English Premier League - 2021/2022 Season Game Week 1

After a strange 2020/2021 Premier League season, with the Euro 2020 just recently over in 2021, the EPL will be back very soon. Everyone is looking forward to it. Every team will once again seek to outdo one another but the damned virus is still lurking around and causing untold misery, damage and suffering. It has been sad and frustrating for everyone. Everyone has only one immediate wish - for Covid-19 to die and never return in any form.

The return of the EPL could cheer some of us fans. Let us look at each team and find out what has been happening and what they have done so far in preparation for the new season in terms of new signings and departures. While there is no guarantee of results, there will be impact. Some will grow bigger and stronger, others may still falter regardless their best intention and best laid plans. Game Week 1 is coming soon!

I do not expect an explosive start to the new campaign due to summer exertions, the Euro, the Olympics and players who have been injured or returning late for training and for pre-season matches. Big teams of course are expected to dominate especially those with big signings or so you think but there is nothing like surprises. 

Brentford v Arsenal - Newly promoted Brentford aka The Bees have a knack of providing top strikers such as Ollie Watkins who now plays for Aston Villa. They now have Ivan Toney who scored 33 goals in 48 matches in the lower division Championship last season and is the man to watch. The Gunners have released David Luiz, have Matteo Guendouzi and William Saliba on loan and signed Nuno Tavares (Benfica) and Alvert Lokonga (Anderlecht). They have signed Ben White for 50 million pounds so not much has changed. They still have some key players like Aubemeyang, Lacazette, Pepe plus youngsters Smith-Rowe and Saka to depend on but last season they were inconsistent so it is going to be a tough new season for the Gunners. 1-1.

Manchester United v Leeds - The Red Devils have scored the biggest hits so far. The 73 million pound signing of Jadon Sancho is a huge statement of their intention. Sancho is already one of the world's best if not the best winger. Old fashion wing play with lots of pace, trickery, goals and assists. A dream signing. Raphael Varane from Real Madrid have also joined to strengthen their defence. Big statement to improve on last season. The Whites have brought in Junior Firpo from Barcelona. Confirmed Jack Harrison's permanent move. Marcelo Bielsa once celebrated success with Argentina at the 2004 Athens Olympics and then he resigned. Will the second season curse in the top flight happen? United are unbeaten in their last five meetings. With Bruno Fernandes set to star again, the likes of Edison Cavani, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho will work a treat and have great promise to land trophies. They will be a top challenger but Sancho and Varane may not play immediately. Bielsa may just have the tactics to not necessarily win but to avoid defeat. 1-1.

Burnley v Brighton - The Clarets have not done much. The only notable signing is Welsh goalkeeper Wayne Hennessy. The Seagulls have signed a few less known players. Giant 2.02m Dutch goalie Kjell Sherpen from Ajax. Enoch Mwepu (RB Salzburg), Jeremy Sarmiento (Benfica) and Gary Dicker (Kilmarnock) but you can trust manager Gary Potter knows what he has been doing. Jahanbakhsh and Mat Ryan have left though. Burnley are a tough team but they hardly scores. This is going to be a physical game with Potter's side playing the better football but would not be many goals. The Seagulls to just nick it. 0-1.

Chelsea v Crystal Palace - There have been many reports of big singings by the Blues but nothing has been concrete but those who have left are: Olivier Giroud, Billy Gilmour (loan), Willy Caballero, Fikayo Tomori, Victor Moses. Romelu Lukaku has signed for Chelsea in a 98 million pounds deal to bring him back to Stamford Bridge. He has gone full circle and back to Chelsea. Chelsea could have kept "the beast" in the first place. The Eagles have no significant new signings but Wayne Hennesy and Andros Townsend have left. Former Arsenal and City great Patrick Viera will face a baptism of fire as the new manager. History suggests a no contest here as it has been 7 wins in a row for the Blues. Besides, Chelsea are the undisputed kings of Europe having won the Champions League and now the UEFA Super Cup. Let Chelsea enjoy what they deserved as PSG are waiting with the signing of Lionel Messi. Messi, Mbappe, Neymar, Di Maria, etc. are waiting to usurp them. Lukaku is ready to show he is one of the top strikers in world football and Chelsea are going to be very strong this season. Chelsea do not concede lots of goals and now have a proper goal scorer which makes them strong contenders for the Premier League crown. Watch out Pep Guardiola. 2-0.

Everton v Southampton - The Toffees have added Andros Townsend, Demarai Gray and Asmir Begovic but Theo Walcott, Joshua King, Yannick Bolasie are gone. Rafael Benitez, a former Red has been tasked with a massive job. The Saints have signed Theo Walcott, Mario Lemina and Romain Perraud. Ryan Bertrand and Angus Gunn have left. Towards the end of last season, Everton's home form was like bottom three and the Saints' form in that period was rock bottom. The Toffees have not lost to Southampton at Goodison Park since 1997 where some of you were not born. Ongoing rumours have it that Jannik Vestergaard may move to Leicester while Spurs and Villa have targeted their captain James Ward-Prowse. That will be the end of the Saints improving on last season and let's hope they will not have another 0-9 routing this season. 1-0.

Leicester v Wolves - The Foxes most notable signing has to be Patson Daka. They have also added Boubakary Soumare and Ryan Bertrand. Meanwhile Christian Fuchs has left and Wes Morgan has retired. Rui Patricio and Ruben Vinagre have left Wolves. No other big signings or departures. New boss Bruno Lage looks like continuing the Portuguese way. Both teams tend to play to 0-0 draw. Leicester missed out on Champions League last season but Brendan Rodgers's side is going to be as good if not better this season. Jamie Vardy is 34 but showing no sign of slowing down. The return of Mexican striker Raul Jiminez who missed out last season to injury do offer some hope for Wolves but it may not be enough. 2-1.

Watford v Aston Villa - The newly promoted Hornets have made 10 signings from all over and among them Danny Rose from Spurs. The Villans have release Tom Heaton and Ahmad El Mohamedy. Captain Jack Grealish has been signed by Man City for a British record deal 100 million pounds! How will Villa missed their top star who joined them as a six year old. Villa are ambitious too as they have also signed Leon Bailey, Emi Buendia and Danny Ings. Meanwhile, Watford's new home kit makes them look more like bumble bees than hornets. With that frontline, Villa are going to have some shout and I must expect them to win. Do watch out for Watford's Ismaila Sarr. 1-2.

Norwich v Liverpool - The Canaries are back. They have taken on Bill Gilmour on loan from Chelsea. Ben Gibson from Burnley and goalie Angus Gunn from Southampton. The only one significant signing for Liverpool is Ibrahima Konate. Georginio Wijnaldum and Harry Wilson have left. The lack of new quality signings may haunt the Reds, some say. Who can take the place of Wijnaldum who has such durability? With City, United and Chelsea going big, how can the Reds compete? Harvey Elliot may be a big surprise though as he is the type of player that excites fans. He could be the next Jack Grealish and is only 18. History favours the Reds who are unbeaten in this tie 14 times and usually score 4 or more goals in recent times including 7 wins in a row at Carrow Road scoring 22 goals. Liverpool must stamp their class from the whistle from the first game. Mo Salah will be the main man. Mane could be back to his best and Firmino was scoring pre-season, so too Jota and even Minamino. The most significant factor has to be the return of Virgil van Dijk. He is the one to allow Liverpool to play their game. Injuries that ruined the Reds' season started when their most durable and able player Andy Robertson was injured in pre-season. It is a chance for Konstantinos Tsimikas to prove himself. 0-3.

Newcastle v West Ham - The Magpies are quiet with few movements of significance. No significant arrivals suggests David Moyes is quite pleased with what he has since last season at West Ham. Felipe Anderson has left. Steve Bruce had better start early with some points or Newcastle will struggle again this season but they have lost to the Hammers in their previous four games though they did secure some good results towards the end of last season. With Allan Saint Maxima and the signing of Joe Willock who was so brilliant for them last year while on loan, the Magpies could spring some surprised some times. West Ham's quality means they do not lose easily. The Hammers need to tread carefully though as Newcastle have a history of fondness to beat them. 2-2.

Spurs v Manchester City - The Lilywhites have a new manager in former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo. He has made two signings. Pierluigi Collini and Bryan Gil. Paulo Gazziniga, Juan Foyth, Danny Rose are no more with the club. Goalie Scott Carson has join the Citizens for free. Harry Kane and Jack Grealish are in Pep Guardiola's plan and they have already got Grealish in a record deal. If Kane were to succeed and join City, they will be unstoppable. I am not sure if this is good for the game but Grealish will make City better with his creativity and Guardiola and City will make him an even better player. Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia are gone. Two players making the news are Harry Kane and Jack Grealish. Grealish was a done deal but the sage surrounding Kane is still ongoing. There have been rumours that City have even offered Gabriel Jesus and Laporte in the deal. This is not good for Kane as his place and form will be affected. As for Grealish, he offers City something more and Guardiola will make Grealish an even better player. Grealish draws attention from his opponents and open up space and he is the best in the game in making defenders commit and was last season's most fouled player by a country mile. This will provide lots of free-kicks for their set piece play. City have not won nor scored at Spurs in their last three visits but City also haven't lost in their opening game for the past ten seasons. 

However, they may be without Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden due to injuries and even as they have great strength in depth, their momentum may not be there on the go as seen in the Community Shield where they have lost to Leicester with an under strength team. The irony in this tie is that Harry Kane is still with Spurs who are unwilling to sell till 150 million pound price is met though latest report suggested City's going up to 127 million pounds at the most. If Kane joins City, they are going to be quite unbeatable. The problem is with Daniel Levy who should have kept faith with Pochettino who built a very good Spurs team. At 28, Kane who has always been professional and loyal but being at the wrong end of 20s, he wants to win trophies as one of the top strikers in the game. There is no point to keep a player who wants a move. If this does not pan out, City will miss a great opportunity to have a strong finisher, Spurs will be wasting the chance for the big money to rebuild their team and worse, Kane may be demoralized at some point where we may not see the best of him. If Kane joins City, City will win the title. De Bruyne and Foden will be missed but Grealish is set to start. Do remember that Spurs won here with 2-0 score lines the last 2 times and this being the opening game, Spurs may yet get a point or more. 1-1.