PREMIER LEAGUE
THE NEWCOMERS
It was a quick return to the Premier League for both Norwich City and Watford. They are both back to the Premier League after just a season.
Norwich City won the Championship to make a return to the Premier League. They moved up with Watford.
Brentford finished third in the Championship and deservedly made it through the promotion playoffs successfully. Brentford won the relegation playoff final against Swansea City.
What can we expect from the (North) London clubs?
Arsenal and Tottenham have forced a ‘top six’ in the league. But on football merits from the past season, the two clubs can’t be considered as part of the ‘top six!
Tottenham became the first English team to play in the new UEFA Conference League. Arsenal did not qualify for any continental competition for the coming season. The lighter schedule for Arsenal could be a blessing in disguise. It might be the time to work on being a strong team for league football. However, the lack of continental competition will come with a financial cost and lessen the attractiveness of the club to elite talent that is looking for access to prestigious titles. But this shouldn’t be anything new for the current Arsenal.
TUCHEL’s CHELSEA
What do we expect from Thomas Tuchel’s first full season with Chelsea?
For starters, we hope it will be a full season. Thomas Tuchel will get to start the season with Chelsea. He replaced Frank Lampard in the middle of the last season and managed Chelsea to an FA Cup final and a UEFA Champions League final. (He won the latter).
Leading Chelsea to a title win in the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City has allowed Tuchel to make his mark and buy time and power at the club.
Before the English Premier League season kick’s off, Tuchel will get another shot at silverware with Chelsea; the UEFA Super League.
MANCHESTER CITY
We can always trust Pep Guardiola to get his team to challenge for every title.
Manchester City has a title to defend. This is nothing new to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. They did that in 2018 and in 2019.
LIVERPOOL
Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp made history by winning Liverpool’s first Premier League title in 2019. It was Liverpool’s first domestic league title since 1990.
With a UEFA Champions League title and the English Premier League title under Klopp, the appetite of Liverpool fans has only grown. The expectations are higher.
Liverpool managed to secure Champions League football qualification by finishing 3rd last season. There was a period in the season that didn’t give any indication of Champions League qualification. If Liverpool can avoid the midseason dip they suffered last season, they stand a good chance of getting back the crown from Manchester City.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Manchester United finished only behind Manchester City, and their summer investment will bring the expectation of a better finish than last season; that is winning the league title.
Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, the best Manchester United has finished in the league has been second place [on two occasions].
They finished outside the ‘top four’ in half of the seasons after Ferguson with their worst finish being the 7th place finish they suffered in the first season after his retirement.
Will this be the year for Manchester United to get back to the top of the pile.
THE TEAMS IN THE 2021/22 ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
1. Manchester City – 86 points
2. Manchester United – 74 points
3. Liverpool – 69 points
4. Chelsea – 67 points
5. Leicester City – 66 points
6. West Ham United – 65 points
7. Tottenham – 62 points
8. Arsenal – 61 points
9. Leeds United – 59 points
10. Everton – 59 points
11. Aston Villa – 55 points
12. Newcastle United – 45 points
13. Wolves – 45 points
14. Crystal Palace – 44 points
15. Southampton – 43 points
16. Brighton – 41 points
17. Burnley – 39 points
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18. Norwich City
19. Watford
20. Brentford
The opening day of the 2021/22 season of the English Premier League
SCHEDULED FIXTURES
August 13, 2021
Brentford vs Arsenal
August 14, 2021
Manchester United vs Leeds United
Burnley vs Brighton
Chelsea vs Crystal Palace
Everton vs Southampton
Leicester City vs Wolves
Watford vs Aston Villa
Norwich vs Liverpool
August 15, 2021
Newcastle vs West Ham
Tottenham vs Manchester City
Newly promoted Brentford will host Arsenal in the opening match of the English Premier League. The expectation will be that Arsenal will get the result that will
give Brentford a reminder that they are in the top division.
A statement performance from Brentford will force Arsenal to answer questions that they will rather answer at the end of the season.
It’s a London Derby when Chelsea host Crystal Palace.
As the current European champions, Chelsea are expected to have a winning
start at home.
Manchester United and Leeds have their rivalry.
It ended in a 6- 2 victory for Manchester United when this fixture was played last season.
Liverpool will look for a quick winning start against newly-promoted Norwich.
‘Tottenham vs Manchester City’’ will be the first headliner for the season. We expected a competitive fixture that should end in a Manchester City win to begin their title defense.
