After the EFL and National League sprung back into action last weekend, tomorrow night the 2024/25 Premier League season gets underway as Manchester United take on Fulham at Old Trafford.
Last season saw Manchester City claim an unprecedented fourth successive title while Aston Villa upset the established order to qualify for the Champions League and Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United came and went.
Here’s what we think will be the big talking points ahead of the new campaign…
Manchester City- champions in the dock
Let’s address the elephant in the room straight away- earlier this week it was revealed that the hearing into Manchester City’s 115 charges for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules will begin next month, with Premier League chief executive Richard Masters saying it was ‘time to resolve the case’.
Back in February 2023, City were hit with 115 charges of various alleged breaches of financial rules.
These included failure to provide accurate information for player and manager payments from 2009-10 and 2017-18, as well as failure to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 to February 2023.
No exact date or timescale has been given for the hearing, although a verdict is expected in ‘early 2025’.
Fans, including those of City, will no doubt share Masters’ wish for the case to be resolved considering 18 months have now passed since the original charges were brought against England’s dominant club.
The punishments City could receive if found guilty range from a massive fine to relegation.
What could happen with the charges and possible punishments is pure speculation at this point, but one thing that is not in doubt is that whatever does happen is likely to have major ramifications for the Premier League going forward.
New era, new hope at Old Trafford?
Back in December, Manchester United fans were given quite the Christmas present when it was announced that INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe had acquired a 25% stake in the club.
The deal was completed on 20 February and gave Ratcliffe control over football operations at the club.
He has wasted no time in overhauling the running of the club at the very top, with Chief Executive Officer Omar Berrada, Sporting Director Dan Ashworth and Technical Director Jason Wilcox all arriving to give United a new, modern football structure.
There have also been several signings with deals for Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraouhi completed in the last couple of days to go with the earlier arrivals of Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, while captain Bruno Fernandes has committed his future to the club with by signing a new contract for another three years.
All of these changes have led to more positive vibes from United fans than has been seen for a very long time, with genuine optimism that they are finally on the right track.
However, after an eighth-placed finish last season patience may be required as it is likely to take time before the Red Devils can truly become a force again.
New managers looking to make their mark
At times this summer it has felt like the managerial merry-go-round has been more exciting than the transfer market, with five clubs coming into the season with a new manager in the dugout, while two of the promoted clubs have bosses stepping into a top-flight dugout for the first time.
The biggest change undoubtedly came at Liverpool, where Dutchman Arne Slot replaced Jurgen Klopp after the popular Germany brought down the curtain on his incredibly successful nine years on Merseyside at the end of last season.
At the time of writing the Reds are yet to make a new signing this summer, but Slot will be hoping he can hit the ground running.
Trying to understand Todd Boehley’s decision-making is a fruitless task at the best of times, and there was certainly surprise when the Chelsea owner sacked Mauricio Pochettino at the end of last season after a good run of form.
He was replaced by Leicester boss Enzo Maresca, with the Foxes bringing in former Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper.
West Ham United parted company with David Moyes at the end of last season and brought in former Wolves and Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui, while Brighton have brought in German Fabian Hurzeler, who at 31 becomes the youngest boss in Premier League history after replacing Roberto De Zerbi.
Will the promoted trio survive this time?
Last season was the first since 1997-98, and only the second in Premier League history, where all three promoted clubs went straight back down, with the trio picking up a combined total of just 66 points between them- a record-low combined total for the three relegated clubs.
This season Leicester City have made an immediate return after winning the Championship title, as have play-off winners Southampton.
However, Ipswich Town provided the biggest story as their runners-up finish saw them become the first team since Saints in 2011-12 to secure back-to-back promotions and a first top-flight campaign since 2001-02.
Leicester go into the season with the looming threat of a points deduction for breaches of PSR rules (something which is becoming depressingly familiar across the league) while in Russell Martin and Kieran McKenna, Southampton and Ipswich have bosses managing in the Premier League for the first time.
While it is easy to write them all off after what happened last season, it is also worth noting that in 2022-23 all three promoted clubs stayed up with Fulham even managing a top-half finish. Will the newcomers struggle again, or was 2023-24 an extreme one-off? Only time will tell…
Status quo shaken up?
Last season Aston Villa surprised many people they managed to finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League, the first time they had qualified for Europe’s elite club competition for over 40 years.
When Unai Emery arrived in October 2022, the club was in relegation trouble but ended that season in seventh.
It was the second season in a row that one of the top four spots had been taken by a club outside of the traditional ‘Big Six’ after Newcastle United’s fourth-placed finish in 2022-23, a season which also saw the Magpies reach the Carabao Cup final.
Newcastle ended last season in seventh, thanks in no small part to an ever-long injury list, but still would have qualified for the Conference League had Manchester United not won the FA Cup.
With two different clubs breaking up the Big Six in the last two seasons and question marks over Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United going into this season, could Villa and Newcastle once again disrupt the established order?
Or could we even see another club break into those European spots?