuing the theme of foreign imports, this year’s Premier League season will have a touch of Canadian content. Scott Arfield was a regular for Burnley the last time it was in the Premier League during the 2014–15 season. He started all 46 games for the club in the Championship last year and will surely be key to the Clarets’ survival hopes this time around. Former Toronto FC defender Doneil Henry remains at West Ham United, although he has yet to make his senior team debut. The young Canadian is currently out injured, so it will be interesting to see if he will earn any playing time when he returns to full fitness. Calgary-born defender Fikayo Tomori made his first-team debut with Chelsea last season. Tomori, 18, recently signed a contract extension, but he’s very much on the fringes of the team, so look for Chelsea to loan him out.
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