5 bold Premier League predictions: Emery triumphs over Guardiola

1. Sarri’s Chelsea start with emphatic win at Huddersfield

Chelsea replaced their Italian manager, Antonio Conte, with another Italian manager, Maurizio Sarri, who spent the past three seasons in charge of Serie A side Napoli.

Sarri’s Napoli pushed Juventus right to the last day of the season and the club from Naples finished second in Serie A, just four points behind the Italian champions. What’s perhaps more impressive is that Sarri has never played professional soccer but instead worked his way up as a coach.

Sarri played amateur soccer but never made it as a pro. Now he’s managing one of the biggest clubs in the world. The Italian manager lost his first “competitive” match to Manchester City last weekend in the Community Shield, but he won’t be too phased by that.

The real start to Sarri’s Chelsea career comes on Sunday, when the Blues face a trip to Huddersfield. The Terriers only just stayed in the Premier League last season but they survived and now they’ll look to push on.

However, they might struggle to do that against a strong Chelsea side, especially considering they’re not the strongest home team in the league. Huddersfield were dismantled by the likes of West Ham and Spurs at home last season and it’s hard to see anything but a Chelsea win here.

Sarri will want to make a statement as well and show that his Chelsea side have what it takes to be title contenders. This could be a tough afternoon for the Terriers as the Blues start the season with an emphatic win.