2019/20 season preview: Titbits across the Premier League
Whew! Good to be back again, missed us? The feeling is mutual. Let's be very honest, there's nothing like league football, the international tourneys tried filling the void a little bit but we know what the real deal looks like and silently, we were praying our gems wouldn't land in wrong holes in the moulds of unwanted long term injuries, Real Madrid's Marco Asensio comes to mind.
The premier league is back, starting with the community shield this weekend, we'll give our prediction take of course and full predictions start next weekend with the start of premier league games.
Liverpool and Manchester City go head to head on Sunday, awesome stuff, relatively the same faces we had last season's sake for Rodri for Manchester City, Liverpool will line up the same way they did last season, do they have weaknesses they haven't addressed? Not quite, they just need depth especially at left-back where an injury to Andy Robertson could spark chaos.
If preseason games were anything to go by, Liverpool proved they can't do without their fire powers upfront; the return of Mohammed Salah from the AFCON break earned them their first win of the break and he would look to take it from there especially at the Shield Cup on Sunday.
Manchester City blew teams away even with academy folks in defense and would want to start the season on a winning note as they have started in recent times, on paper, it's a fifty-fifty thing as it can swing anywhere, Premier League champions, Manchester City would be playing Liverpool, the league runners up simply because they also won the FA Cup, completing the league treble for the first time in recent history, will they repeat the enviable feat?
In the ongoing transfer window, as at the time of putting this together, Manchester United have agreed a world-record fee of £80m with Leicester City for the signing of England defender Harry Maguire. And maybe they will eventually get Paulo Dybala, and Bruno Fernandez even though news broke out on Thursday night that Tottenham Hotspur are about to hijack the deal for the Sporting Lisbon midfielder.
United did seal deals for English kids, Aaron Wan Bissaka and Daniel James but the imbalance in the team is very obvious with Paul Pogba eyeing a switch to Madrid and Romelu Lukaku wanting Italian switch; United need to adequately replace Ander Herrera and with Eric Bailly out injured for months, they can't rely on Smalling, Jones, and Rojo to partner Lindelof. Upfront, Marcus Rashford is the leading light, kid sensation, Greenwood has been the preseason revelation but will United head into the season with such naivety? The duo of Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial have their days but they sure underperformed last season, frustrations will creep in way too quickly if performances don't pick up early and the chants of #OleOut wouldn't take long to fill the air… United must do more transfer business before the end of this window.
Arsenal broke their transfer record to land Nicolas Pepe from Lille, amazing stuff considering the 45m rumored budget, but with their major investments upfield so far, fans would wonder if the management realized how horrible their defense was last season.
Arsenal conceded way too much to be taken seriously and as at the time of filing this report, a certain Agent Mustafi is still in the team; the so-called World Cup winner even unconsciously raises his hand for offside when Arsenal scores, he was always caught off guard and commits unbelievable errors, if he remains in the squad, Arsenal would be winning games on 6-5 score lines.
Kieran Tierney is strongly linked with the Gunners, would be a good addition for their four-man backline while Kolasinac would come handy in a three-man backline, but Arsenal needs a Center Back, a quality defender that can solve the defensive woes. Rugani from Juventus was rumored before it died down, sights of Sami Khedira at the Emirates in the cup game against Lyon raised questions, they got Ceballos on loan and wouldn't need anyone that would limit the growth of Joe Willock and Emile Smith Rowe, what Arsenal needs right now is a defender, they shouldn't be confused.
Elsewhere, Chelsea are serving transfer ban but they do have returning young players that will ignite the premier league, 20-year-old Mario Pulisic is good to go, he has been cracking things hard in preseason and the return of Callum Hudson-Odoi to full fitness will help the team; The core of the defense is aging but Kurt Zouma and Andrea Christensen will spice things up, in midfield, everyone expects Ngolo Kante to return to the defensive midfield but where will Jorginho fit in?
Spurs are in the world of their own, they got Ndombele to beef up their midfield but that's all they have done in the transfer window, they do have money, they also have champions league football to offer, why are they quiet in the window? They have a need to replace Jansen and Llorente that left, they have a need to replace Kieran trippier that left for Atletico Madrid, the core of the team remains after being able to hold on to the likes of Christian Eriksen and Toby Alderwereild, strong team that will challenge again, but they have to do more than challenge, they must come out of that failing shadows, the league is about to start, let's do it.
For the Community Shield, Manchester City will win, and that will set the tone for yet another triumph…
Let the season begin.