Henderson the hero as Crystal Palace beats Liverpool in penalty shootout to win the Community Shield
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Vancouver Sun
6 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Premier League kickoff: how will your team fare this season?
As a new English Premier League season gets underway on Friday with defending champions taking Liverpool taking on Bournemouth, we take a look at the fortunes of the teams in the top flight this season. While the season feels like a marathon, it's really a series of sprints as a slow start or a rough patch in the middle can completely wreck your fortunes whether you want to be champions, get into the European places or survive relegation. The competition is fierce and there's very little margin for error. Here we go. The contenders: Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Liverpool: What an offseason. After winning the title last season when they brought in no new players they've bought top class quality in Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kirkez spending $403 million on new talent. But they've sold a cadre as well, losing two key starters in Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and key backups Jarrell Quansah and Darwin Nunez, raking in $320 million to balance the books. They're not done yet as they're embroiled in a soap opera to get striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle, they desperately need at least one more centre back but they could also still sell Harvey Elliott and one of their two back up left backs. Liverpool tragically lost Diogo Jota in a fatal car crash which rocked the team from top to bottom. Defending champions, they're the odds on favourite to repeat, but there are questions about the defence and how the team chemistry mixes with so many new players and the grief of losing the exceptionally popular Jota still hanging over the team. One thing will be guaranteed, with Wirtz, Ekitike and potentially Isak joining Mo Salah in attack, they're going to be entertaining to watch. Arsenal: Perennial bridesmaids, they've finally bought a striker they hope is the missing piece of the puzzle in Viktor Gyokeres. He filled the net in Portugal with 54 goals last season for Sporting, but was previously a massive disappointment in England in his stint with Brighton, Swansea and Coventry. Still rock solid defensively, still have a classy midfield with Martin Odergaard and Declan Rice in partnership, if Gyokeres fires up the attack they'll be in contention all season. If they don't mount a serious challenge it could bolster the storyline they need a new manager to get over the line. Chelsea: After finishing the season strong to get into the Champions League there were still questions about the job security of manager Enzo Maresca. Then they went out and won the Club World Cup. It's hard to read much into that as the conditions the tournament were played under and the motivation of many of the participants suggested it was more like a U.S. friendly tour. But the revitalization of striker Cole Palmer is bad news for the rest of the league. They've spent almost as much as Liverpool, key additions include strikers Joao Pedro and Liam Delap as well as winger Jamie Gittens and defender Jorrel Hato, the most prominent of eight buys … so far. Chelsea will be more potent in attack but tactics, a still-crowded squad, questions about central defence and in goal are being posed in preseason, but it would not be a surprise if Chelsea are at or near the top of the table in the closing weeks of the season. Manchester City: Can Pep Guardiola rebuild? After a mighty crash last season, there are questions about City's chances. Is this era over? Or was it just a transition. They still have the world's most deadly striker in Erling Haaland and are looking for a bounceback from one of the best young midfielders in the world in Phil Foden. They've added five new players, most prominently winger Rayan Cherki, attacking left back Eayan Ait-Nouri and goalie James Trafford. Never count out City as long as Pep's there and they have unlimited funds. The European hopefuls: Newcastle: It looked like they were on the cusp of being the next great English power with the richest owners in the world, the Saudi Royal family's investment fund, winning the Carabao Cup – their first domestic trophy in 71 years, and finishing the season on a roll to get into the Champions League. But they've had the worst transfer window imaginable. Their top player, Isak, is in a contract fight and wants to go to Liverpool and this week pledged he would 'never play for Newcastle again'. But the Magpies have finished second in every race to get a replacement. They put in bids for Ekitike, Benjamin Sesko, Delap, Gyokores and were snubbed each time. They may yet accept a British transfer record bid for Isak to end the soap opera but there's precious little out there for them to buy a replacement. What looked like a season where they may be able to press on looks like one where they'll be lucky to just tread water. Aston Villa: The Villains were hurt massively by missing out on Champions League qualification on the last day of the season. They've brought in a couple of players with promise, including Evann Guessand as a striker, but don't have the massive funds to bolster the squad. And key players like striker Ollie Watkins and midfielder Morgan Rogers are being rumoured to go before the end of the deadline as they want to play in the Champions League. Tottenham: This may be a reach after finishing 16th in a truly dreadful season, but winning the Europa League and the accompanying Champions League qualification, and funds, mean Spurs are hopeful of mounting a much more legitimate challenge this season. New manager Thomas Frank, poached from Brentford, is a great signing after a legion of managers from Nuno Espirito-Sanchez to Jose Mourinho to Ange Postecoglu failed. Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel and Joao Palhina are good signings. Spurs struggled defensively last season, Frank is a smart manager who can fix that, but will it be at the expense of their ability to score goals? Manchester United: What the hell are they doing here? They finished 17th last season and I'm sure many rival fans are wondering how on earth they're in the mix for a European spot. Well, they've spent $225 million on new talent including strikers Sesko and Matheus Cunha and winger Bryan Mbeumo. Sounds great for the attack, and they still have a load of players, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, on the books, part of a 'vaunted' Bomb Squad that are looking to be moved on. Marcus Rashford has been loaned to Barcelona. You still have to wonder about their shaky defence and goalkeeping situation, though rumours this week have PSG's Gianluigi Donnarumma going to United to play between the sticks. No one has been convinced by manager Ruben Amorim since he replaced Erik Ten Hag last season, is he a good manager or not? The mid-table tusslers: Brighton: Tempting to put them in the fight for European places but they sold star man Joao Pedro to Chelsea. They've replaced him with Charalampos Kostoulas but otherwise they still look like they need to do more business to repeat the great success they had for most of last season before fading at the end. Fulham: Well, they've signed no one and sold no one. More of the same from Fulham. Competitive, well-supported, good at home. Hoping for a cup run of some sort, but hard to see them moving up the table into the higher echelons. Crystal Palace: Won the FA Cup, beat Liverpool in the Community Shield but face nothing but turmoil. Because their owners also have a piece of other European clubs, they were kicked out of the Europa League to the Conference League. It's still European competition, but that's a blow. They've brought no one in of significance, but rumours are rampant that Ebrechi Eze is on the move to either Arsenal or Spurs and captain Marc Guehi, who is just 25, is being heavily linked to Liverpool. He has one year left on his contract and has so far refused to sign an extension so Palace have to face losing him for nothing next season, or getting cash now and reinvesting. Palace are as competitive a squad as you can find in the mid-table teams, with the right pieces added they could move up a few places. Everton: Their best acquisition might be the new swanky stadium on the Liverpool waterfront. Goodison Park could be an incredibly hostile place to play, it will be interesting to see what the atmosphere is like in a shiny new facility with corporate boxes and tunnel clubs. They've added Jack Grealish on loan from Manchester City and that could be an inspired signing or a disaster if he's not focused. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall will bolster the midfield, but with Dominic Calvert-Lewin gone, the attack will once again be a question mark. Nottingham Forest: The story of last season, the late slip in the standings saw them drop out of the top five after residing there most of the season. They've added Dan Ndoye and Igor Jesus but lost Anthony Elanga and Danilo. Will that be enough for a season that sees them playing in Europe for the first time in decades. That extra demand on the team could see a slip in the league matches, they will be active headed into the transfer deadline on September 1. The survivalists: West Ham: Perpetual disappointments, they've had juice in past seasons but just when you think they're ready to make a move, they slide back. Added Kyle Walker-Peters and Callum Wilson on free transfers but lost Mohammed Kudus and didn't re-sign Aaron Cresswell, Kurt Zouma, Danny Ings or Michail Antonio. The heart of the club is gone and they have to rebuild. Brentford: Losing manager Frank to Tottenham is massive. He was the soul of the club, a real-life Ted Lasso, and it's almost unfair to put Keith Andrews (who?) in his chair. They've added a great goalie in Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool, along with his old teammate and England stalwart Jordan Henderson, but losing Mbeumo to United and Christin Norgaard to Arsenal hurts. Could slide into a relegation scrap in the manager's not up for it. Bournemouth: Like Brentford, the losses have been heavy. Manager Andoni Iraola is well regarded but their back line has taken a beating. Ilya Zabarnyi went to PSG, Dean Huijsen went to Real Madrid, Milos Kerkez to Liverpool. They've really only replaced Kerkez with Adrien Truffert. Unless they have gems hidden in their academy, this is a team to watch slide. The relegation scrappers: Sunderland: Of all the promoted clubs, Sunderland have the best chance to stay up. Their net spend, sales versus buys, is third in the Premier League, higher than Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs amongst others. This strategy hasn't always worked but bringing in young talent like Habib Diarra and Simon Adringra mixed with Premier League experience like Granit Xhaka means they're at least taking a big swing at it. Wolves: They always look like they're ready to move up the table, then have a wobble. Losing Matheus Cunha to United and Rayan Ait Nouri to Manchester City are massive losses. Goncalo Guedes is gone too. They've added Jorgen Strand Larsen and Fer Lopez but that looks like a big dropoff in talent from their two best players. Burnley: The ultimate yo-yo club, it's hard to see them avoiding going down again. Losing goalie James Trafford hurts and picking up a couple of Chelsea castoffs in Lesley Ugochukwu and Armando Broja is just window dressing. Leeds: A big club with big aspirations but not a big pool of talent unfortunately. They've retained some names since their last Premier League journey in Patrick Bamford, Daniel James and Jack Harrison and added Premier League experience in Sean Longstaff from Newcastle, but I'm not sure they're stout enough defensively, or hold enough attacking juice, to avoid going back down.
Toronto Star
7 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Bournemouth confirms Kluivert and Christie to miss Premier League opener at Liverpool
FILE - Justin Kluivert of Bournemouth in action during the English Premier League soccer match between Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest at the Vitality stadium in Bournemouth, England, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Sean Ryan, File) SL SR flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bournemouth confirms Kluivert and Christie to miss Premier League opener at Liverpool
BOURNEMOUTH, England (AP) — Justin Kluivert and Ryan Christie will miss Bournemouth's season opener at defending champion Liverpool, manager Andoni Iraola confirmed Thursday. Kluivert, the team's top scorer in the Premier League a season ago as the Cherries recorded their highest points total, has missed preseason games because of a calf injury. 'Justin hasn't been training with us, so he's out,' Iraola said ahead of Friday's game at Anfield. The Netherlands forward netted 12 goals in league play and 13 overall last season. Christie, a 30-year-old Scotland midfielder, has been training with the team following a groin injury. 'But I think it's too early for him because he hasn't done any preseason,' Iraola said. Diakité to make debut? Center back Bafodé Diakité joined Bournemouth this week from Lille, but Iraola said he hadn't decided if the Frenchman would face Liverpool. 'He is physically definitely ready, he has done a complete preseason with Lille. It's a matter now of getting all the concepts quickly,' he said. Bournemouth sold almost its entire first-choice backline — center backs Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi and left back Milos Kerkez, as well as goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga — to generate around $200 million. Kerkez moved to Liverpool. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'In the end, you are playing the champions in the first day of the season, away. It doesn't get more difficult for this,' Iraola said. The status of winger Dango Ouattara, who has been linked with a move to Brentford, was unclear. 'It's true that I don't know what's going to happen,' Iraola said. 'We are going day by day. I will ask the club if he can play tomorrow, and if he can travel.' ___ AP soccer:
