Premier League 2022/23 preview: Will anyone be able to stop Manchester City?

Lets get the bad news out of the way for Manchester City As it stands this will be the seventh and final season of Pep Guardiolas trophyfilled time at the clubSeeing the back of a coach who has taken English soccer to new levels of excellency in his longerthanexpected time at City will be a relief to the rest of the Premier LeagueNow for all the good newsCity returns for the new Premier League season which starts on Friday as the reigning champion the team to beat once again and having been reinforced by the signing of one of the worlds best playersErling Haaland a 22yearold Norway striker who was prolific in Germany with Borussia Dortmund and also has broken a number of Champions League scoring records is the marquee acquisition of a wild offseason of transfer dealings in the Premier League Big strong fast and a fantastic finisher Haaland is regarded as a generational talent and beefs up a department of the squad City was most short in dont forget City won the league last season essentially without playing a recognized strikerAlso new to the squad is one of South Americas most highly rated young forwards Juliaacuten Aacutelvarez and England defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips a likeforlike replacement for departed former captain FernandinhoWith City also expected to bring in a left back Guardiola has an enviable squad at his disposal to launch a bid for his fifth league title in seven seasons at Etihad Stadium even if the offseason departures of Raheem Sterling Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko do deprive the team of some seasoned and highquality backupsIs it asking too much for another 100point seasonAlso Read Watch PSG star Neymar dons a new role distributes medals to his team matesCity is already enjoying one of the most dominant periods of success in English soccer history along with Aston Villa in the 1890s Arsenal in the 1930s Liverpool in the 1970s and 80s and Manchester United in the 1990s and early 2000sFueled by the riches of its owners in Abu Dhabi it doesnt look like ending soon either especially while Guardiola is still aroundIts my seventh year here I didnt expect that when we arrived he saidThis club for the future the standards are there All of us we have to fight to maintain thatNot that the rest of the Premier League has given up the chaseThis offseason one without the disruption of any major mens international tournament has been one of the busiest and biggestspending for some time with about 12 billion believed to have been splashed out on player incomings in the Premier LeagueSpending it seems has returned to prepandemic levels and every major club has made signature moves with the majority strengthening their attacksAside from Haaland to City Liverpool signed Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez from Benfica for 75 million euros 78 million Chelsea signed England forward Sterling from Man City for 475 million pounds 565 million Tottenham signed Brazil forward Richarlison from Everton for 50 million pounds 60 million and Arsenal signed Brazil striker Jesus from City for 45 million pounds 54 millionArsenal has spent the most about 130 million while Leicester hasnt spent a thing not even making a single signingThe problem for the clubs chasing City is the point totals Guardiolas teams have put up in their titlewinning seasons 100 in 201718 98 in 201819 86 in 202021 losing two games after the title was won and 93 in 202122Only Liverpool has been able to live with City and is the bestplaced of any club to do so again even if the departure of Sadio Mane robs manager Jurgen Klopp of a crucial component of the Reds success in recent yearsMuch could depend on how Nunez Manes replacement settles His fourgoal burst against Leipzig in preseason plus another goal in the Community Shield win over City on Saturday suggests he could hit the ground runningChelsea appears to be in a state of flux at the start of the postRoman Abramovich era with the new ownership bigname departures in Romelu Lukaku and Antonio Rudiger and with manager Thomas Tuchel being unhappy with his squads preseason mentality so its a chance for Arsenal and Antonio Contes Tottenham to close the gap on their London rivalAlso Read Transfer news Paul Pogbas brother Florentin Pogba meets ATK Mohun Bagan fansArsenal in particular has had some excellent preseason results like beating Chelsea 40 and Sevilla 60Who knows how Manchester United the record 20time English champion will fare with its latest manager Erik ten Hag new to English soccer and Cristiano Ronaldo heading into the season looking to leave Amid questions about his future Ronaldo played 45 minutes in the 11 draw against Rayo Vallecano in a friendly at Old Trafford on SundayHow about Newcastle or Aston Villa breaking into the elite Newcastle is flush with cash from Saudi Arabia and building methodically if less spectacularly as some might have expected of a club with the worlds richest ownersVilla is in its first full season under Steven Gerrard an England playing great who has had an impressive start to life as a manager and appears to have bought well this offseason especially highly rated French midfielder Boubacar KamaraIn each of the last two seasons two of the three promoted clubs have been immediately relegated This year they are Fulham Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest a historically big name in English soccer which is back in the top division for the first time since 1999It might be even harder for the promoted clubs to preserve their places in the lucrative Premier League as they go about building squads capable of lasting the course of the seasonThats because teams have the ability to make five substitutions per game from this season with England belatedly falling into line with the rest of EuropeExpect that to favor the big clubs with deep squads like City and Liverpool As if they needed any more helpThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability 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