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 With Mario Götze's winning goal in the World Cup final in Brazil one month behind us, attention turns to the English domestic soccer scene, with the 2014-2015 English Premier League season starting this weekend. Defending champions Manchester City, who also won the 2011-2012 crown, will be hoping they're beginning to create an era of dominance, but there are a few challengers waiting to topple them. The list of promoted Championship teams is headed by the league winners, Leicester. They finished a long way clear of runners-up Burnley, while Queens Park Rangers left it late to earn the third promotion spot. It's not quite a trip into the unknown for the three clubs as they've all experienced life in the Premier League before. The opening week of the 2014-2015 campaign kicks off with Manchester United, now guided by Louis van Gaal, hosting Swansea. Champions Manchester City has to wait until Sunday to get their defense under way, where they'll pay a visit to Newcastle. Liverpool takes on Southampton, Community Shield winners Arsenal hosts Crystal Palace, while the week closes out on Monday with Chelsea traveling to promoted Burnley. Remember to make your Premier League Pickem predictions before the deadline of each game. The first week's schedule starts on Saturday at 7:45 AM ET, followed by five 10 AM ET games. Saturday's final match is at 12:30 PM ET. There are two Sunday fixtures, the first at 8:30 AM ET and the second at 11 AM ET. Week 1 concludes on Monday with a 3 PM ET kickoff. Note that the Yahoo! Fantasy Premier League game's deadline is on Saturday at 6:45 AM ET. Here we preview the ten games in the upcoming week of the English Premier League. The title of each game section is a link to pick the result of that game. Swansea City (Last season 12th) at Manchester United (7th) (Sat, 7:45 AM ET) After the 2012-2013 campaign yielded the League Cup, Swansea struggled to back that up last season. The Swans spent much of the term in mid-table and they rarely entered the top half of the standings. Coach Michael Laudrup was fired in February, but after a slow start new manager Garry Monk oversaw four wins in the last seven matches. Manchester United heads into this term looking to bounce back from their worst season in 23 years. The champions limped to seventh in the league, resulting in manager David Moyes getting the sack just ten months into his tenure. Louis van Gaal, who guided the Netherlands to third place at this summer's World Cup, takes over at Old Trafford. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Swansea 0-2 Manchester United Manchester United 4-1 Swansea (reverse fixture) Swansea 2-1 Manchester United (FA Cup) Last 6 (all competitions): Manchester United lead 4-1-1 (includes 1 FA Cup game). Last 3 at Manchester United (all competitions): Manchester United lead 2-1-0 (includes 1 FA Cup game). All-time (all competitions): Manchester United lead 11-7-5. Team News Swansea (from): Fabianski, Rangel, Taylor, Williams, Bartley, Ki, Shelvey, Sigurdsson, Montero, Gomis, Bony, Tremmel, Tiendalli, Amat, Dyer, Routledge, Sheehan, King, Kingsley. Out (reason, expected return date): Britton (knee, no date), Emnes (knee cartilage, no date), Fulton (knee, no date). Manchester United (from): Amos, De Gea, Johnstone, Lindegaard, Jones, M. Keane, Rafael, Smalling, Varela, Vermijl, Anderson, Cleverley, Fellaini, Fletcher, Herrera, Januzaj, Kagawa, Lawrence, Mata, Nani, Powell, Young, Hernandez, W. Keane, Lingard, Rooney, Wilson, Zaha. Out (reason, expected return date): Carrick (ankle, Sep 27), Shaw (hamstring, Sep 14), Van Persie (fitness no date), Valencia (leg, no date), Evans (knock, no date), Welbeck (knee, no date). Everton (5th) at Leicester City (Championship 1st) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Overall, last season was a success for Everton after they secured European action and notched their highest points total since 1987. It was Roberto Martínez's first season in charge and he made the team tough to beat from the off. Everton lost just once in their first 17 games and they finished the campaign with nine wins in their last 12 fixtures. Leicester is looking forward to their first season in the top flight for a decade after claiming the Championship title last term. The Foxes secured the English second tier crown with a great run of results from mid-December onwards; Leicester lost just once in their final 27 contests, winning 20 times during that period, and finished with 102 points. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Last met in 2004 Last 6 (all competitions): Everton lead 2-0-4. Last 3 at Leicester (all competitions): Tied 0-0-3. All-time (all competitions): Everton lead 38-31-30. Team News Everton (from): Howard, Coleman, Distin, Jagielka, Baines, Barry, McCarthy, Osman, Pienaar, Lukaku, Robles, Hibbert, Stones, Alcaraz, Gibson, Besic, McGeady, Naismith, Atsu. Doubts: Coleman (hamstring, late fitness test), Mirallas (fitness), Lukaku (fitness). Out (reason, expected return date): Koné (knee, Sep 27), Oviedo (broken leg, Sep 27), Barkley (muscular injury, no date). Leicester (from): Schmeichel, Hamer, De Laet, Konchesky, Wasilewski, Schlupp, Moore, Morgan, King, Drinkwater, Hammond, James, Albrighton, Knockaert, Mahrez, Vardy, Taylor-Fletcher, Ulloa, Nugent, Wood. Doubts: Vardy (thigh), Albrighton (groin). Out (reason, expected return date): Upspn (ankle, no date). Hull City (16th) at Queens Park Rangers (Championship playoffs) (Sat, 10 AM ET) The highlight of Hull's 2013-2014 campaign was undoubtedly their run to the FA Cup final. They eventually lost to Arsenal after extra-time but it earned them a shot at the Europa League this term and they're one round shy of the group stages after they defeated FK AS Trenčín. They ended last season with no wins in five league outings, though. QPR's stint outside the top flight lasted just one season after they dramatically won promotion via the playoffs. The Hoops began last term in good form, moving top in September, but they lost their way and stumbled to fourth place. They beat Wigan after extra-time in the playoffs semis before defeating Derby in the final with a 90th minute goal. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Last met in 2011 Last 6 (all competitions): QPR lead 2-1-3. Last 3 at QPR (all competitions): QPR lead 2-0-1. All-time (all competitions): QPR lead 15-13-15. Team News Hull (from): McGregor, Harper, Bruce, Chester, Davies, Figueroa, Rosenior, McShane, Boyd, Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Snodgrass, Livermore, Ince, Brady, Jelavic, Aluko, Quinn. Suspended: Sagbo (first game of two-match ban). QPR (from): Green, Cesar, Murphy, Hill, Dunne, Ferdinand, Onuoha, Caulker, Yun, Simpson, Traore, Isla, Henry, Barton, Mutch, Faurlin, Hoilett, Phillips, Wright-Phillips, Austin, Remy, Zamora. Out (reason, expected return date): Taarabt (fitness, Aug 30). Aston Villa (15th) at Stoke City (9th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Having established themselves as a top-6 side, the last three seasons have been difficult for Aston Villa. The club's best league finish during that span was 15th and they've looked like outside relegation candidates for the last two years. Villa steadily slipped from mid-table last season and they ended their campaign with seven defeats from nine. Stoke manager Mark Hughes began last season with a point to prove and after some difficulties he delivered. Many of the Potters' fans weren't happy with Hughes's appointment and the team won just two of their first 11. There was another winless month at the turn of the year, but Stoke ended ninth, thanks to seven wins from the last 11 games. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Aston Villa 1-2 Stoke Stoke 4-1 Aston Villa (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Stoke lead 2-1-3. Last 3 at Stoke (all competitions): Tied 1-1-1. All-time (all competitions): Aston Villa lead 50-31-30. Team News Aston Villa (from): Guzan, Given, Baker, Bennett, Vlaar, Okore, Clark, Senderos, Richardson, Hutton, Cissokho, Lowton, Stevens, Bacuna, El Ahmadi, Cole, Westwood, Delph, Herd, Gardner, N'Zogbia, Grealish, Weimann, Agbonlahor, Bent. Doubts: Cole (thigh), Vlaar (fitness). Out (reason, expected return date): Benteke (Achilles, Oct 4), Kozák (broken leg, Oct). Stoke (from): Begovic, Butland, Sorensen, Bardsley, Cameron, Huth, Muniesa, Pieters, Shawcross, Shotton, Teixeira, Wilkinson, Wilson, Adam, Ireland, N’Zonzi, Palacios, Sidwell, Shea, Ward, Wheeler, Whelan, Arnautovic, Biram Diouf, Bojan, Crouch, Jerome, Odemwingie, Walters. Sunderland (14th) at West Bromwich Albion (17th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Last season was extraordinary for Sunderland, much of it spent as the favorite to be relegated but ending with some of the big clubs looking to avoid them. Seven defeats and one tie to begin the campaign ended Paolo Di Canio's reign and a winless span from February to April put them on the brink. Four successive wins secured their safety, though. West Brom suffered fewer defeats than the seven teams directly above them in last season's table but their lack of killer instinct saw them finish just outside the relegation zone. The Baggies recorded just seven wins last term, the joint-lowest total, and they had the most ties with 15. They finished disappointingly with three consecutive defeats. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Sunderland 0-3 West Brom West Brom 0-2 Sunderland (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): West Brom lead 4-1-1. Last 3 at West Brom (all competitions): West Brom lead 3-0-0. All-time (all competitions): Sunderland lead 57-53-40. Team News Sunderland (from): Mannone, Pantilimon, Pickford, Brown, Diakite, Jones, O'Shea, Roberge, Van Aanholt, Vergini, Ba, Bridcutt, Buckley, Cabral, Cattermole, Gomez, Johnson, Larsson, Mavrias, N'Diaye, Rodwell, Watmore, Altidore, Fletcher, Graham, Wickham. Doubts: Jones (hamstring). Out (reason, expected return date): Giaccherini (groin, Aug 30). West Brom (from): Foster, Myhill, Wisdom, Olsson, Baird, Davidson, Pocognoli, McAuley, Dawson, Yacob, Gardner, Brunt, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Ideye, Anichebe, Berahino, Sessegnon. Doubts: McAuley (calf). Out (reason, expected return date): Lescott (knee, no date), Morrison (knee, no date). Tottenham Hotspur (6th) at West Ham United (13th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Tottenham sold Gareth Bale a year ago and despite picking up narrow victories early last term they struggled to replace his match-winning abilities. Heavy defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool did for André Villas Boas, and having failed to get Spurs into the Champions League Tim Sherwood has now been replaced by Mauricio Pochettino. There wasn't much love for manager Sam Allardyce amongst the West Ham fans last season but he survived some testing times. The Hammers plummeted into the relegation zone after Christmas but five wins in seven in January gave them breathing space. They ended the campaign in poor form, however, losing eight of their last 11 matches. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Tottenham 0-2 West Ham West Ham 3-0 Tottenham (reverse fixture) West Ham 2-1 Tottenham (League Cup) Last 6 (all competitions): West Ham lead 3-2-1 (includes 1 League Cup game). Last 3 at West Ham (all competitions): West Ham lead 2-1-0. All-time (all competitions): Tottenham lead 59-47-35. Team News Tottenham (from): Lloris, Vorm, Walker, Naughton, Rose, Davies, Dawson, Vertonghen, Chiriches, Dier, Kaboul, Capoue, Sandro, Paulinho, Dembele, Carroll, Bentaleb, Holtby, Eriksen, Lennon, Townsend, Chadli, Lamela, Soldado, Adebayor, Kane. Doubts: Vertonghen (fitness), Dembélé (fitness), Chadli (fitness), Paulinho (fitness), Walker (pelvis, late fitness test), Dawson (ankle, late fitness test), Chiriches (back, late fitness test). West Ham (from): Adrian, Jaaskelainen, Cresswell, O'Brien, Reid, Tomkins, Collins, Demel, Jenkinson, Potts, Noble, Kouyate, Poyet, Diame, Nolan, Morrison, Whitehead, Downing, Vaz Te, Cole, Maiga, Sakho, Zarate. Doubts: Morrison (groin), Jenkinson (hamstring). Out (reason, expected return date): Carroll (ankle, Oct), Valencia (fitness, no date), Jarvis (thigh, no date). Crystal Palace (11th) at Arsenal (4th) (Sat, 12:30 PM ET) Before last season, Crystal Palace had never survived a Premier League campaign. It looked like history would repeat itself when they lost nine of their first ten, but they slowly improved and five consecutive victories in March and April helped them to 11th. However, this campaign has begun dramatically with manager Tony Pulis leaving on Thursday. Despite losing on the opening day of the season, Arsenal had a strong first half to the campaign, seeing them top the table heading into February. They dropped points against all their main rivals, though, and the Gunners settled for another fourth place finish. They ended their silverware drought, however, by winning the FA Cup final against Hull. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal Arsenal 2-0 Crystal Palace (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Arsenal lead 5-0-1 (includes 1 FA Cup game). Last 3 at Arsenal (all competitions): Arsenal lead 3-0-0. All-time (all competitions): Arsenal lead 22-3-10. Team News Crystal Palace (from): Hennessey, Kettings, Price, Speroni, Binnon-Williams, Dann, Delaney, Hangeland, Kelly, Mariappa, McCarthy, Ramage, Ward, Bannan, Boateng, Bolasie, De Silva, Garvan, Guedioura, Jedinak, Kebe, Ledley, O’Keefe, Puncheon, Thomas, Williams, Campbell, Chamakh, Gayle, Murray. Doubts: Delaney (knock), Mariappa (knock), Williams (thigh). Arsenal (from): Szczesny, Debuchy, Koscielny, Chambers, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Carzola, Sanchez, Ramsey, Giroud, Martinez, Monreal, Diaby, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell, Flamini, Sanogo. Doubts: Koscielny (Achilles). Out (reason, expected return date): Ospina (thigh, Aug 31), Walcott (ACL, Sep 20), Gnabry (knee, no date), Miyaichi (hamstring, no date), Podolski (fitness), Özil (fitness, no date), Mertesacker (fitness, no date). Southampton (8th) at Liverpool (2nd) (Sun, 8:30 AM ET) Southampton sat in third position at the start of November and although they slipped to eighth their campaign was a success. All was not well behind the scenes, though, and the dismissal of the chairman has sparked an exodus. Coach Pochettino has moved to Spurs and many players have departed, leaving Ronald Koeman with a very different team. Liverpool went close to winning their first league title in 24 years but ultimately came up short. They went on a 16 game unbeaten run at the turn of the year to lead with three games left, but a defeat to Chelsea and a tie at Crystal Palace ended their dream. They scored 101 goals last term but striker Luis Suárez moved to Barcelona this summer. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Southampton 1-1 Liverpool Liverpool 3-0 Southampton (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Tied 3-3-0. Last 3 at Liverpool (all competitions): Liverpool lead 2-1-0. All-time (all competitions): Liverpool lead 48-27-22. Team News Southampton (from): Forster, Boruc, Clyne, Yoshida, Fonte, Hooiveld, Bertrand, Schneiderlin, Davis, Wanyama, Reed, Ward-Prowse, Isgrove, Taider, Cork, Ramirez, Tadic, Rodriguez, Long, Pelle, Gallagher. Out (reason, expected return date): Gardos (hamstring, no date), Rodriguez (ACL, no date). Liverpool (from): Mignolet, Johnson, Lovren, Skrtel, Enrique, Gerrard, Henderson, Allen, Coutinho, Sterling, Sturridge, Jones, Manquillo, Toure, Sakho, Lucas, Can, Lambert, Ibe. Out (reason, expected return date): Lallana (LCL, Sep 13), Markovic (ankle, Aug 25), Flanagan (knee, no date), Agger (calf, no date). Manchester City (1st) at Newcastle United (10th) (Sun, 11 AM ET) During the opening three months of last season it looked as if Manchester City's poor away form would cost them a shot at the title. They were strong at home, though, dropping just four points, but a defeat at Liverpool lost them the initiative. However, ending the season with five wins in a row was enough to earn City a second title in three years. Newcastle endured a campaign of two halves last season; wins against the likes of Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester United lifted the Magpies into the top-6 but things unravelled quickly and in the final 20 league games Newcastle lost 14 times, seeing them slip to tenth. Newcastle must replace the goals of Loďc Remy and match-winner Yohan Cabaye. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle Newcastle 0-4 Manchester City (reverse fixture) Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle (League Cup; after extra-time) Last 6 (all competitions): Manchester City lead 6-0-0 (includes 1 League Cup game). Last 3 at Newcastle (all competitions): Manchester City lead 3-0-0 (includes 1 League Cup game). All-time (all competitions): Newcastle lead 70-62-38. Team News Manchester City (from): Hart, Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Kompany, Demichelis, Nastasic, Boyata, Clichy, Kolarov, Silva, Nasri, Navas, Milner, Sinclair, Toure, Fernandinho, Fernando, Zuculini, Lampard, Aguero, Jovetic, Dzeko. Doubts: Agüero (groin). Out (reason, expected return date): Negredo (foot, Sep 21), Mangala (fitness, no date). Newcastle (from): Krul, Elliot, Janmaat, Haidara, Dummett, Coloccini, Williamson, S. Taylor, Yanga-Mbiwa, Anita, Colback, Cabella, Vuckic, Obertan, Riviere, Gouffran, Ferreyra, Perez, Armstrong. Out (reason, expected return date): Cissé (knee, Sep 29), Santon (knee, Sep 20), De Jong (foot, no date), Tioté (hamstring, no date), Good (groin, no date), R. Taylor (ACL, no date). Chelsea (3rd) at Burnley (Championship 2nd) (Mon, 3 PM ET) José Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge failed to yield a trophy last season, with Chelsea suffering some unlikely slip ups in the final two months. The Blues were third at the halfway point of the season but they soon moved top. However, they lost to three bottom half sides in March and April and a tie at doomed Norwich ended their challenge. After finishing second in the Championship, Burnley is in the Premier League for only the second time in the club's history, five years after their first foray. Seven successive victories helped Burnley go top at the end of October, but just two more in the next ten saw them fall to third. Twelve wins in their final 18 games secured promotion, though. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Last met in 2010 Last 6 (all competitions): Chelsea lead 4-2-0 (includes 1 League Cup game). Last 3 at Burnley (all competitions): Chelsea lead 2-1-0. All-time (all competitions): Burnley lead 36-32-22. Team News Chelsea (from): Cech, Courtois, Azpilicueta, Luis, Terry, Cahill, Zouma, Ivanovic, Ake, Mikel, Matic, Ramires, Fabregas, Van Ginkel, Oscar, Willian, Salah, Hazard, Moses, Schurrle, Torres, Costa, Drogba. Suspended: Ramires (final game of four-match ban). Burnley (from): Heaton, Trippier, Lafferty, Duff, Shackell, Mee, Wallace, Marney, Ings, Kightly, Jones, Taylor, Sordell, Reid, Jutkiewicz, Gilks, Long, Barnes, Hewitt, Arfield. Out (reason, expected return date): Vokes (ACL, no date). |
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