Doug McIntyre
Soccer Journalist
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup underneath a yr away, all eyes will likely be on the upcoming English Premier League marketing campaign, which kicks off immediately with a matchup between Liverpool vs. Bournemouth.
The EPL is residence to a few of the greatest and brightest stars in world soccer, lots of whom will star for his or her international locations in subsequent summer season’s 48-team match in Canada, Mexico and the US.
EUROPE’S BEST TEAMS: WHERE BARCELONA, PSG, LIVERPOOL RANK AMONG TOP 20
Liverpool lifted the Premier League trophy final season after an impressive 84-point season and added extra attacking expertise this season with big-money transfers for Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz. However is that this the yr Arsenal lastly carry the trophy? Can Manchester Metropolis reclaim their throne?
Let’s check out the highest of the Premier League and the place every group ranks coming into the season:
Be aware: League positions replicate final season’s end.
Final yr, the Reds ran away with the Premier League title, besting second-place Arsenal by 10 factors. Regardless of the tragic loss of life of ahead Diogo Jota, Liverpool has solely gotten higher this summer season. Arne Slot’s facet has been the large winner of this switch window, dropping north of $350 million on backup keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili, defenders Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, and forwards Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz. No surprise they’re the favorites to retain the English title.
After ending fourth within the Prem final time period, the Blues shocked many by successful the expanded, 32-team Membership World Cup in July. Can they harness that momentum and use it to problem for English and European titles subsequent spring? They’ve obtained the firepower. Chelsea have already got an rising celebrity in winger Cole Palmer — this season he’ll be supported by new recruits like strikers Liam Delap and João Pedro, Pedro’s fellow Brazilian attacker Estêvão, and English ahead Jamie Gittens.
The Premier League runner-up in every of the final three seasons, what Mikel Arteta’s group is lacking at this level are trophies. Nonetheless, Arsenal continues to enhance. The Gunners knocked then-Champions League holders Actual Madrid out of Europe’s high membership match final April, snaring a convincing 5-1 mixture win. And so they’ve added actual high quality this summer season within the type of defensive midfielder Martín Zubimendi and forwards Viktor Gyökeres and Noni Madueke.
Metropolis’s unprecedented run of 4 consecutive Premier League titles got here to a halt final season, when Pep Guardiola’s facet completed third, misplaced the FA Cup remaining to Crystal Palace, and had been eradicated from European play earlier than the Champions League’s spherical of 16 even started. This group is just too good to not bounce again in an enormous approach this yr, although — even with out membership legend Kevin de Bruyne, whose contract wasn’t prolonged.
The Magpies eked into the Champions League locations final time period solely as a result of UEFA granted England’s high flight one further spot. Newcastle followers aren’t complaining although, although they are going to be if and when star ahead Alexander Isak leaves for Liverpool on the eve of the brand new season.
It is arduous to imagine that the 20-time English champions completed fifteenth final season, when additionally they misplaced the Europa League remaining to Premier League rivals Tottenham. However the Purple Devils added forwards Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Šeško this window, and they need to fare higher in Ruben Amorim’s first full season on the Previous Trafford helm.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports activities who has lined United States males’s and girls’s nationwide groups at FIFA World Cups on 5 continents. Comply with him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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