Premier League 2024-25 predictions: What to expect as the new season begins
The 2024-25 English Premier League is here, with the world's most popular soccer league kicking off on Friday. Twenty teams will once again vie to be the best in England's top flight, with Manchester City hoping to once again come out on top.
With some of the biggest stars in world soccer spread across the league, Man City — lead by phenomenal striker Erling Haaland and midfield orchestrator Rodri — will face a hungry pack of challengers all season. Chief among them is Arsenal, who will look to playmaker Martin Ødegaard and attacker Bukayo Saka in hopes that 2024-25 will mark the club's first league title in 21 years.
Manchester United and Fulham opened the season on Friday, while the rest of the league will play in a busy list of fixtures spread across Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Whether your favorite team is a championship hopeful, a club scratching and clawing to avoid relegation or somewhere in between, this Premier League campaign should be a thriller.
Here's what you need to know heading into the new Premier League season:
Manchester City, Arsenal to go to the wire again
Defending champions Manchester City will kick the season off as solid favorites to extend its string of league titles. Pep Guardiola's side has won the league in each of the last four seasons, and Man City has kept a winning squad largely intact.
Julián Álvarez departed in an $83 million transfer to Atlético Madrid after spending last season stuck in a super-sub role. However, losing a forward might be a pressure point, as young attacker Oscar Bobb suffered a broken leg just days before the Premier League kicked off. Erling Haaland is the best goal scorer in the league, but he is now the only recognized center forward on Man City's first-team roster.
Arsenal will hope that Italian center back Riccardo Calafiori, signed for nearly $50 million, is the last piece of the puzzle after coming within two points of ending Man City's run of dominance in the Premier League.
Expect a two-horse race for the title to go down to the wire once again, but this time Arsenal appears to have just enough depth to finally get the job done.
Premier League 2024-25: How to watch the new season kicking off this weekend
Manchester United to struggle again
Manchester United had its worst-ever Premier League season in 2023-24, with the Red Devils lurching between highs and lows seemingly every week en route to an eighth-place finish.
Head coach Erik ten Hag kept his job after salvaging the campaign with an FA Cup triumph, and as seemingly always, Man United has put money into improving its fortunes. Over $180 million has gone towards incoming transfers, including a move for Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt.
However, the lack of a plan undergirding the team's spending has long been the issue, and there's no evidence that times have changed. Man United might climb the table. But there will be some inexplicable stumbles along the way, and the Red Devils seem destined to miss out on the Champions League yet again.
Liverpool begins life after Klopp
Liverpool said farewell to legendary coach Jürgen Klopp, who won the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup during his nine-year run with the Reds.
With Klopp taking a break from the sport, Liverpool has turned to Arne Slot as its new manager. The Dutchman is known for an intense, high-pressing style broadly similar to Klopp's preferred "heavy metal" tactics, but comes to Anfield having never managed in one of Europe's biggest leagues.
With Klopp walking away still beloved by fans instead of the typical departure after poor results, Slot will have to deal with the weight of serious expectations while he adjusts to a different level of scrutiny in the Premier League.
Door open for Champions League berths
With Liverpool adjusting to a new boss and Aston Villa unlikely to repeat last season's incredible run to fourth place, there is room to claim a place in the top four and gain entry into the Champions League for 2025-26.
Free-spending clubs like Man United, Chelsea, and Newcastle United may not be able to keep pace with Man City and Arsenal, but would nevertheless see finishing third or fourth as a major success. Tottenham Hotspur came up short by just two points last season, while Villa will be eager to prove last year wasn't a fluke.
All in all, while the title race will garner most of the attention, the race for the other places in the top four may be the wildest aspect of this Premier League season. Look for Liverpool and Tottenham to have just enough in the tank to hold off Newcastle and the rest.
Premier League 2024-25 title odds
As of Wednesday, Aug. 14, BetMGM offered the following odds for each team's chances at winning this season's Premier League crown:
Manchester City: +150
Arsenal: +165
Liverpool: +650
Chelsea: +1600
Manchester United: +2000
Tottenham Hotspur: +2000
Newcastle United: +3300
Aston Villa: +5000
Brighton & Hove Albion: +15000
West Ham United: +20000
Crystal Palace: +20000
Brentford: +50000
Fulham: +50000
Nottingham Forest: +50000
Wolverhampton Wanderers: +50000
AFC Bournemouth: +50000
Everton: +50000
Southampton: +50000
Leicester City: +50000
Ipswich Town: +75000
How to watch Premier League this season
Premier League games will be broadcast on NBC and USA Network throughout the season, with Telemundo and Universo providing Spanish-language coverage.
To stream the games, fans will want to get a subscription to Peacock and Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Stream the Premier League: Follow this season's action with a Peacock subscription
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Premier League: Predictions for the 2024-25 season
