PREMIER LEAGUE starts here! Our club-by-club guide as Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool and Leeds United gear up for big kick-off
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Here we give you the lowdown on English football’s top tier, with all the ins and outs, and prospects for the season assessed...
Arsenal
Manager: Mikel Arteta


Position last season: 8th
Nickname: The Gunners
Ground: Emirates Stadium
Capacity: 60,260


Key man: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
In: Ben White (Brighton, £50m), Nuno Tavares (Benfica, £7.2m), Albert Sambi Lokonga (Anderlecht, £15.75m)
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Hide AdOut: David Luiz (released), Dinos Mavropanos (Stuttgart, season-long loan), Matteo Guendouzi (Marseille, season-long loan), William Saliba (Marseille, season-long loan)
Chances: Last season again failed to deliver much progress, with hopes of Europa League success ended by defeat to Villareal and former boss Unai Emery in the semi-finals. The Gunners will not be involved in European football this season, which could just help Arteta’s squad regain a foothold on the domestic front.


Aston Villa
Manager: Dean Smith
Position last season: 11th
Nickname: The Villans
Ground: Villa Park
Capacity: 42,682
Key man: Danny Ings
In: Emiliano Buendia (Norwich, £33m), Ashley Young (Inter Milan, free), Leon Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen, undisclosed), Danny Ings (Southampton, £25m), Axel Tuanzebe (Man Utd, loan)
Out: Ahmed Elmohamady (released), Tom Heaton (Man Utd, free), Bjorn Engels (Antwerp, undisclosed), Jack Grealish (Man City £100m)
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Hide AdChances: After the progress of the last campaign, Villa have spent big this summer, bringing in playmaker Buendia from Norwich for a club-record fee. Smith will be expected to keep the team pushing for the European places.
Brentford
Manager: Thomas Frank
Position last season: Promoted (Championship play-off winners)
Nickname: The Bees
Ground: Brentford Community Stadium
Capacity: 17,250
Key man: Ivan Toney
In: Frank Onyeka (FC Midtjylland, £9m), Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic, £13.5m)
Out: Henrik Dalsgaard (FC Midtjylland, free), Emiliano Marcondes (Bournemouth, free), Ellery Balcombe (Burton, season-long loan), Aaron Pressley (AFC Wimbledon, season-long loan)
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Hide AdChances: The Bees are very much an unknown quantity heading into a first Premier League campaign in the club’s history. If Toney, top scorer in the Championship last term, finds his feet quickly, Frank’s well-organised side could cause plenty of problems. If not, it could be a harsh reality check at the Community Stadium.
Brighton
Manager: Graham Potter
Position last season: 16th
Nickname: The Seagulls
Ground: Amex Stadium
Capacity: 30,666
Key man: Lewis Dunk
In: Enock Mwepu (RB Salzburg, £18m), Kjell Scherpen (Ajax, £4.2m)
Out: Ben White (Arsenal, £50m), Jose Izquierdo (released), Davy Propper (PSV Eindhoven, free) Bernardo (RB Salzburg, undisclosed), Viktor Gyokeres (Coventry, season-long loan), Mat Ryan (Real Sociedad, free) Alireza Jahanbakhsh (£1m, Feyenoord)
Chances: The Seagulls eventually managed to keep themselves clear of the relegation dogfight again yet, but for a couple of results, it could easily have gone either way. Despite having seen key defender White sold to Arsenal, Potter will be under pressure to keep the club upwardly mobile rather than be dragged into another survival battle.
Burnley
Manager: Sean Dyche
Position last season: 17th
Nickname: The Clarets
Ground: Turf Moor
Capacity: 21,944
Key man: Nick Pope
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Hide AdIn: Nathan Collins (Stoke, £12m), Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace, free)
Out: Ben Gibson (Norwich, £8m), Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Sheffield Wednesday, season-long loan), Robbie Brady (released), Jimmy Dunne (QPR, undisclosed)
Chances: Last season was too close a call for Dyche’s side, who lost seven out of their final 10 games. If the Clarets, now backed by new American owners, fail to start well then Dyche could soon find his own future under the spotlight.
Chelsea
Manager: Thomas Tuchel
Position last season: 4th
Nickname: The Blues
Ground: Stamford Bridge
Capacity: 41,631
Key man: Romelu Lukaku
In: Marcus Bettinelli (Fulham, free), Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan, £98m)
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Hide AdOut: Marco Van Ginkel (PSV Eindhoven, free), Willy Caballero (released), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan, £26.2m), Izzy Brown (Preston, free), Billy Gilmour (Norwich, season-long loan), Victor Moses (Spartak Moscow, £4.5m), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan, £900,000), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace, £18m), Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace, season-long loan), Lewis Bate (Leeds, undisclosed)
Chances: German coach Tuchel has plenty of credit in the bank following last season’s Champions League final triumph over Manchester City. Domestic improvement, though, will be the prime directive and expect the FA Cup runners-up to have full focus on closing the gap at the top of the table. The signing of Lukaku will bring goals.
Crystal Palace
Manager: Patrick Vieira
Position last season: 14th
Nickname: The Eagles
Ground: Selhurst Park
Capacity: 25,486
Key man: Wilfried Zaha
In: Marc Guehi (Chelsea, £18m), Joachim Andersen (Lyon, £17m), Jacob Montes (Georgetown Hoyas, free), Michael Olise (Reading, £8.3m), Remi Matthews (Sunderland, free), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea, season-long loan)
Out: Stephen Henderson, Gary Cahill, Nathaniel Clyne, Scott Dann, James McCarthy, Connor Wickham (all released), Wayne Hennessey (Burnley, free), Mamadou Sakho (Montpellier, free), Patrick Van Aanholt (Galatasaray, free), Andros Townsend (Everton, free)
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Hide AdChances: The Eagles have taken something of a gamble on former Arsenal captain Vieira taking over the reins after Roy Hodgson’s departure. A testing opening schedule means the Frenchman will have to quickly get his progressive ideas across and help get the best of key man Zaha – or the pressure will soon mount.
Everton
Manager: Rafael Benitez
Position last season: 10th
Nickname: The Toffees
Ground: Goodison Park
Capacity: 39,572
Key man: Richarlison
In: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace, free), Asmir Begovic (Bournemouth, free), Demarai Gray (Bayer Leverkusen, £1.7m)
Out: Theo Walcott (Southampton, free), Joshua King (Watford, free), Yannick Bolasie (released), Muhamed Besic (released), Bernard (Sharjah, £850,000)
Chances: Benitez is another new boss in need of a quick results to help win over the blue half of Merseyside. The Spaniard will aim to succeed where predecessor Carlo Ancelotti could not in getting an under-performing squad into top-six and trophy contention.
Leeds
Manager: Marcelo Bielsa
Position last season: 9th
Nickname: The Whites
Ground: Elland Road
Capacity: 37,890
Key man: Kalvin Phillips
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Hide AdIn: Jack Harrison (Man City, £11m), Junior Firpo (Barcelona, £12.8m), Amari Miller (Birmingham, £1m), Sean McGurk (Wigan, undisclosed), Lewis Bate (Chelsea, undisclosed), Kristoffer Klaesson (Valerenga, undisclosed)
Out: Ezgjan Alioski (released), Gaetano Berardi (released), Pablo Hernandez (Castellon, free), Kiko Casilla (Elche, season-long loan), Leif Davis (Bournemouth, season-long loan), Oliver Casey (Blackpool, undisclosed)
Chances: Bielsa continued his Leeds love affair with a respectable top-half finish last season after the club’s 16-year absence from the Premier League. Expect another entertaining campaign of progress at Elland Road – which, fuelled by an expectant capacity crowd, could have them pushing for European qualification.
Leicester City
Manager: Brendan Rodgers
Position last season: 5th
Nickname: The Foxes
Ground: King Power Stadium
Capacity: 32,312
Key man: Youri Tielemans
In: Patson Daka (RB Salzburg, £27m), Boubakary Soumare (Lille, £17m), Ryan Bertand (Southampton, free)
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Hide AdOut: Wes Morgan (retired), Christian Fuchs (Charlotte FC, free), Matty James (Bristol City, free)
Chances: Despite the disappointment of again having narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification, Rodgers’ well-drilled squad can take plenty of momentum from their FA Cup final triumph and head into the new campaign with renewed optimism of cracking the top four.
Liverpool
Manager: Jurgen Klopp
Position last season: 3rd
Nickname: The Reds
Ground: Anfield
Capacity: 54,074
Key man: Virgil van Dijk
In: Ibrahima Konate (RB Leipzig, £36m)
Out: Georginio Wijnaldum (Paris St Germain, free), Sepp van den Berg (Preston, season-long loan), Marko Grujic (Porto, £10.5m), Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin, £6.5m), Harry Wilson (Fulham, £12m)
Chances: Liverpool fans will be hoping the return to fitness of Dutch defender Van Dijk from his serious knee injury can help build another sustained title push after falling so short in their defence last season. The £36million arrival of centre-back Konate from RB Leipzig will also add more steel to the core of a team which has plenty of ground to make up on their rivals.
Manchester City
Manager: Pep Guardiola
Position last season: Champions
Nickname: Citizens
Ground: Etihad Stadium
Capacity: 55,017
Key man: Kevin De Bruyne
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Hide AdIn: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa £100m), Scott Carson (Derby, free)
Out: Sergio Aguero (Barcelona, free), Eric Garcia (Barcelona, free), Jack Harrison (Leeds, £11m)
Chances: While their European dream may have come up short again with a tough-to-take defeat by Chelsea in the Champions League final, City were phenomenal as they surged towards another Premier League title under Guardiola. The bar has been set high – but expect it to be raised once more by the team everyone else has to finish above, especially if they find that reliable replacement for Aguero.
Manchester United
Manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Position last season: 2nd
Nickname: The Red Devils
Ground: Old Trafford
Capacity: 74,879
Key man: Bruno Fernandes
In: Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund, £73m), Tom Heaton (Aston Villa, free), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid, £41m – subject to medical and personal terms)
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Hide AdOut: Sergio Romero (released), Joel Pereira (released), Tahith Chong (Birmingham, season-long loan), Axel Tuanzebe (Aston Villa, loan)
Chances: United have backed Solskjaer with a summer spending spree, bringing in England winger Sancho and France centre-back Varane. The pressure, though, will soon crank up if the new-look squad does not quickly gel into an effective unit and keep pace with their noisy neighbours.
Newcastle
Manager: Steve Bruce
Position last season: 12th
Nickname: The Magpies
Ground: St James’ Park
Capacity: 52,305
Key man: Alain Saint-Maximin
In: - None
Out: Christian Atsu (Al-Raed, free), Henri Saivet (released), Andy Carroll (released), Florian Lejeune (Alaves, undisclosed)
Chances: Magpies boss Bruce rode out the storm last season, both on and off the pitch, to eventually guide the club to mid-table stability. The background noise is unlikely to fade, especially with demanding fans back at St James’ Park as the takeover saga rumbles on – but Bruce will get on with the job in hand, whether or not he is able to strengthen the squad.
Norwich City
Manager: Daniel Farke
Position last season: Promoted (Championship winners)
Nickname: The Canaries
Ground: Carrow Road
Capacity: 27,244
Key man: Teemu Pukki
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Hide AdIn: Milot Rashica (Werder Bremen, £11m), Angus Gunn (Southampton, £5m), Dimitris Giannoulis (PAOK, £7.5m), Ben Gibson (Burnley, £8m), Billy Gilmour (Chelsea, season-long loan), Pierre Lees-Melou (Nice, £3.5m), Christos Tzolis (PAOK, £10m)
Out: Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa, £33m), Alexander Tettey (Rosenborg, free), Mario Vrancic (Stoke, free), Josip Drmic (Rijeka, season-long loan), Sam McCallum (QPR, loan), Danel Sinani (Huddersfield, loan), Marco Stiepermann, Orjan Nyland, Moritz Leitner (released).
Chances: The Canaries flew straight back up with an impressive Championship-winning campaign and should be better prepared for life in the top flight again. After cashing in on key playmaker Buendia for a club-record fee, much expectation will rest on the young shoulders of Scotland midfielder Gilmour following his season loan switch from Chelsea.
Southampton
Manager: Ralph Hasenhuttl
Position last season: 15th
Nickname: The Saints
Ground: St Mary’s Stadium
Capacity: 32,384
Key man: Adam Armstrong
In: Romain Perraud (Brest, £10.8m), Theo Walcott (Everton, free), Adam Armstrong (Blackburn, £15m)
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Hide AdOut: Wesley Hoedt (Anderlecht, free), Angus Gunn (Norwich, £5m), Josh Sims (released), Ryan Bertrand (Leicester, free), Mario Lemina (Nice, £4.9m), Danny Ings (Aston Villa, £25m)
Chances: After promising so much, Saints again faded out last season, despite reaching the FA Cup semi-finals. Hasenhuttl knows the squad needs more strength in depth to push back into the top half, especially with Danny Ings leaving the club for Aston Villa.
Tottenham
Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo
Position last season: 7th
Nickname: Spurs
Ground: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Capacity: 62,062
Key man: Harry Kane
In: Bryan Gil (Sevilla, £26m/part-exchange), Pierluigi Gollini (Atalanta, season-long loan)
Out: Paulo Gazzaniga (Fulham, free), Danny Rose (Watford, free), Juan Foyth (Villarreal, £13.5m), Erik Lamela (Sevilla, part-exchange), Toby Alderweireld (Al-Duhail, £4.2m)
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Hide AdChances: After a protracted search, Spurs finally got a new manager in place, but the jury remains out on how well Portuguese coach Nuno can make his mark on the squad. Spanish winger Gil will help freshen things up – but speculation continues over whether England captain Kane will still be around when the transfer window shuts.
Watford
Manager: Xisco
Position last season: Promoted (2nd in Championship)
Nickname: The Hornets
Ground: Vicarage Road
Capacity: 21,000
Key man: Ismaila Sarr
In: Imran Louza (Nantes, £9m), Joshua King (Everton, free), Emmanuel Dennis (Club Brugge, £3.6m), Kwadwo Baah (Rochdale, £125,000), Ashley Fletcher (Middlesbrough, free), Danny Rose (Tottenham, free), Dapo Mebude (Rangers, free), Peter Etebo (Stoke, season-long loan)
Out: Craig Dawson (West Ham, £2m), Ben Wilmot (Stoke, £1.5m), Carlos Sanchez (released), Ignacio Pussetto (Udinese, season-long loan), Adalberto Penaranda (Las Palmas, season-long loan)
Chances: Like Norwich, the Hornets made an instant return to the Premier League, with Spanish coach Xisco replacing Vladimir Ivic to finish off the promotion drive. Keeping hold of Sarr is key, while French midfielder Louza, Rose and forward King are among the summer recruits who will all have to settle in quickly if Watford are to avoid a battle to stay up.
West Ham
Manager: David Moyes
Position last season: 6th
Nickname: The Hammers
Ground: London Stadium
Capacity: 60,000
Key man: Declan Rice
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Hide AdIn: Craig Dawson (Watford, £2m), Alphonse Areola (Paris St Germain, loan)
Out: Fabian Balbuena (Dynamo Moscow, free), Felipe Anderson (Lazio, £2.7m), Nathan Trott (Nancy, season-long loan)
Chances: The Irons impressed last season, pushing for Champions League qualification. Moyes will be hoping the returning supporters at the London Stadium see continued improvement, built around England midfielder Rice and the forward running of Michail Antonio.
Wolves
Manager: Bruno Lage
Position last season: 13th
Nickname: Wolves
Ground: Molineux
Capacity: 32,050
Key man: Raul Jimenez
In: Yerson Mosquera (Atletico Nacional, £4.6m), Francisco Trincao (Barcelona, season-long loan), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Angers, £10m), Jose Sa (Olympiacos, £6.8m), Bendeguz Bolla (Fehervar, £1.8m)
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Hide AdOut: Ruben Vinagre (Sporting, season-long loan), Rui Patricio (Roma, £10.3m), Bendeguz Bolla (Grasshoppers, season-long loan)
Chances: It is all change at Molineux as new boss Lage looks to build on the fine work of his fellow Portuguese predecessor. The foundations remain for a solid campaign, but one which could also quickly unravel should the transition not go to plan.
Undisclosed fees replaced by reported fees where possible