We’ve all been ever so patient since the end of the last campaign, but as usual, it feels far too long since we’ve had some good quality football in our lives. Sure you have the Women’s Euro Championships on at the moment, but there is nothing quite like the Premier League.
We’ve already taken a little glimpse ahead of the new season by looking at some of the signings made so far, and there have been even more big-name moves since. I mean, who thought Raheem Sterling would make a move to Stamford Bridge? Right?!
But we’re not here today to talk about transfers, well not quite anyway, we’re here to look at some of the hot topics that are being discussed ahead of the 2022-23 Premier League season. So let’s get to it!
Are Manchester United really back?
So, preseason is underway. Teams across the country have been taking part in training camps and friendlies, all arranged to get fitness levels up so that players are ready for the start of the new Premier League season. They’ve travelled across the globe as far as Australia and all the way to the United States.
One team that has been generating a lot of talk about their preseason performances is, of course, the Red Devils Manchester United. With their new manager Erik ten Hag at the helm.
It has been a rather successful preseason some would say for the red side of Manchester, picking up wins against rivals Liverpool, as well as against Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace. And they have dominated each game, but what can we really read into this? Are the old Manchester United back?
Well, as may come as no surprise to some, United fans are very delusional. They were gloating about their win over Liverpool like it was some big triumphant comeback from the past couple of seasons. But they fielded a full-strength side minus a couple of key names (Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo), against what was a combination of three different Liverpool teams that saw a number of youth team players making their first appearances for the first team.
Sure, they looked much sharper than in past seasons, and you can also see evidence of ten Hag putting his philosophy into play with United being a much more proactive team off the ball and on it. But preseason doesn’t mean anything, and the real tests won’t begin until the new Premier League campaign gets underway and we see them put to the real test.
So are the old Manchester United back? No. But do they look like they’re improving? Almost definitely, and they’ll likely only improve further with some of the new signings they’ve captured such as Christian Eriksen on a free and Lisandro Martinez for around £50m.
Darwin Núñez proving doubters wrong?
Coming off the back of that loss to Manchester United, pundits and rival fans were slating Darwin Núñez on his Liverpool debut for looking like a pile of s**t. Many laughed at Liverpool and jumped to conclusions that it was a bad piece of business for the Mighty Reds.
However, he played all of half an hour in that game, and whilst he did look a little off the mark, he’s joining a new team in a new country, where they speak a different language and on top of that, he had only just come back from the summer break. So to expect to see someone coming in and fitting so naturally into a new side on their first start would be a little silly now, wouldn’t it? Although, their Portuguese winger Luis Díaz did manage just that when he signed in January last season.
Anyway, he proved this week in a preseason friendly against RB Leipzig that he does indeed know how to find the net after scoring not just one, but four goals in the second half of the game after coming on as a substitute.
Again, we can’t read into this too much, because as above, it is preseason, but it does go to show that some people can be quick to jump the gun and start making aspersions before they really know what they’re talking about. All we know is if he can replicate that second-half form in the Premier League, Liverpool looks to have a quality signing on their hand who will more than make up for the loss of Sadio Mane this summer.
Will Manchester City run away with the league again?
With the quality in their team, you’d expect Manchester City to challenge on all fronts, and probably finish the season with a nice selection of silverware. Plus they’ll want to defend their Premier League crown they picked up in the season just gone.
They may have lost the likes of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, but they’ve reinforced their lineup with the likes of Erling Haaland from Dortmund and Kalvin Phillips from Leeds. Two direct replacements for the parting striker just mentioned and also the formerly ever-present Fernandinho.
The last Premier League season was an extremely exciting one and went right to the wire. Before Aston Villa collapsed, it looked like Liverpool would do the unthinkable and claim the title on the last day as they chased the quadruple. But City players broke Liverpool’s hearts when they came from two goals down.
This Premier League season, however, despite their big signings, they aren’t the favourites to win the league. Not according to a supercomputer that is which has calculated how the 2022-23 Premier League season will unfold. It has crowned Liverpool as the expected champions instead, with City in second place just behind them. Both of these two teams though are 100% expected to make the Champions League qualification places.
The next on that list? Surprisingly Arsenal the supercomputer has given a 59% chance of qualifying for the Champions League, above Tottenham with 49%. Meaning the supercomputer expects both Chelsea and Manchester United to fail to make the top four. Which I guess answers the question in our first topic that no, the old Manchester United are not back.
And that is all we have time for today, if you, like us, are looking forward to the new Premier League season, let us know in the comments below, especially if you agree or disagree with any of our opinions on the topics stated.
You can find plenty more content like this Premier League piece in our Football section. This article was provided and written by WriteyWrite.com.
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