EPL Season Previews – Man City, Man Utd And Liverpool

With the English Premier League season about to kick off, let’s look at three Northwest giants and their prospects for the season ahead.

MAN CITY

Key Business

City have been very, very quiet in the transfer window so far. Their only new signing is left-footed winger Savinho, who was on loan at Girona last season from Troyes. Both of those clubs are in the City Football Group. The winger excelled last season with nine goals, 10 assists and the most dribbles in La Liga.

On the outgoing side, Julian Alvarez has departed for Atletico Madrid and some other funds have come in to push City’s sales to over £120m. A recent long-term injury to young winger Oscar Bobb may push Pep Guardiola to enter the market for a forward. There were links to Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta, but the midfield may not see any new signings in the end.

Squad Strengths And Weaknesses

There seem to be two areas of concern in the squad. The first is that there is no centre-forward cover for Erling Haaland. Should the Norwegian get injured, Guardiola will have to use a false nine such as Phil Foden or Bernardo Silva.

The other questionable position is the lack of cover for key player Rodri. Mateo Kovacic and Rico Lewis are both significant downgrades in that area. In terms of strengths, there are a plethora of strong central defenders and plenty of wide options.

Predicted Best XI

(4-3-3 formation): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Ake; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Foden, Haaland, Doku.

Predicted Finish

SECOND. It will be a close race, and you would be brave to actively bet against Man City, but perhaps their ageing squad and a lack of cover to key men will come back to bite them.

MAN UTD

Key Business

It’s been a productive window for the Red Devils, adding three players connected to Erik Ten Hag (two former Ajax men and Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee). They also beat Real Madrid to the signing of top young defender Leny Yoro from Lille for £58.9m.

Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui are the two former Ajax players, and they will add experience to the injury-prone defensive unit. Zirkzee takes the spot of Anthony Martial and will bring something different to Rasmus Hojlund.

Squad Strengths And Weaknesses

The lack of a top number six is still a concern as Casemiro shows his age and teenager Kobbie Mainoo is still developing. United have made moves for a few destructive midfielders such as Manuel Ugarte and Sander Berge and one is still expected to come through the door.

Left-back is a worry because of Luke Shaw’s injury woes and the drop-off to his deputies being so stark. Getting Marcus Rashford firing again is key as leaning so heavily on Alejandro Garnacho and even Amad Diallo is a risk over an entire season.

Predicted Best XI

(4-2-3-1 formation): Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.

Predicted Finish

SIXTH. Despite the new signings, finishing in the top four won’t be easy. Spurs look more balanced, and Chelsea have a bigger and more varied squad.

LIVERPOOL

Key Business

As it stands, Liverpool have not signed a single new player. Martín Zubimendi from Real Sociedad was targeted but the Euros winner turned down the Reds. In general, transfer rumours around the club have been quiet despite the return of Michael Edwards and the appointment of Richard Hughes as Sporting Director.

On the outgoing side, Joel Matip was released, Thiago Alcantara retired, and Fabio Carvalho was sold for a good fee to Brentford. The club has retained key players in Virgil Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah but neither has renewed their contract just yet.

Squad Strengths And Weaknesses

The Zubimendi chase shows that new coach Arne Slot wants a genuine ‘number six’. There are a plethora of number eights in the squad but Wataru Endo is the only specialist defensive midfielder.

Generally, there is depth in most other areas after the emergence last season of Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah in the defensive areas. Slot must also decide whether he can trust Darwin Nunez to score enough goals to be the first-choice centre forward.

Predicted Best XI

(4-3-3 formation): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Jones; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz.

Predicted Finish

THIRD. The Reds have plenty of firepower and lots of players who can improve from last season (Salah, Konate, Szoboszlai). Arne Slot should make them a bit more possession-based, but a genuine title challenge may be just beyond them.

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis