Some of the Premier League’s best players will miss the start of the season after deep World Cup runs. How will this impact the title race?
The 2018-19 Premier League season kicks off in four days, but many of its best players and biggest names have only just jumped back on the treadmill. The European preseason started almost as soon as the full time whistle blew on the World Cup final last month. No time was wasted on getting preparations under way, yet the new season faces something of a staggered start as a result of what happened in Russia this summer.
Paul Pogba, for instance, is still holidaying with his family and friends after going all the way at the World Cup with France. The same goes for Olivier Giroud and N’Golo Kante. Liverpool are without Dejan Lovren, while Kevin De Bruyne is still missing from Manchester City’s squad after making the tournament’s semifinals with Belgium. Toby Alderweireld has only just returned to Spurs.
Then there’s the England contingent. A nation was captivated by Gareth Southgate side’s unexpected run to the semifinals, but the knock-on effect of that is being felt by many Premier League clubs who have been without some of their best players for almost all of preseason. It will take some time for those in the top six to reach top form.
This could place even greater emphasis on the opening few weeks of the season. City, for instance, started well last year and never looked back as they strolled to a record points tally at the top of the table. Those who start well tend to continue that over the course of the campaign. Whoever can string together some good results over the first few weeks could build up quite an advantage.
On the flip side, this could throw up some peculiar outcomes early on. Manchester United might have been in for a shock against Leicester in their opening league fixture were it not for the fact the Foxes have only just got Harry Maguire and Jamie Vardy back after the World Cup themselves. Huddersfield against Chelsea on opening weekend could be an interesting one, with Arsenal against Manchester City the obvious headliner.
For the rest of the Premier League, a staggered start might be welcome. With every passing season the gulf between the top six and the rest of the division widens. This was illustrated by the travails of Everton last season, who splurged around £200 million to try and break the top four only to suffer a dreadful start, sack their manager and ultimately finish eighth with Sam Allardyce in charge. A poor start by one or more of the big six could open the door for an outsider.
Even with some of their key figures still missing, or only just back, after the World Cup, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side look to be by far and away the strongest team in England right now. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss will be defined by where he carries City in Europe, but as a marker last season more than satisfied expectation for now.
But there hasn’t been a dynasty built in the Premier League since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson. That’s because the Premier League has never been more difficult to win and the fickle nature of the division makes it even harder to establish any sort of consistency from one season to the next. It’s why there’s been three different title winners in each of the last three years. Not since 2009 has a side successfully defended their Premier League crown.
Liverpool look best-placed to challenge City, with Arsenal and Chelsea undergoing managerial revolutions over the summer. United and Spurs have stood still to a large extent, but can’t be discounted from contention. Not for a generation has the top of the English game looked so strong, even if it takes a few weeks for that to come through this particular season.