The best league in the world kicked off on Friday, 16 August 2024. Manchester City are the reigning champions, having won the title for a record fourth time in a row, but it all went down to the final day of last season, with Arsenal bottling the league on the last day. Pep Guardiola and Man City made history by successfully defending their title and are now champions for four consecutive seasons, chased doggedly by a rejuvenated Arsenal side until the last day of the season. You can see predictions on the banger casino app.
Several clubs made big summer signings, new managers are in the mix, and there are lots of top young talent – plenty of teams hoping to end City’s winning streak this season. The 2024/25 season is unlikely to be any different, as it promises to be yet another exciting installment.
Top four contest
What makes the Premier League so exciting is not only the quality brand of football displayed but the fact that for the past couple of seasons, the league title, including the top-four Champions League spots, all went down to the wire. Last season, the top four was made up of champions Man City, runners-up Arsenal, Liverpool, and the surprise package Aston Villa.
This season, based on some of the business made and quality in the squads, Arsenal, Man City, and Liverpool mostly retain their spot, with Man United tipped to be in the mix. The likes of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Aston Villa are expected to also put up a good fight to be part of the top-four conversation.
Premier League title favourites:
Arsenal finished as runners-up to Guardiola’s Man City by fine margins on two consecutive seasons, and should they pick up from where they left off, Mikel Arteta and his side could just be a ‘third time lucky’ this time around and win their first-ever league title in 20 years.
Despite the odds set to be stacked against them and Man City going into the new season as frontrunners once again, like any other dominant club, their reign will come to an end one day and the Gunners of London seem to be the club closest to dethroning them, and this may just be the season to do it.
As with every season, three teams move up to the Premier League to replace the three teams who finished bottom at the end of the previous season. This season the three promoted teams are Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton. Both Leicester City and Southampton bounced back immediately to the Premier League after only being relegated to the Championship last year.
Meanwhile, the third-promoted club, Ipswich Town, hasn’t played in the top flight of English football for 22 years. For some, their appearance in the Premier League has come as a surprise – as they played in League One last year and have achieved back-to-back promotions for the past two seasons.
Manchester United kicked off their first game with a narrow win against Fulham; they later dropped points in the following games after a defeat from Brighton and Hove, making them sit 13th on the log table after just three games. During the summer transfer window, they made several big signings, including £52m for Lille defender Leny Yoro, as well as Bayern Munich pair Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. However, the arrival of these big signings didn’t improve them, as they continued to slump.
To sum up, Chelsea started their first game with a defeat to the reigning champions Manchester City. They quickly turned the tables on the next game with a hattrick of goals from Noni Madueke and a five-star performance from their star player Cole Palmer. However, the winning streak didn’t take long, as they drew one all against Crystal Palace. Chelsea have had a very busy transfer window – signing 11 players including Wolves forward Pedro Neto, for £54m. Still none of them have significantly impacted the team to improve performance so far.
Additionally, with the arrival of Arne Slot, Liverpool is undefeated so far in the premier league, making themselves a force to reckon with. They made three out of three wins at the start of the premier league, with the latest win against their rivals for a long time Manchester United. Inform Salah made sure that they go to the international break with smiles on their faces. This season, we might witness a Klopp vs Guardiola repetition because Arne Slot is not slowing down.
Furthermore, the runners-up for the past two seasons, Arsenal started their campaign with two wins with clean sheets against Wolves and Aston Villa. However, their winning run ended against stubborn Brighton and Hove. The match ended in one all draw. Arsenal added Sterling to their squad from Chelsea on the deadline day, but the question arises: could he improve Arsenal to dethrone Manchester City and win the title?