The 2024-25 Premier League season is here as action gets underway Friday with Manchester United battling Fulham in the day’s lone game. There are 38 long matchdays ahead to crown the champs, the top four and more, with the newcomers aiming to simply live to fight another year in the toughest top flight in the world. So how will the season play out? Who will me the top four, who will get relegated and more?
Here are our staff picks for the upcoming Premier League campaign.
Why Arsenal will win the Premier League
It feels like the stars are aligning about as favorably as they could for Arsenal in a galaxy where no one can escape Pep Guardiola’s gravitational pull. They have moved to upgrade a relative weak spot in their XI and if Riccardo Calafiori’s arrival pushes Oleksandr Zinchenko back towards his best, all the better. At the time of writing the depth they need is just about there, the defense has that aura and Martin Odegaard is in the mood. A superstar striker might put them over the top, but there is a case to be made that last season’s top scorers don’t really need one, especially if Gabriel Jesus can get more minutes than last. With Manchester City standing pat so far this transfer window, it might only need one big stride forward from Arsenal. – James Benge
Martin Odegaard for player of the season
It’s important not to over-index on preseason, but Arsenal’s captain has attacked it with a purpose that is sure to carry over when the games matter. While so many other superstars (on his team and elsewhere) will have a summer of wear and tear from Euros or Copa America to shake off, Odegaard (and Erling Haaland, it should be noted) have had a summer to stew, to plot the great leap forward that could propel him to the summit of the English game. If this is to be Arsenal’s season, it will surely be Odegaard’s as well. – James Benge
Bournemouth to surprise many
After losing Dominic Solanke to Tottenham, it may be fair to expect the Cherries to take a step back, but under Andoni Iraola, they’re well poised for success. Solanke’s replacement is already in the team in Enes Unal who has shown that he can lead the line with back-to-back 14-plus-goal seasons for Getafe before suffering an ACL tear. He’ll need to show that he’s back to his best this season, but being able to bounce back alongside the support of Antoine Semenyo and Luis Sinisterra, Bournemouth will have enough to give teams something to think about. Add that in with a cohesive system and this is a side that could push for European soccer while having money in the bank for reinforcements if needed. – Chuck Booth
Aston Villa, the biggest disappointment?
The bar was set extremely high last season by Unai Emery’s Villa who will now find themselves in the Champions League as well as a very competitive band of clubs seeking European qualification in the Premier League. Newcastle United showed how difficult it can be balancing the EPL and UCL commitments and the Villans are entering Europe’s top-tier competition in the first year of a new format which means even more games for a squad which still has some obvious holes to fill despite a few tidy additions. If preseason form is anything to go by, it could be a tricky campaign for the Birmingham giants. Chelsea are also contenders to be underwhelming but they have been doing that for the past couple of years which arguably means that expectations should be fairly low anyway. — Jonathan Johnson
Best signing: Riccardo Calafiori of Arsenal
After two consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League, Arsenal’s transfer strategy is understandably focused on landing players that can help them right now, no matter the price. The latest addition in that series is Italy’s Riccardo Calafiori, who landed the big post-Euros move from Bologna to the Premier League. He seems poised to fit right in at Arsenal as Mikel Arteta continues to build a defensive powerhouse and challenge again for the title. – Pardeep Cattry
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