Manchester United's Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha in training/HANDOUT
Man United V Arsenal
This is the big game this weekend, given the amount of money spent on transfers. Both coaches know they have to produce results this season. Ruben Amorim has to prove himself and Mikel Arteta must repay the Arsenal faithful supporters, who are fed up finishing second.
United face four of the last season’s big winners in their first eight matches and it is fortunate this one is at home.
All eyes will be on Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo for United and Viktor Gyokeres for the Gunners. How Gyokeres links up with Bukayo Saka and midfielders Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice will be crucial to this contest. He has demanded assists from all those players. I think he will take time to find his golden scoring touch in the Premier League and this is a tough match to begin his Old Trafford career.
United’s other forward signing, Benjamin Sesko, might start but Amorim is considering giving him some minutes from the bench because he only arrived a week ago. If Sesko does come in, Amorim thinks it will give Bruno Fernandes a chance to play deeper into Arsenal territory. Midfield will be important for Arteta, who also has ex-Brentford captain Christian Norgaard available, whilst ex-Chelsea signing Noni Madueke will operate out wide.
Amorim will start with his favoured 3-4-2-1 formation, which places a lot of responsibility on Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire. On the right side, rising star Ayden Heaven will likely be given a chanc,e having impressed in pre-season.
Chelsea V Crystal Palace
Enzo Maresca has a belief in his team after Chelsea spent £200m to bring in some big names up front. Beating a well-organised Bayer Leverkusen team 2-0 and using 21 players in the pre-season friendly is an indication of Chelsea’s strength since the German team were deeper into their preparations for the new season.
What worries Palace coach, Oliver Glasner is Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, who has returned to form and worked well with Andrey Santos and Estevao Willian in pre-season. They have already built up an understanding. Estevao, Liam Delap and Joao Pedro are going to score a lot of goals this season and Chelsea are in top spirits, brimming with confidence after winning the Club World Cup.
With Levi Colwill out injured, Trevoh Chalobah could move over to his left, next to Marc Cucurella, who is already in top form. New boy at centre-back Jorell Hato is quick to recover from tackles and counterattacks and will play a big part in Chelsea’s line-up this year.
In midfield, Enzo Fernandes and Moises Caicedo — two of the world’s best — will be crucial to Chelsea’s season.
Beating many of the top six this time around is going to be a tough challenge for Crystal Palace, despite their Charity Shield win against Liverpool. But under coach Oliver Glasner, they are capable of the odd surprises. They will be well organised. Key to their performances will be Adam Wharton, who was injured for much of last season.
He made Ismail Sarr’s assist for Palace’s second goal against Liverpool. He is capable of controlling midfield and always seems to have plenty of time on the ball and despite being just 21, he can foresee moves, tactics and potential progressive attacks before other players are even aware of what is happening around them. If he is in a battle with Palmer, it will be an interesting afternoon. He will also be tested against Chelsea's new boys upfront, Delap, Pedro and Estevao.
Liverpool V Bournemouth
The champions have strengthened their forward line despite the tragic loss of Diogo Jota. It is difficult to see how many defences will cope with Liverpool’s new attack. Only Mo Salah and Cody Gakpo remain from last season’s frontline, with Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez gone and Jota too, who died in a car crash.
Florian Wirtz, a genuine No. 10, has joined alongside Hugo Ekitike. It’s possible Newcastle’s Alexander Isak could eventually arrive.
Relieving pressure on Salah is important because, for quite some time, Liverpool have relied on his goals. The Egyptian’s 57 goals and assists last season were nearly half of Liverpool’s total of 123 goals. Salah is now 33, and Arne Slot has lifted some of his defensive responsibilities to enable him to conserve energy. You will not see him running back in defence as much as he previously did.
New arrival Jeremy Frimpong, who was a wing-back early on in his career, has a reputation built on driving forward and high up the pitch and wide, which will support Salah and allow him to move more into the centre, where he is lethal.
Slot’s team does not create as many chances as his predecessor Jurgen Klopp, but the team has more positive chances at goal. Frimpong and new No. 6, Milos Kerkez, will drive forward to make passes into the opponents' goal area, whereas Trent Alexander-Arnold used to use his incredible long passing ability to take out defences.
Flying full-backs Kerkez and Frimpong have replaced the legendary pair, Andy Robertson and Alexander-Arnold. Ironically, Kerkez’s first game is against the club he just left. He knows their strengths and, more importantly, weaknesses.
I cannot see Bournemouth coping with the new Liverpool. They do have good players in new signing, French left-back Adrien Truffert, and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, who joined from Chelsea. Most importantly for the Cherries is that they have retained Antoine Semenyo, who signed a new contract. However, losing Kerkez, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Ukraine defender Illia Zabarni will affect their ability to contain the Liverpool front line.
Tottenham V Burnley
This is a really interesting test for Tottenham Hotspur’s new coach, Thomas Frank. Burnley will be anxious to avoid their last disastrous venture into the Premier League, having won promotion again after one season. Frank has several options...Pedro Porro is the first choice right-back with Djed Spence on standby at the bench.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven will play if fit and Radu Dragusin has made good progress after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury in January. Reliable Ben Davies is also in Frank’s thoughts at centre-back.
Tottenham have new options in midfield with Joao Palhinha at No. 6. Mohammed Kudus will take the right wing after putting in some impressive performances in pre-season matches. Brennan Johnson will fight to keep his place on the right with Wilson Odobert but Dejan Kulusevski is out with his serious knee problem. No. 10 is a problem for Frank now that James Maddison is out with a knee problem sustained in a pre-season friendly against Newcastle. Finding a replacement for club captain Son Heung-min will not be easy but Frank is counting on Odobert and Mathys Tel is another option.
Richarlison can play in Son’s position. He is always a valuable motivator with his energy, relentless drive forward and strong tackling ability.
Burnley will have to match up well, given that they have only just returned to the top flight. Three significant signings are Armando Broja and Lesley Ugochukwu from Chelsea and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka from Newcastle.
Coach Scott Parker, who helped Burnley back up after just a season in the Championship, is confident the Claret and Blues can do well after failing two seasons ago.
