photo by Tim Bechervaise on Unsplash
Following the success of Manchester City last season, Arsenal fans will be hoping Arteta's signings will help them go that final step and take the title this year. However, with significant changes taking place at Chelsea and Tottenham, Manchester United's revolution under ten Hag, and Liverpool still posing a serious threat, it will surely be an interesting season at the top.
The relegation battle can be even more entertaining than the title race with teams desperate to stay in one of the richest leagues in the world.
Football fans will already be making their predictions and the lure of fantasy football teams and betting allows people at home to get involved with the game.
Potential Winners
Manchester City, unsurprisingly, are favourites to retain the Premiership crown for the 2023/24 season. Following on from the successful season that saw them lift the league title,
Champions League, and the FA Cup.
Many
betting sites have them odds on with Arsenal as second favourites at around 5/1 and Liverpool at 10/1. Chelsea and Newcastle are seen as outsiders with longer odds of around 20/1 and Manchester United and Tottenham have odds of around 40/1 and 50/1 respectively.
Manchester City already has some silverwear under their belt this season with a UEFA Super Cup victory over last season's Europa League winners Sevilla.
However, it was Arsenal that celebrated the first domestic trophy of the season with an FA Community Shield win over Man City on penalties.
Arsenal almost surprised everyone with an impressive campaign last term, but Man City's unrelenting dominance saw their power on and overtake them with weeks to go.
The only big loss for Arsenal over the summer was captain Granit Xhaka's move to Bayer Leverkusen. However, replacing him with Declan Rice is a statement of intent. Other additions include Havertz from Chelsea, Timber from Ajax, and David Ray from Brentford.
Manchester City has a relatively settled team this season but has added Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea and Josk Gvardiol from RB Leipzig. Mahrez and Gundogan could prove to be big losses though.
Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, and surprise package Newcastle will all look to improve from last season. The revolving door of Chelsea has seen lots of comings and goings and Pochettino may need time to settle the team.
Erik ten Hag did a good job with Manchester United last season and will hope to build on that, while Ange Postecoglu's Tottenham will want to make an impact this year.
Liverpool have failed to reach recent heights but any team that features Salah and Van Dijk will still be dangerous.
Newcastle's takeover caused controversy, but many neutrals were still impressed with
Eddie Howe's team as he led them to the Champions League last season. The signing of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan should be a good one, and holding onto the key players of last season's success will be critical.
European Qualification
The seven teams above are all favourites for European qualification this season. However, if the top teams win European competitions and domestic tournaments, this could result in more teams having the chance of a Europa League place.
Brighton and Aston Villa are most likely to be in these positions after great seasons last year. Aston Villa's fortunes changed completely after they got rid of Gerrard and appointed Unai Emery. A late surge saw them take a Europa Conference League place.
Brighton will compete in the Europa League this year. Despite losing Caicedo and MacAllister to Chelsea and Liverpool, they continue to produce a conveyor belt of talent through their youth setup and scouting network.
The Relegation Battle
Some of the most exciting actions from the 2023/24 Premiership season will take place at the bottom half of the table. The relegation battle will be hard fought with newly promoted teams trying to establish themselves in the promised land of riches that the Premier League has become.
The two obvious candidates for relegation are Sheffield United, who performed admirably when they last featured in the top flight, and Luton Town, who haven't played in the top flight since the 1991/92 season, the year before the Premier League began.
Both teams will undoubtedly be up for the fight, but the gulf in finances could prove too much.
Other candidates for the drop include Everton who narrowly avoided relegation last season. Wolves, Bournemouth, and Nottingham Forest could also be drawn into the fight, while the other new boys Burnley are seen as a less obvious choice.
Player Predictions
One of the most popular player performance markets in any league is the top goalscorer award. Last season, Erling Braut Haaland was almost unstoppable, setting a new record of 36 Premiership goals.
With Harry Kane moving to Germany, there won't be many that will bet against Haaland this year, but Salah, Isak, and Rasmus Hojlund could offer some value.
As well as scooping the top scorer award, Haaland also won the Premier League Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season. While he has everything it takes to capture the Player of the Season trophy again, he will be too old for the Young Player of the Season award. If
Bukayo Saka continues his form from last season, in which he scored the most goals for Arsenal out of any player (seven), he could challenge for both.
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Premier League 2023/24 profile