Premier League 2024/25 News, Predictions and Updates
For football fans across the world, the months of June and July are always pretty boring due to the lack of Premier League football, but we are through the tough times now as the 2024/25 EPL season is just about to start.
The campaign begins on the 16th of August when Fulham travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United. We will have no fewer than 380 matches to watch and place bets on, and below we are going to provide you with the latest EPL news and predictions.
There is No 2024/25 Premier League Winter Break
There will be no winter break during the 2024/25 EPL season due to the fact that the season is starting later than usual. The clubs opted for a mid-August start to allow those players who played in Copa America and Euro 2024 more time before going back to their clubs. In other words, clubs opted for an elongated summer break at the expense of a winter one.
During the 2024/25, there was a staggered two-week break, with one match week divided between the 13th and 15th of January and the 20th and 22nd of January. For the coming season, the EPL has guaranteed each club that they will not play two games within a 60-hour period over Christmas and New Year.
The Top Transfers of the Summer Window
There have been a number of quality transfers during the summer transfer window, and below we are going to take a look at the top transfers that could go a long way to helping their new team do better than expected this season.
Archie Gray: It would not have been easy for Gray to leave Leeds as the teenager’s father, grandad, and great-uncle all played for Yorkshire team. However, the youngster, who was the best player for Leeds last season and was crowned the Championship Young Player of the Season, is too good for England’s second division, and Spurs, for £30 million, have signed a talented midfielder who can run their engine room for many seasons to come.
Leny Yoro: This was one of the shock signings of the summer as it had seemed that Yoro was destined to sign for Real Madrid. However, Los Blancos were not willing to pay the asking price and wanted him to sign for free next summer instead. Manchester United sensed an opportunity and signed him for £52 million. While this is a hefty price to pay for a teenager who is soon out of contract, the Frenchman could play a big part in getting United Champions League football next season.
Amadou Onana: Everton would have liked to keep Onana, but they needed to sell a big name in order to balance the books. Villa, for the same reason as Everton, had to sell Douglas Luiz, so they were looking for a replacement midfielder. They set their sights on the 22-year-old, who also had interest from the likes of Manchester United and Barcelona, and secured his services for £50 million. He is a powerful midfielder who can break up play, but he also carries the ball well and is great in the air. If he plays to the best of his ability, then he could help Villa claim a top four spot once again.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: The young Englishman was fantastic for Leicester in the Championship last season, contributing to 26 goals as the Foxes easily secured promotion back to the first division of English football. Their manager, Enzo Maresca, moved to Chelsea, and it was not a big surprise when Chelsea signed Dewsbury-Hall for £30 million. He will be the replacement for Conor Gallagher and could end up being the difference between Chelsea getting European football or not.
2024/25 Fixtures to Look Out For
With 380 games across a Premier League season, there are plenty of interesting fixtures to watch and place wagers on. Below you can find some of the more enticing fixtures for the new Premier League campaign.
Manchester United vs Fulham (16th August)
This is the big curtain raiser for the 2024/25 Premier League campaign. Fulham came out on top in this fixture last year, so those of a Manchester United persuasion will be hoping that the result is significantly better this time around.
Ipswich vs Liverpool (17th August)
Ipswich’s return to the EPL after a 22-year absence will coincide with the beginning of the Arne Slot era at Anfield. This will be a big match for both teams.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal (24th August)
Villa took six points off of Arsenal during the 2023/24 campaign, so this will be an interesting early hurdle that Arsenal will need to overcome if they are to get their hands on the EPL title.
Manchester City vs Arsenal (21st September)
The two best sides from the 2023/24 season will play their first match of the new campaign at the Etihad. Last time they met here, Arsenal were happy with a point, but that ultimately went on to cost them. Will they show more boldness this time?
Leicester vs Chelsea (23rd November)
Maresca took Leicester back to the EPL last season, but then Chelsea threw money at him, and he became their new manager. At the end of November, he will head back to his old club, hoping that he does not get a raspy reception from the home fans.
Everton vs Liverpool (7th December)
This is another big first for the new Liverpool manager as it will be his first take of a Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park.
Arsenal vs Manchester City (1st February)
Guardiola and Arteta will, once again, put their friendship on hold in their pursuit of what could turn out to be three very big EPL points.
Liverpool vs Everton (2nd April)
Slot will have to wait until April before he can get his first taste of an Anfield Merseyside derby. Liverpool will probably be fighting for the title, so Everton will be eager to throw a big spanner in the works.
Liverpool vs Arsenal (10th May)
This is the third to last match of the season, and what a mouth-watering fixture it has the potential to be. It could have a big bearing on which team ends up finishing in second place.
Chelsea vs Manchester United (18th May)
One of the eye-catching fixtures on the penultimate weekend of the season. In this fixture last season, Chelsea came out on top as 4-2 winners, and all neutrals will be hoping for something similar this time around.
Our 2024/25 Premier League Top Three
Our outright winners for the 2024/25 EPL season are Manchester City. Some of the other top teams in the Premier League have managed to close the quality gap on the reigning champions, but we still think City should have more than enough to claim their fifth title in a row as they have pedigree in every position.
Arsenal and Liverpool will be battling it out for second and third place, and we think that Liverpool will just beat Arsenal to second place this season. This is because Arteta’s side do not have much cutting edge as they rely on the likes of Jesus, Havertz, and Nketiah.
Who Will Claim the Final UCL Place?
Who will finish in 4th place? For us, fourth place will be a battle between Aston Villa, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur. We think that Spurs will grab that fourth place as they showed considerable improvement under Ange Postecoglou last season. They have gotten rid of plenty of dead weight and brought in some top youngsters in the shape of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray.
Villa finished 4th last season, but I think the demands of the Champions League will, like it did with Newcastle, have a negative effect on their season. We think they will finish in 6th place, while Manchester United will claim 5th spot.
Who Will Be Relegated?
What about the relegation places? Well, last season all three of the newly promoted teams found themselves dropping back down to Championship, and we think that the same thing could happen once again this coming season.
Out of the three promoted teams, Leicester City have the best chance of staying up, in our opinion. However, they did lose many of the players who played a big part in helping them seal promotion with ease, such as Praet, Dewsbury-Hall, Albrighton, and Ihenacho.
The more established Premier League teams that could struggle this season include Fulham, who have lost the likes of Palhinha, De Cordova-Reid, and Adarabioyo. We can also see Everton, Wolves, and Nottingham Forest battling it out to stay in the top-flight come May next year.
Who Will Win the Golden Boot?
There is also the small matter of the Golden Boot, which is awarded to the player who scores the most goals in the season. Haaland has won it for the last two seasons in a row, and we can see him making it a hat-trick at the end of the 2024/25 season. He plays with some of the league’s best players and is lethal in front of goal, hoovering up most chances that roll his way. At times he can be anonymous, but all he needs is a sniff. Additionally, he is Man City’s penalty taker, which will help to boost his chances.
