With the English Premier League set to kick off on Saturday August 12, 2017 we take a look at the top six teams on the table from last season. The premiership teams are beefing up their squads ahead of pre-season and the league but what should fans expect?
Chelsea
The champions begin their title defense home at home against Burnley. Chelsea’s trickiest run in the hopes of a title defense is back to back trips against both Manchester City and United (Feb 23 and Mar 3) within a seven day period amid a possible Champions League Round of 16 matches in February.
Chelsea can pickup most points before the Christmas break when they come up against Swansea, Newcastle, West Ham, Huddersfield and Southampton.
After playing four of their six Champions’ league group matches, they face Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool. Chelsea’s first away match of the season against Spurs is one that Chelsea fans will be looking forward to.
Spurs
Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham kick off their Premier League campaign with a trip to newly-promoted Newcastle.Their biggest matches are between January and February when they face Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. Following these matches, they could claim all points when they face Crystal Palace, Huddersfield , Bournemouth and Newcastle.
Their only challenge during Champions’ league group stages will be a home match against Liverpool. Their first match at Wembley against the champions Chelsea is one that is most likely to excite the fans.(Aug 19)
Manchester City
Manchester city begin their season campaign away at newly promoted Brighton.Manchester City have tricky matches in their run in to claim the premier league title against Everton, Manchester United (December 9) and Spurs. Manchester City can pick up their most points after the October international break when they play Stoke, Burnley and West Brom.
They have three games directly after the Champions league group stages against Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United(April 7). The fixture that most fans would look forward to is the visit of Liverpool early September which the renewal of Guardiola vs. Kloop offering some early season excitement.(September 19)
Liverpool
Liverpool’s first fixture is away at Watford. They face four of their top six rivals before October: Arsenal, City, United and Spurs. They can pick up most points before Boxing day and New Year’s Day when they face Swansea and Leicester. Following three rounds of Championship football, they face Spurs, Chelsea and Everton which could test their squad depth and team shuffling. Following the return from the international break in October, their fixture against Manchester United is one the fans can look forward to. (October 14)
Arsenal
Arsenal began their season with a home fixture against 2015-16 champions, Leicester. Arsenal’s trickiest matches are in February when they face Everton, Spurs and City. Following their Europa League group stages, Arsenal’s resolve will be tested in matches against Chelsea, Everton and City. Arsenal upon finishing below Spurs for the first time under Wenger will be looking for revenge when Spurs visit the Emirates Stadium on November 18.
Manchester United
United have a relatively easy start at the beginning of the new season starting with a home fixture against West Ham United. However they face Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea in October and early November.
United will look to be at the top of the Premier League after September: West Ham, Swansea, Leicester, Stoke, Everton, Southampton and Crystal Palace. Following their first four matches in the Champions League, they will make a trip to Chelsea. Following a string of good matches, they could travel to Liverpool as league leaders which could definitely excite the United fans. (October 19).
By Ekow Spio|3Fm|Ghana
Twitter: 3newsgh