The 2017-2018 English Premier League season begins play this weekend, with defending champions Manchester City widely expected to take the top honors once again.
If they were able to do so, City would become the first back-to-back winners of England’s top soccer league since Manchester United did so in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns.
Liverpool Closes Gap During Transfer Window
City had a relatively quiet transfer window, with the most impactful signing being the addition of Riyad Mahrez as a wide attacker. But the defending champions didn’t need the make any waves during the offseason, as their roster was already strong enough to make them a favorite over the field to win another title.
William Hill – and just about everyone else – has City as the clear first choice to win the EPL title, listing the Citizens at 4/6 odds. City begins their campaign on Sunday, traveling to Arsenal in what looks to be the biggest match of the weekend.
Hot on City’s heels is Liverpool (4/1). The Reds did what they could to close the gap with City in the offseason, bringing in the best available players at several positions of need, including Alisson at goalkeeper and defensive midfielder Fabinho.
Liverpool is a heavy favorite to open their season Sunday with a win at home over West Ham. But manager Jurgen Klopp understands that in the long run, they’re playing the role of underdogs to City this season.
“We are still Rocky Balboa and not Ivan Drago,” Klopp said at a Friday news conference. “We are the ones that have to do more, to fight more, to do all these things. That must be our attitude.”
No Signings for Tottenham
One side that left people scratching their heads over the summer was Tottenham (14/1). Spurs became the first team since the concept of transfer windows came into being in 2003 not to sign a single player during the EPL offseason.
Instead, the club focused on holding onto its existing stars, including Golden Boot winner Harry Kane and Toby Alderweireld. Manager Mauricio Pochettino framed that decision as a brave one in the face of heavy spending by many of the club’s rivals.
“Building a new training group, then finishing the lodge this summer was a massive investment,” Pochettino told the media. “It maybe looks bad [not to sign players] because of the perception and because of the history of football, but that is our decision – to keep the best players and to keep the squad. It’s a brave decision.”
Tottenham begins play on Saturday, when they’ll travel to Newcastle as a road favorite for the first match of the day.
Fans tuning in for EPL matches this year will see a few new rules and regulations being enforced, most of which have to do with disciplinary action. Yellow cards will no longer be cumulative over all English competitions; instead only league cards will impact a player in the league, while the FA Cup and Carabao Cup maintaining their own tallies. However, a red card can still cause a player to miss matches in any competition.
Meanwhile, in a change that will be familiar to American sports fans, coaches will now be allowed to use small handheld mobile devices on the sidelines, allowing them to work on tactics or check live statistics that could impact their strategies in real time on tablets.
The first game of the EPL season will be played Friday evening, when Manchester United (8/1) hosts Leicester City (300/1), before the remaining 18 teams play their first matches over the weekend.