NRTC’s Oladipupo Mojeed dissects and preview the forthcoming English Premier League Season 2020/21.
All is now set for the commencement of the English Premier League as twenty clubs slug it out against each other to determine their spots on the log.
Liverpool will begin the defense of the title they won last season for the first time in three decades.
The champions are yet to make any significant signing as they await decision on Thiago Alcantara.
Premier League Preview
The transfer window is still open till October. We will therefore be on the lookout to know what Jurgen Klopp and other managers have in their plans as the season kicks off today. Before that, let me bring you the previews of games day one that will start in London.
Fulham Vs. Arsenal
Scott Parker and Mikel Arteta are not strangers to each other in the Premier League during their playing days. Arteta had a very long stint with Everton before ending his career with Arsenal.
Parker on his part also spent most of his time in London between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspurs. So, who will win this dugout battle between two London clubs managers?
Arsenal had the upper hand in their last fixture here. Parker, who brought Fulham back to the Premier League in his first managerial role now has a big job on his hands.
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Arsenal has a blistering combo in attack with the likes of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, and Nicolas Pepe known for punishing any sleeping defense.
Having won the FA Cup and Community Shield within a month, Arsenal is already in a high mood. The Gunners have already made some reinforcement into the squad. The new arrivals include Willian and Gabriel Magalhaes, Dani Ceballos William Saliba.
The Gunners now look to improve radically after having the worst league finish for 25 years. Arteta who was a few days upgraded from coach to manager is expected to continue where he left off last season.
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Fulham on the other hand won’t want to make the same mistake that saw them return to the championship after one season. The London team has therefore signed Kenny Tete, Alphonse Areola, Harrison Reed permanently after a successful loan spell, Mario Lemina, and Antonee Robinson. Former Chelsea defender, Ola Aina is also expected to join the ranks very soon.
Head to head
Out of 57 meetings, across all competitions, Arsenal won 39 while Fulham won eight. There have also been 10 draws.
Fulham need to address their defensive fragility if they are to get any win from this. But Arsenal could sniff pout a solitary win.
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Although Southampton ended last season on a high note, in a few hour’s time, we will know if Danny Ings still has goals in his boots.
Crystal Palace buoyed by their new acquisitions (Batshuayi on loan from Chelsea and British Nigerian Eberechi Eze from QPR) on the other hand had a miserable end to the season, with seven straight losses and a draw in their final eight games.
This is now a new season and there won’t be any hangover from the previous campaign. So, we will wait to see their result against a team that racked up 15 straight wins last season to finish 11th.
Liverpool v Leeds United
The defending champions will start their defense from Anfield and this will be an interesting tie against the newcomers.
Having been in the lower division for over a decade, Leeds United have learned a lot of lessons, and coach Marcelo Bielsa has done an incredible job. They now play like Liverpool in terms of their pressing and pace. They might therefore end on a high and won’t be part of relegation strugglers.
This was seen in the FA Cup against Arsenal where the Gunners managed to beat them with a slim margin at the Emirates Stadium.
They have also made a statement of intent with the signing of Rodrigo from Valencia.
Liverpool need to keep an eye out for Pablo Hernandez in midfield, who already has Premier League experience with Swansea.
But the Experience of the Reds and their chances might be the difference in this as they are expected to ‘attack’ the cup as stated by Jurgen Klopp after winning the title last season.
West Ham v Newcastle
West ham has not really been active in this transfer window, unlike Newcastle United whose owner, Mike Ashley has flexed his muscle with some quality signing like Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser, and Jeff Hendrick.
From the look of things, David Moyes is not ready to buy any other person than James Tarkowski of Burley which he has bid 27m pounds for. Since he is familiar with the faces, it is expected that they will have a god start as no one needs to settle down into the team. This will be a slim one.
West Brom v Leicester
Enroute to the Premier League, West Brom had made their home ground a fortress.
However, this is a team that has some defensive frailties coming up against a side that has qualified for the Europa League. This will make things tough for the hosts with Jamie Vardy being a big threat.
Leicester also has its own defensive problem to contend with after the sale of Ben Chilwell to Chelsea. Nigerian midfielder, Wilfred Ndid might end up playing in the center back after Johny Evans is also out through suspension. Wes Morgan and Filip Benkovic are also injured. Ndidi might end up partnering with Caglar Soyuncu in defense.
Tottenham v EvertonĀ
This is another test for Jose Mourinho, who will now be having a full season with Spurs. The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager will now have to think beyond veteran Carlo Ancelotti when his team visits today.
Mourinho had stated that there is a likelihood of s striker joining the team after signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Matt Doherty, and Joe Hart. This will definitely increase the firing power and probably reduce the goalscoring pressure on Harry Kane and Son Heung -Min.
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Everton also shows the intent of fighting this season with the signing of James Rodriguez, Allan, and Abdoulaye Doucoure, who might be making their debuts.
But will Mourinho be able to smile against Ancelotti? We shall see who will laugh last at Tottenham Stadium.
Sheffield Utd v Wolves
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Sheffield United was the surprise package of last season but will definitely not have it smoother this season.
They will want to take another three points off Wolves at Bramall Lane after failing to win the Europ League spot fight lase season.
The Blades have made some good signing like Aaron Ramsdale, Max Lowe, Jayden Bogle, Oliver Burke and Ethan Ampadu and record signing Sander Berge. The striker won’t be available for this one as he got injured during the international break.
They will have to up their game against a Wolves that only lost Doherty to Spurs. They now have a18-year-old striker, Ā Fabio Silva, who cost them Ā£35m from Porto last week. There might be an effective partnership between him and Raul Jimenez.
Sheffield has to be very careful of this forwards as they are looking like a team that has many goals to score.
Brighton v Chelsea
This match will offer Chelsea fans the opportunity to see the new recruits, Timo Werner, Thiago Silva, and Kai Havertz in action at Brighton. Hakim Ziyech is out injured.
Chelsea will therefore need to unlock the Seagulls, who are solid at the back as the signings might not hit the ground running in a new league. They will expectedly have a good season because they have so many good players.
Adam Lallana, Joel Veltman could test Chelsea’s defense with Silva expected to anchor it alongside Rudiger.
Let’s see how the new signings will gell at the end of the day.
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