THE Premier League is BACK!
Manchester United and Fulham kick off the 2024-25 campaign tonight at Old Trafford.
The likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa will follow suit on Saturday, with Chelsea taking on reigning champions Manchester City on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola’s side will be looking to win a record-breaking FIFTH straight Prem title this season.
However, they are expected to face competition from Arsenal once again.
SunSport’s football experts have had their say on who they think could lift the trophy next May, while also predicting three relegation candidates, player of the season and who they believe could be the dark horse.
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NEIL CUSTIS – FOOTBALL REPORTER
TITLE WINNERS: Manchester City; As long as Pep is there City are winning this. Only the charges can derail them.
TOP FOUR: Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool.
RELEGATION: Ipswich, Southampton, Leicester.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Alejandro Garnacho. He is rising star who is going to just shine brighter and brighter.
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FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS
BEST SIGNING: Pedro Neto (Wolves to Chelsea). Unstoppable at his very best. Just needs to steer clear of injuries.
DARK HORSES: Manchester United. Seems ridiculous to put them in this category but that is how far they have fallen. Nobody is expecting anything from them this season and Erik ten Hag is ready to prove his doubters wrong.
WALLY DOWNES JR – SPORT REPORTER
TITLE WINNERS: Man City. 115 rules broken, a bottomless budget for players and lawyers and Liam Gallagher singing the theme tune. Easy.
TOP FOUR: Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool.
RELEGATION: Ipswich, Nottingham Forest, Everton.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Erling Haaland. With a summer full of rest and Norwegian offal, he should be fully fuelled ahead of his teammates and rivals who went to the Euros and Copa America.
BEST SIGNING: Yankuba Minteh (Newcastle to Brighton). Newcastle spotted his talent first but farmed him out to Holland where he scored and assisted plenty despite a couple of injuries. Should hit the ground flying and star for Brighton.
DARK HORSES: Chelsea reserves. With everyone else focusing on winning the title or staying up, the mega-money and giant Stamford Bridge second-string should win the League Cup and FA Cup double.
MARTIN LIPTON – SPORT REPORTER
TITLE WINNERS: Manchester City. The best team, the best players and the best manager. Rodri is the finest holding midfielder in world football, Haaland a goal machine, De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva class acts. And Pep!
TOP FOUR: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham.
RELEGATION: Ipswich, Leicester, Nottingham Forest.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Erling Haaland. His goals will make the biggest difference in the season, once again.
BEST SIGNING: Niklas Fullkrug (Dortmund to West Ham). German striker looks to have “Premier League” stamped into his DNA. A great transfer coup for West Ham.
DARK HORSES: West Ham to finish in the top six – they have had the best transfer window of any club and also do not have European football, so players will be fresh every week.
DAN KING – FOOTBALL REPORTER
TITLE WINNERS: Manchester City. Nothing has changed: they still have Pep Guardiola, they still have the best players and squad, and they have tons of money to improve it further, thanks to Julian Alvarez’s sale. Only the 115 charges can stop them.
TOP FOUR: Man City, Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool.
RELEGATION: Southampton, Leicester, Ipswich.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Erling Haaland. After a summer off, he will be fit and raring to go, and will have loads of chances as well.
BEST SIGNING: Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth to Tottenham). An all-round striker should be the final piece in the Tottenham puzzle.
DARK HORSES: West Ham. They’ve spent the Declan Rice money well and the new era should be exciting.
JORDAN DAVIES – FOOTBALL REPORTER
TITLE WINNERS: Arsenal. Five titles in a row is just ridiculous – a slump has to come at some point and Arsenal are best positioned to pounce when that happens if they manage to keep a fully fit starting XI.
TOP FOUR: Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Liverpool.
RELEGATION: Ipswich, Southampton, Leicester.
Changes to the Premier League for 2024/25
NOTHING stays the same forever.
And that includes the Premier League, which is making a number of tweaks this season.
Team news will now be released 75 MINUTES before kick-off, 15 minutes earlier than had been the case before.
Things could get crowded on the touchline, with the number of substitutes permitted to warm-up boosted from three players per team to FIVE.
There’s also a change to how added time is calculated when a team scores a goal, an update to the ‘multiball’ system and the introduction of semi-automated offsides – but not straight away.
Go here to read about all the changes to the Premier League for 2024/25.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: William Saliba. Already one of the best centre backs on the planet, his form will be pivotal in Arsenal lifting a first league title since 2004, much like Virgil van Dijk’s impact on Liverpool in 2019/20.
BEST SIGNING: Ian Maatsen (Chelsea to Aston Villa). Named in last term’s Champions League Team of the Season for a reason. Crazy that Chelsea let him go to a top six rival and will flourish under Unai Emery this year.
DARK HORSES: West Ham. With no European football and a fantastic summer recruitment splurge, expect the Hammers to jump straight back into contention near the top of the Prem after a disappointing outing last campaign.
JUSTIN ALLEN – FOOTBALL REPORTER
TITLE WINNERS: Man City – just too good. It’s boring every year but you can’t bet against them.
TOP FOUR: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea.
RELEGATION: Southampton, Brentford, Nottingham Forest.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Haaland. He will just keep scoring bag loads and will probably win it.
BEST SIGNING: Kieran McKenna. Keeping him as Ipswich was huge. Fancy him to keep the Tractor Boys up.
DARK HORSES: West Ham. Busy summer of decent signings. Expect them to compete for European spots.
GRAEME BRYCE – FOOTBALL REPORTER
TITLE WINNERS: Manchester City because Erling Haaland’s extended summer break should see him hit peak form. However if Arsenal sign a recognised striker and City fail to replace Julian Alvarez, the Gunners could sneak it.
TOP FOUR: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs.
RELEGATION: Ipswich Town, Southampton, Leicester City (dependant on points deduction)/Brentford.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Martin Odegaard makes Arsenal tick and, while I expect Erling Haaland to score for fun this season, Odegaard’s incredible consistency will give him the edge over his Norwegian international teammate.
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BEST SIGNING: Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth to Tottenham). Solanke will earn that title if he provides the goals to take Spurs into the Champions’ League. But for sheer value for money watch out for Jaden Philogene’s return to Aston Villa.
DARK HORSES: Ambitious West Ham should push for Europe under Julen Lopetegui – but for pure progression I’m tipping Nottingham Forest to make the biggest climb up the table from 17th to threaten the top 10.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
