Burnley vs. Manchester City

Turf Moor, Friday, 8pm Local, 3pm Eastern

The new season kicks off at Turf Moor, with a brand new Burnley thrown straight into the deep end as three-time champions Manchester City come to town.  Vincent Kompany will try to show the evolution of the Clarets to his old boss first hand. And, while excited, even most Burnley fans expect this to be a bit of a battering. Anything other than a Manchester City victory would be a huge shock, but, if Kompany’s team can avoid a truly humbling result, they can use it as a stepping stone to their season. They also have two weeks before their next match, so have plenty of time to make adjustments and bed in new players regardless of the result.

On the City side, Guardiola will want to prove anyone with lingering doubts about his club wrong from day one. His squad is basically at full strength and both of his major new signings could feature. I’m sure the Catalan manager would love nothing more than to leave the chasing pack terrified after the first 90 minutes of the campaign.

Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest

The Emirates Stadium, Saturday, 12:30pm Local, 7:30am Eastern

In a matchup that has led to a fair few cup upsets in the past few seasons, last year’s runners-up, Arsenal, will try to match their incredible start from last season against Nottingham Forest. It’s a tall order, but the Gunners will feel that their summer reinforcements will be enough to power them to a solid start in front of their home crowd. The North London club will still be buzzing from lifting the Community Shield, but their real test starts Saturday.

Forest are still a squad in flux, but so far have kept hold of Brennan Johnson. His pace paired with new signing Elanga could be a great recipe to knick a goal or two on the counter. But, while this is their first chance to write a new narrative, Forest’s away form last season was worse than accidentally biting aluminum foil.

Bournemouth vs. West Ham United

Vitality Stadium, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Eastern

Andoni Iraola will have his first shot to show why the Cherries leadership brought him in over Gary O’Neil. The Cherries have bought well, but will be missing new star signing, Alex Scott. It wouldn’t be out of line to expect some growing pains from the south-coast outfit. Though, West Ham is maybe the perfect first opponent for them as their squad is still very much in flux and any new signings would be unlikely to feature.

This match will give viewers a status check on two clubs with major questions around them. How big are the holes in West Ham’s team? Can Iraola’s tactics scale to the premier league? We’ll have a first hint at these answers after kick off at the Vitality. 

Brighton & Hove Albion vs. Luton Town

American Express Stadium, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Eastern

The Seagulls have undergone a not-so-quiet squad revolution, with perhaps the biggest, Moisés Caicedo-shaped domino in the process of falling overnight. While they have lost a few key players, they have also strengthened and have a whole preseason with De Zerbi at the helm under their belts. They should be well positioned to spoil the party of Premier League debutantes, Luton Town.

The Hatters have an uphill battle to survive this season, but will fancy their chances to pick off a few of the stronger sides on the counter. The afternoon clash at the Amex will give us our first sense of just how overmatched Luton is in the top flight. Hatters supporters could make the trip home feeling deflated or with a nagging hope that they stand to prove a lot of people wrong.

Everton vs. Fulham

Goodison Park, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Eastern

Two clubs who may struggle this season will each get an opportunity to buck expectations and start with a win. Everton will look to make Goodison (in possibly its last season as their home) a fortress, and Fulham will try to prove that last season’s success was no fluke and they belong as a mainstay in midtable.

Raúl Jiménez will get his first cut at showing he can rebound at a new club following his career trajectory-changing injury. Dominic Calvert-Lewin will try to show that he’s back at his best and can lead a Toffees line which has struggled for goals. Nothing is decided in the first match week, but both managers and groups of supporters will feel more confident if they can start with a victory.

Sheffield United vs. Crystal Palace

Bramall Lane, Saturday, 3pm Local, 10am Eastern

The Blades return to Premier League action against Roy Hodgson’s Eagles. There are plenty of objective reasons to fear for Sheffield United this season, from selling off major players (some to direct rivals) to uncertainty around their future ownership. But, if they are to have a serious chance of surviving for another campaign, it will likely be built on home success.

Palace surprised viewers last season by becoming a bit of an offensive force after Roy Hodgson returned. Saturday will give us our first peek at whether that was a flash in the pan or a more permanent evolution. Whatever the result, this matchup features one of the players I’m most looking forward to watching this campaign in Eberechi Eze - who looks poised to take a big step forward into next-level stardom.

Newcastle United vs. Aston Villa

St. James Park, Saturday, 5:30pm Local, 12:30pm Eastern

The Magpies took the league by storm last season, earning a top four finish a year or two sooner than even their owners would have imagined. The main question hanging over the Tyneside club is if they can sustain their gritty success across a campaign with more commitments and with more of a target on their backs. For neutrals, Villa is the perfect first opponent for them, as the Birmingham club has upper table aspirations as well and come in with a full preseason under Unai Emery. 

Two extremely well managed clubs square off, and both will believe that European qualification should be the norm for them going forward. If one can win, they’ll take an important first step to proving that point.

Brentford vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Gtech Community Stadium, Sunday, 2pm Local, 9am Eastern

The Ange Postecoglou era kicks off on the west side of London, with Spurs facing off against well run Brentford. The suspension of Ivan Toney and the sale of David Raya have clouded Brentford’s offseason, but they’ve kept most of the core intact and still have the leadership of Thomas Frank. This weekend will be the Bees’ first opportunity this season to show they can score while Toney’s unavailable. 

Spurs’ new manager will likely need time to get his team performing his tactics perfectly, and the challenge is even greater now that Harry Kane’s move to Germany is all but confirmed. There’s no real reason to think Tottenham won’t be able to adjust to the Australian’s leadership, but there’s a danger that a slow start plus their talismanic front man leaving could drop them into a malaise that will be hard to shake.

Chelsea vs. Liverpool

Stamford Bridge, Sunday, 4:30pm Local, 11:30am Eastern

Well, well, well… The breaking transfer news of the past few days has added weight to this early season matchup. Locked in an off-field tug of war over Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia, there very well could be added animosity on the pitch. Even without the additional drama, both clubs will want to show they’ve put last season behind them and get an early victory against a top side under their belt. Chelsea will get their first competitive run out under Pochettino, and Liverpool will field a revamped midfield in hopes of gaining better control over their matches.

Both sides are far from finished with their recruitment and are adapting to new personnel. This will be an early indication of how far their rebuilds have come, but both organizations are far from their final forms.

Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Old Trafford, Monday, 8pm Local, 3pm Eastern

The Red Devils will try to put an early stamp on the season when they take on Wolves at Old Trafford. Wolves are already teetering on crisis, with Gary O’Neil replacing Julen Lopetegui with only a few days before the season. O’Neil will likely set up a defensive team and look to counter with the likes of Cunha and Fábio Silva. It’s an open question how he’ll adapt with such little prep time and how long it will take to have Wolves playing the way he wants.

For Manchester United, it will be up to Erik ten Hag and company to show that the recruitment will translate into instant improvement, in particular in attack. Will Onana be the skeleton key for the Red Devils? Will Mount provide the right balance to knit together the midfield and forward line? We’ll need to wait for Rasmus Højlund’s debut, but United should have enough pieces to show their supporters their intentions for the campaign.