Premier League

Despite losing to Liverpool in the Charity Shield last weekend, Manchester City enters the season as one of the Premier League favourites, thanks to Pep ...

Newcastle United, meanwhile, can be expected to progress thanks to a combination of Saudi Arabian financing and Eddie Howe’s astute management. Things look tougher for Gerrard’s England companion as Frank Lampard faces another difficult campaign at Everton. Lampard has the fans on his side after narrowly avoiding relegation, but the loss of Richarlison is a big one and the signings of James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil from Burnley will have to add some steel of they want to avoid further struggles. West Ham United have added much-needed firepower with the signing of Gianluca Scamacca, who will give Michail Antonio a rest now and then, while Leicester City have yet to make any signings but have defender Wesley Fofana back after missing nearly the entire season with a broken leg. In the worst-case scenario, last season caused too much damage to repair in a single season, and a wanted-away Cristiano Ronaldo spends the season in a self-imposed funk as United struggles to qualify for Europe once more. Tottenham Hotspur could be the “dark horse” in this year’s title race, with Antonio Conte having the summer to build a team in his image, with key signings such as Richarlison and Yves Bissouma strengthening in all areas of the pitch. Darwin Nunez is the man to watch at Liverpool, and the former Benfica striker faces a difficult task in filling the shoes of Sadio Mane, according to Xinhua. Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho appears to be a promising signing, and Jurgen Klopp will be pleased to see Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah sign new contracts.

Will Darwin Núñez be as good as promised? Can Klopp find a new star to add to his midfield?

Had the Uruguayan not suffered multiple knee injuries earlier in his career, which he would appear to have overcome in recent years, he might have been able to put together a more sizeable resume of goals. This is hardly a crisis for Jota. The fourth choice Liverpool forward is certain to get plenty of opportunities if he and his teammates can replicate last season's feat of playing in every match available to them. For one thing, the body of work is simply a lot smaller. The latter might be gone, but it is reasonable to assume that having paid a club record €75million on Darwin Núñez, they intend to use him from the off more often than not. The 19 year old could well be a beneficiary of the gravitational force of Liverpool's front five, especially whilst he is still something of an unknown for Premier League defenses. The Salah-Mane-Firmino trident has been snapped apart but there is no guarantee that Jota will be one of those who makes up the next trio. Though that is hardly the worst news for Liverpool, it could be a cause for real regret around the rest of England. Here was a player who would drive into the penalty area from deep positions and find his way to a lot of shots. Much like Kelleher, one might assume that Gomez is in a position where he could not realistically be prepared to settle for the role he currently has. Then came the knee injury on England duty and the lost season for Liverpool that may prove to be the turning point in Gomez's time at the club. If there has been a reason for disquiet among Liverpool supporters over their transfer business in Julian Ward's first window as sporting director it has been the decision not to recruit an additional midfielder. Not for nothing did his manager describe the Irish international as "the best number two [goalkeeper] in the world" after his shootout heroics in the EFL Cup final win over Chelsea. Naturally a player of that quality will only be prepared to back up Alisson for so long.

Darwin Nunez is the man everyone will be looking out for at Liverpool and the former Benfica striker has a big task to fill the boots of the departed Sadio Mane ...

Elsewhere, Newcastle United can be expected to progress thanks to a combination of Saudi Arabian finance and Eddie Howe’s intelligent management. Fabio Carvalho looks like a promising buy from Fulham and Jurgen Klopp will be pleased to see Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah pen new deals. Arsenal flickered and promised last season, before fizzing out at the end of the campaign and Mikel Arteta’s side will provide moments of magic again after the arrivals of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City. However, the question is whether Arteta’s entertaining young side can maintain their challenge consistently over a full season and the answer is probably “no”.

Picking out five players with the low FLP ownership and the potential to score big on the opening Gameweek.

A repeat of that would be music to the ears of the 1.2% of FPL players who have him in their squads. That was the third time in that sequence they have conceded three and Solanke could be just the man to profit. Prior to the injury, he amassed 101 points in the 2020/21 campaign, averaging 4.4 points per match over his 23 outings. Last season was pretty much a write-off for the forward who made just nine appearances as he struggled with a series of injuries. But for all the hours of deliberation, Gameweek 1 is about not losing ground early on. With Mohamed Salah in close to 60% of squads, Trent Alexander-Arnold in just over 58% and Erling Haaland in around 47%, the big-hitters have already been earmarked.

Here's Mirror Football's 2022/23 FPL team choice for Gameweek 1, with the 2022/23 Premier League season getting underway on Friday evening.

Forward: Gabriel Jesus (£8.0m) - On course to be the most selected player for GW1 in FPL history, 75.8% owned Jesus is a must this season. Midfielder: Leon Bailey (£5.0m) - Bailey showed sparks of what he could produce in an injury-ridden campaign last season, and the Jamaican could prove a bargain this season. Midfielder: Riyad Mahrez (£8.0m) - Mahrez has always been a major threat in FPL, but the Algerian always falls victim to Pep roulette, sometimes being benched for weeks on the run. Defender: Trent Alexander Arnold (£7.5m) - An FPL must, Alexander-Arnold has outscored most midfielders and forwards over the last few FPL seasons due to his incredible attacking input in a defensively solid Liverpool side. The Egyptian has scored in each of Liverpool's last five opening day fixtures, and it could easily become six against Fulham. Last season saw the likes of Mohamed Salah, Heung-Min Son and Trent Alexander-Arnold shine, but with Gabriel Jesus now at Arsenal and Erling Haaland in the Premier League, some new options have caught the eye.

The 2022-23 season is almost upon us and at this point you should be making your final tweaks to your Fantasy Premier League team. But which new signings ...

While he faces competition from Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes for a spot in central defence, a report in The Sun claims that he’s set to make his competitive Gunners debut in their opener against Crystal Palace. But which new signings look like the best bets for your FPL team? Since moving to Arsenal in the summer, he’s scored seven goals in five pre-season friendlies, averaging a goal every 37.85 minutes for the Gunners. Not only is he a sure starter, but he looks to be thriving as the focal point of their attack. The experienced Croatian is new to the Premier League and still getting used to a new club with new team-mates, but that’s all negated by the fact he worked under Antonio Conte at Inter. It should just be a case of plug-in and play.He notched four goals and five assists as a wingback as Conte’s Inter won Serie A back in 2020-21 and he looks to have all the makings of an FPL wingback hero. No wonder he’s said to be the most-picked player in FPL history, with nearly three-quarters of managers selecting him for the opening fixture away to Crystal Palace. Omit him at your peril. The Brazilian was never an obvious FPL pick whilst at Man City, in part due to falling victim to Pep Roulette, but everything looks different all of a sudden. Aribo caught the eye by scoring in the Europa League final last season, while setting up Kelechi Iheanacho’s match-winner against Egypt in the Africa Cup Of Nations. He also notched eight goals and six assists in the Scottish Premiership.Capable of playing in any number of advanced positions, including up top in the final weeks of last season, it’ll be interesting to see how Ralph Hasenhuttl opts to use the Nigerian at Southampton. Republic of Ireland international Collins caught the eye at Burnley last season, despite their struggles, and is going into one of the Premier League’s sturdier and defensively-minded teams in Bruno Lage’s Wolves. Only five sides kept more clean sheets last season. Okay, not strictly a new signing, but new to the Premier League. Only three goalkeepers in the division made more saves last term, and his heroics between the sticks were often an avenue to bonus and save points whilst he was at Burnley. Yeah, he got relegated with Burnley last season, but in recent seasons Pope has established a reputation as one of the Premier League’s best shot-stoppers. It’s been an incredibly hectic and interesting summer of transfer business, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham spending big on new additions as they look to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool. Manchester United haven’t been quite as active but are expected to make further recruitments in the coming weeks.

We're back! After a summer of rest and recuperation, a new Fantasy Premier League season is upon us.

Archer looks to be the promising of the 4.5m options. One of the unwritten rules of fantasy football is not picking players who are new to the league but it’s always been more a guideline anyway. We have been burnt before but when Fulham score, it’s likely to be through the Serbia international. Still, he appears to be first-choice for now and his underlying statistics before an injury at the end of last season were fantasy gold. The easiest thing to do might just be to set him in your squad and wait for the points to roll in. Going big at the back is popular this year but there are still potential bargains in the 4.5m bracket. Prepare an escape route if he loses his place but could be worth a punt. Six goals and six assists was a decent return which should only be improved upon, especially if he emerges as first-choice penalty taker. The Brazilian carries an aerial threat too, while Crystal Palace and Leicester have been known to struggle on set-plays. Picking a 4.5m goalkeeper has traditionally been the smart thing to do but there is not really an outstanding option among this year’s cohort. With Ward’s back-up Iversen also priced 4.0m, we have the rare prospect of a viable 8.0m pairing. Wing-backs playing under Antonio Conte tend to be brilliant fantasy assets and Perisic should be no exception.

Nunez is quite an addition to the Liverpool attack as Jurgen Klopp refreshes the team to replace Sadio Mane. After scoring 34 goals and assisting four more with ...

It could be a tough start for Forest and they could finish anywhere from tenth in the league to dead last and it wouldn't be surprising to me. While he should score quite a few goals for the Hammers this season, I'd love to know the story that his tattoos have to tell. It will be another strong season for Salah and the Reds and while not attending the World Cup with Egypt will be a disappointment, it will also make for a strong second half of the season where Salah is rested while others aren't. With Christian Pulisic needing to fight for minutes at Chelsea, Chris Richards being in a similar position with Crystal Palace, and Antonee Robinson fighting an uphill battle with Fulham all eyes are on Leeds United's American duo of Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson. Adams is replacing Kalvin Phillips who moved on to Manchester City. Leeds need to fill the massive hole that he left in the squad and Marc Roca and Adams have been tasked with that. Coming off of a breakout year that saw him score 11 goals and assist seven more in Premier League play, Arsenal have surrounded Saka with more quality so that he can make the attack tick. Vieira is building something special in South London and Eze's performances will be at the center of making it work this season. Steve Cooper has a tough job getting their new signings to click, but it also has to be an easier job than last year when he took over the team during the season and got them promoted from the Championship. On paper, Forest have made impressive additions but they'll need to ensure that Taiwo Awoniyi and Brennan Johnson are supported well in the attack. The Premier League is back and with that, it's a good time to gaze into a crystal ball of what may happen in the league while everyone is still on level footing. The only players to best him in the past five seasons are Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane. Vardy is struggling with injuries while he ages while Kane is no longer the most feared attacker on Spurs as that title now shifts to Heung-Min Son who tied Salah for the Golden Boot last year. Sven Botman and Nick Pope are significant upgrades while making the addition of Matt Targett permanent is also a solid addition for them. The biggest point in Nunez's favor over the summer's more heralded move of Erling Haaland to Manchester City is that I see him getting more starts in an attack that can match City step for step. Even if he drifts out to the wing, Salah is able to fill the space in the middle, making Liverpool that much more dangerous.

The new Premier League season is upon us, and we asked our wide team of writers, reporters and editors just what they think will happen at home and abroad.

It will be City in a canter and I suspect they might break that Champions League jinx for good measure. Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United will all be stronger, but still short of winning the title. Manchester City won the Premier League title last season, but to finish with just one trophy the campaign was seen as somewhat of a disappointment. The Dutchman needed the chance to completely remould a squad that slumped to United's worst-ever finish in the Premier League era last year; the three new recruits United have currently sourced will not cut it. I do fancy them to win a trophy though and they should retain their Champions League berth. The top four race looks tight with Arsenal much-improved and Manchester United entering a new era. Tottenham look strong under Antonio Conte but I struggle to see them keeping pace with City and Liverpool for a whole season. Manchester City look formidable - the only question mark is how their squad copes after returning from the World Cup. But with the depth they have available, it’s hard to see it being a major issue. While 99 goals last season was ridiculous, Haaland will lift Pep Guardiola's side to a new level and that's why they'll win the Premier League and Champions League. I've backed Manchester City to win another domestic treble. Manchester City have won four of the last five Premier League trophies and their dominance is showing no signs of waning. As far as the cups go, Arsenal are surely due an FA Cup after missing out for two whole seasons.

Manchester City defend the title, while Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest are back in the top flight.

Is Joelinton going to win player of the year? AP: Kevin De Bruyne. He’s been the best player in one of the best Premier League teams of all time, and it feels like he’s still not quite getting enough credit for that – somehow. More seriously, how teams like Brentford or Wolves look to potentially switch systems and still progress, and also how Steve Cooper – an England youth World Cup-winning manager, long touted as a top coach – fares in the top flight. MC: Kevin De Bruyne. Recovered from the signs of age, injury and fatigue to decide the title race last season. I’d be curious as to the future of Ralph Hassenhuttl, for example, and it’s for that reason I’m going for Southampton, Everton and Bournemouth. KJ: Jesse Lingard. Much like his loan move to West Ham triggered a reaction, consistent minutes under Steve Cooper will see the ex-Man Utd playmaker as Forest’s focal point, both on the pitch and the terraces. KM: Kevin de Bruyne or Thiago Alcantara. One of the two midfield schemers will be the difference between tired draws and vital wins during a relentless season. Out of all the promoted teams, Bournemouth feel less well-equipped to cope with the jump up. A first full season of Antonio Conte should guarantee at least fourth for Tottenham. The last spot is harder to nail down. Chelsea’s mini-rebuild has left a lot of questions but you expect that in the end, Thomas Tuchel will have enough answers. JB: Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal. The signings of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus are smart buys that can help Mikel Arteta’s side take the next step. Karl Matchett: Liverpool. The attack is now a slightly smaller group, but all of a more even (read: higher) level of quality.

The Premier League is back and starting a week earlier than usual due to the mid-season disruption caused by the inaugural World Cup in Qatar.

DK: Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Fulham. Spurs are well-placed to push on and Chelsea still boast impressive squad depth, despite being in transition. MO: Liverpool, City, Tottenham, Arsenal. I’d be pretty confident on the top three. DK: A multi-team title race. I do think Arsenal will have a better chance of disrupting it than Manchester United. Chelsea could sneak into the top four. It’s possible but they’ll have enough to stay up. Will Brentford suffer second-season syndrome? NK: A visit to the City Ground. It will be raucous after 23 years away from the top-flight. Perhaps it is wishful thinking but a mid-season World Cup could shake up the established order in the second half of the campaign and create a three-or four-team title race. The signing of the season will be... SC: City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal. The top two are a cut above the rest, but the battle for third and fourth will be close. There doesn’t appear to be much to separate a chasing pack that includes the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, while another new era begins under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. Fulham and Bournemouth have both made swift returns to the top-flight, while Nottingham Forest are back at this level for the first time in 23 long years.

Erling Haaland, Darwin Nunez, Raheem Sterling, Richarlison, Gabriel Jesus, Kalvin Phillips, Christian Eriksen, Jesse Lingard, Julian Alvarez - the list is ...

Leicester vs Brentford (2pm) Tottenham vs Southampton (3pm) Will it be Haaland vs Nunez for the Golden boot? Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest (3pm) Leeds vs Wolves (3pm) Bournemouth vs Aston Villa (3pm)