Man City ready to defend title

The Premier League’s giants have again brushed off the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic ahead of the start of the new season on Friday with a four-team battle expected for the title.

Manchester City

Winning a third Premier League title in four seasons and lifting yet another League Cup was not enough to sate Guardiola’s appetite for success.

The City boss added another weapon to his already lethal attacking arsenal with a British record £100 million ($139 million) swoop for Aston Villa playmaker Grealish.

But with Tottenham, Leicester, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool among their opening seven games of the season, the champions’ title defence could be quickly knocked off course.

Manchester United

Without a major trophy since 2017, United have loaded up for a sustained assault to end an eight-year wait to win the title.

Sancho joins a swashbuckling attack also featuring Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood, Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial with Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba pulling the strings behind them in midfield.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have proved to be more than a match for City on their day over the past two seasons, but need to find the consistency.

Liverpool

Liverpool shrugged off their woes with a late surge that saw them qualify for the Champions League with a 3rd place finish.

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been refreshed by a summer off from international duties, while Diogo Jota’s fine form in his first season at the club has put Roberto Firmino’s place up front under threat.

Most importantly, the returns of Van Dijk and Henderson will be like new signings for Klopp as the Reds boss aims to bounce back.

Chelsea

Thomas Tuchel’s remarkable impact at Chelsea culminated in Champions League final glory just five months after taking charge.

Tuchel must now build on that triumph and has been backed by Roman Abramovich with Romelu Lukaku set to return to Stamford Bridge.

While Chelsea were rock solid at the back after Tuchel’s appointment, they were less impressive in attack. where Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech struggled.