May 13, 2012 is a day that will live forever in the minds of English soccer fans.
It was on that date that Manchester City snatched the Premiership crown from the grasp of Manchester United, drawing to a conclusion one of the most dramatic campaigns ever witnessed.
The 2012-13 Premier League season has quite the act to follow, and it begins (possibly in vain, but maybe in genuine hope) with this weekend’s opening slate of matches.
Saturday programming alert: Watch QPR v Swansea City live on Sportsnet at 9:30am ET, West Brom v Liverpool live on Sportsnet World at 10 am ET, and Newcastle v Tottenham live on Sportnset ONE at noon ET.
Sunday programming alert: Watch Wigan v Chelsea live on Sportsnet World at 7:30am ET, and Manchester City v Southampton live on Sportnset World at 11 am ET.
Queens Park Rangers vs. Swansea City — Saturday @ 9:30 am ET — Live on Sportsnet
1. Canadian content
Saturday’s tilt at Loftus Road offers up a rare Canadian battle, as QPR newcomer David Hoilett (who joined the club from relegated Blackburn) hosts Swansea City (who took Jonathon de Guzman on loan from Villarreal).
While de Guzman has already closed the door on playing for Canada, Hoilett has always maintained he was waiting to sign with a new club before deciding his international future — he could play for Canada (where he was born) or Jamaica (the birth nation of his father). Hopefully Hoilett settles in quickly and gets plenty of playing time so he can announce his intentions.
In the meantime, Saturday’s contest will give fans a glimpse of what to expect this season from the bright Canadian prospect.
Interesting stat: QPR conceded 66 goals last campaign, the most of any returning team in the Premiership this season.
West Bromwich Albion vs. Liverpool — Saturday @ 10 am ET — Live on Sportsnet World
2. The Rodgers era begins
Brendan Rodgers makes his Premier League debut as the Reds’ manager at the Hawthorns, and boy does he ever have his work cut out.
Last season was a major disappointment for the Reds, even though they won the League Cup. Liverpool finished in eighth place (its lowest finish since the 1993-94 campaign) with a 14-14-10 record, 17 points out of a Champions League berth.
Rodgers earned praise from neutral fans for the way he was able to keep Swansea from avoiding relegation last season, even by playing bright and attacking soccer.
But Rodgers recently told reporters in Toronto that Liverpool might not play that same style of swashbuckling soccer. Not at first, anyway.
“The game is ultimately based on your players. The principles of your game are based on your players. That’s how I work. If players are uncomfortable playing that way, then it’s not something I will enforce on to them,” Rodgers stated.
Interesting stat: The Baggies haven’t won on the opening day of a top-flight season since 1978.
Newcastle United vs. Tottenham — Saturday @ noon ET — Live on Sportsnet ONE
3. The Modric affair
Andres Villas-Boas makes his debut as Spurs manager at St. James’ Park, but he won’t be able to rely on the services of the team’s best player.
Croatian creator Luka Modric has been training on his own while he holds discussions with Real Madrid about a transfer move. Spurs would do well to hang on Modric, but AVB seems resigned to losing the Croatian.
“We set out a plan for the player and we have stuck to it,” the manager told the English media. “The player is training individually and he doesn’t disrupt our environment. I think we will have a conclusion in the next couple of weeks. He is still a Tottenham player but, from what the chairman has told me, talks are ongoing. They stalled a little bit two weeks ago, but they have picked up recently.
Interesting stat: Newcastle in winless in its last four opening day matches, while Spurs has just one win in six.
Arsenal vs. Sunderland — Saturday @ 10 am ET
4. RVP out, Bendtner in
True, Arsenal has lost Robin van Persie to bitter rivals Manchester United, but they are getting Nicklas Bendtner back. Problem solved.
Just kidding.
It’s going to be very hard for Arsenal to replace the Dutchman, as he scored a league-leading 30 goals last season. The signing of Olivier Giroud helps (he led France’s Ligue Un in scoring last year), but Arsenal will need the likes of fellow newcomers Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski to chip in, too.
Bendtner is a player who divides opinions among Arsenal fans. Some love his industry, while others bemoan his lack of scoring touch. Regardless, he’ll have to improve on the eight goals he scored last season while on loan with the Black Cats.
Interesting stat: Sunderland is winless in 13 visits to Arsenal (with 10 losses) since its last victory in 1983.
West Ham vs. Aston Villa — Saturday @ 10 am ET
5. Villa turns to Lambert
Like Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, Paul Lambert has his work cut out with Aston Villa.
The Scot did very well to guide Norwich City to 12th place last season, but now he’s at a side with higher aspirations and expectations, even though it’s coming off a relegation fight.
Goals were scarce at Villa Park last campaign, while Lambert’s Norwich City squad was seventh in the league with 52 goals. If Villa is going to approach that kind of goal production, they’ll have to hope Darren Bent can enjoy an injury-free season — he bagged 24 goals for Sunderland in 2009-10, but was limited to just nine goals in each of his first two campaigns with Villa.
Interesting stat: Aston Villa sported the second-worst attack in the Premiership last season with 37 goals.
Fulham vs. Norwich City — Saturday @ 10 am ET
6. Dempsey on the outs
The Cottagers will be without Clint Dempsey when they host the Canaries — and the U.S. international could be on his way out for good.
Manager Martin Jol claimed earlier this week that Dempsey is refusing to play for Fulham and is seeking a transfer.
The potential loss of Dempsey would be huge for Fulham, as the American lead the team in scoring with 23 goals in 46 games last season. So it’ll be interesting to see how they fare against Norwich with Costa Rican forward Bryan Ruiz, the team’s big signing last year, supported by newcomers Hugo Rodallega and Mladen Petric.
Interesting stat: Fulham is undefeated in its last 10 contests with Norwich in all competitions, and has not lost to the Canaries since 1986.
Reading vs. Stoke City — Saturday @ 10 am ET
7. Reading returns
Reading makes its return to the Premiership at home on the back of an amazing campaign that saw them win the Championship.
A lot of pundits are already predicting they’ll go straight back down, but manager Brian McDermott is taking inspiration from the way Stoke has managed to stay up and solidified itself as a top-flight team.
“Not only have they survived, but they’ve got to an FA Cup final, they’ve played in Europe, they’ve brought in some really big players over the years. So, it’s a really good model for us to follow,” McDermott told the English media this week.
Interesting stat: Reading is undefeated at home against Stoke in their last 12 league meetings, with eight wins and four draws since 1992.
Wigan Athletic vs. Chelsea — Sunday @ 7:30 am ET — Live on Sportsnet World
8. All eyes on the Blues
If any team is going to seriously challenge the two Manchester club for the title, most seem to think it will be Chelsea — and for good reason.
After winning the Champions League and finishing sixth in the Premiership, the Blues are anxious to prove they are not a spent force, and the additions of Belgian creator Eden Hazard and Brazilian star Oscar should boost their title chances.
But if Chelsea is to fight for the crown, they’ll need Fernando Torres to rediscover his best form and score on a consistent basis, especially with Didier Drogba gone.
Interesting stat: Chelsea hasn’t lost on the opening day of the season since 1998, winning nine in a row before last year’s 0-0 draw with Stoke.
Manchester City vs. Southampton — Sunday @ 11 am ET — Live on Sportsnet World
9. The noisy neighbours
Manchester City begins defence of its crown at home against the Premiership newcomers, a team it should have little problem brushing aside.
While it’s true the Blues were pretty quiet in the transfer market this summer — buying Jack Rodwell from Everton was their lone major move — that shouldn’t be viewed as a negative.
The fact is, City didn’t need to significantly bolster its roster, because the core of the championship winning side from last season remains. Plus, they have the added bonus of Carlos Tevez starting the campaign in the right frame of mind.
10. back in the big time
Southampton is back in the Premiership for the first time since 2004-05 when it finished dead last. And to hear many critics tell it, the Saints could very well be in the basement against this time around.
The Saints have a pretty thin bench, which is why they were trying to lure Uruguay international Gaston Ramirez away from Bologna. But the Serie A outfit plans to hold onto the midfielder, leaving Southampton scrambling to round out its roster.
Interesting stat: City went undefeated (18 wins and one draw) and out-scored their opponents 55-12 last season.
Everton vs. Manchester United — Monday @ 3 pm ET
11. The strong get stronger
A very strong Manchester United side was seconds away from winning the Premiership last season when Sergio Aguero’s late coal denied them the title.
Looking to keep pace with City, United bolstered its roster in the summer with the additions of Robin van Persie, last season’s top scorer in the league, and Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund.
These two world-class talents join a United club brimming with exciting offensive options, including Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez.
Van Persie is expected to partner Rooney up front against Everton in what could be the most dangerous 1-2 scoring punch in the EPL this season.
Interesting stat: Van Persie is the fifth Arsenal captain to leave the Gunner since 2004, joining Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, William Gallas and Cesc Fabregas.