1. Can Arsenal win the league?
THEIR EFFICIENT DEFEAT of Chelsea last weekend suggests Arsenal could finally be strong enough to launch a sustained title challenge.
The Gunners looked sharper and slicker than the reigning Premier League champions on Sunday, and ground out a victory in atypical Arsenal fashion.
However, it would be foolish to read too much into the Community Shield’s outcome — after all, 2010 was the last time winners of the competition went on to secure the Premier League title.
Moreover, while Petr Cech is a solid signing, strengthening is desperately needed up front and at the back before the transfer window’s closure. Otherwise, it seems fanciful to think that virtually the same group of players who finished 12 points behind Chelsea last season have suddenly become good enough to make up the difference in quality that such margins suggest exists currently.
2. Statistics on the side of promoted teams
Often, when asked to give predictions for the upcoming season, pundits tip most or all of the promoted sides to go straight back down.
Yet statistics from past seasons reveal that, on average, promoted teams have a 57% success rate when it comes to staying up.
Moreover, the teams new to the league this time around are by no means write-offs.
Bournemouth, in particular, should be an intriguing prospect, with one of the most highly-rated young managers in the game in Eddie Howe, and an adventurous style of play with which post-Championship sides are rarely associated.
Norwich, similarly, could surprise a few people, if they can get the best out of talented Irish duo Wes Hoolahan and Robbie Brady, while Watford, in Troy Deeney, have a striker with the potential to be this season’s equivalent of Charlie Austin (the QPR man scored 18 Premier League goals last year).
3. Is there life left in Schweinsteiger?
(Schweinsteiger joined Man United from Bayern Munich earlier this summer)
In Bastian Schweinsteiger, Man United have a player that could just as easily be the best or worst signing of the summer.
At his top level, Schweinsteiger is indisputably one of the world’s greatest midfielders, and the experienced midfielder was a key figure in Germany’s World Cup-winning team just over a year ago.
However, he seemingly suffered as a result of this taxing summer, starting just 15 times amid an injury-hampered campaign with Bayern last year.
If Man United can keep Schweinsteiger fit on a regular basis though, the 31-year-old is capable of improving the Red Devils immeasurably, and could prove to be the previously missing ingredient needed to challenge for the title.
4. Will Benteke suit Liverpool’s style?
As impressive as Christian Benteke invariably looked at Aston Villa, certain critics remain unsure as to whether he will turn out to be a successful signing for Liverpool.
One of the main doubts regards the uncertainty over whether the Belgian international will be suited to the passing style of football that boss Brendan Rodgers normally favours.
Those concerned about Benteke’s prospects have compared the 24-year-old unfavourably with Andy Carroll, the striker who flopped after being signed for £38million in 2011.
Yet while it seems fair to suggest that like Carroll at Newcastle, Aston Villa were always built around Benteke, adopting a direct style of football that played to his strengths, Liverpool’s new man is undoubtedly better than the ex-England striker.
The 24-year-old’s impressive goalscoring record of 42 in 88 Villa, for instance, would suggest Benteke is far greater than the battering ram his detractors have often portrayed him as being.
5. Can anyone stop Chelsea?
Chelsea were comfortably the best team in the Premier League last season, yet considerable doubts remain as to whether they can repeat the feat this year.
After all, no team has won back-to-back titles since Man United in 2009, and Man City last year were symptomatic of a side with plenty of talent who seemed suddenly deprived of the intensity they showed when winning the league the previous year.
That said, Chelsea were so dominant last season that they could probably afford to drop a few needless points and still prevail. Furthermore, it is hard to imagine a Jose Mourinho side ever resting on their laurels or failing to put in the effort required to compete in the title race.
So for all their rivals’ spending, barring a couple of big moves in the next couple of weeks, the Londoners still look a class apart in terms of talent and squad depth.
6. Big season for a number of Irish players
With a couple of key Euro 2016 qualifiers on the horizon, it’s vital that as many Irish players as possible enjoy a positive start to the campaign.
Yet with players who have been key to the side in recent times, such as Shay Given, Robbie Keane and John O’Shea coming towards the end of the years, it seems increasingly important that the younger players in the squad start to carry more of the burden.
Ciaran Clark, James McCarthy and Shane Long are interesting cases in point — all three had inconsistent campaigns last year, partially as a result to various injuries they picked up.
Should the trio fulfil their undoubted potential, they could become the spine of the Irish team for years to come, as Messrs Given, Dunne and Keane were before them. However, it’s surely about time they promptly leave behind words such as ‘promising’ and ‘potential’ that have been perennially attached to their names in recent seasons.
Opening day predictions (kick-off 15.00 unless stated otherwise)
Saturday
Man United 2-1 Tottenham (12.45)
Bournemouth 1-1 Aston Villa
Everton 3-1 Watford
Leicester 1-1 Sunderland
Norwich 1-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 2-0 Swansea (17.30)
Sunday
Arsenal 3-1 West Ham (13.30)
Newcastle 1-2 Southampton (13.30)
Stoke 1-2 Liverpool (16.00)
Monday
West Brom 0-3 Man City (20.00)
