PREMIER LEAGUE IS HERE AGAIN. WELCOME

The wait is nearly over. To whet your
appetite for what is sure to be another
engrossing Premier League campaign read
our exhaustive club-by-club guides and
select your team’s starting XI for the
opening round of matches, as Arsenal host
Crystal Palace on Saturday live on Sky
Sports 1HD.
Sky Sports is to offer an unrivalled schedule
of live Premier League fixtures from August,
providing viewers with more of the games
that matter, more of the best experts and
more of the best analysis.
Having broadcast 49 of the 50 most watched
Premier League matches last season, Sky
Sports has announced a schedule that
includes all of last season’s top four at least
six times and every club at least three
times.
Viewers can also enjoy seven live
Manchester United fixtures - including Louis
van Gaal’s toughest tests against
Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Only on Sky Sports can viewers see the
opening matches of last season’s top four
teams, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea
and Arsenal. Premier League champions City
begin their title defence away to Newcastle
United.
Following Sky’s best ever Premier League
season, viewers can enjoy 43 live matches -
at least three live fixtures every week -
before the end of November.
ARSENAL
Arsenal finally
ended their wait for
silverware last
season following
their comeback win
against Hull City in
the FA Cup final in May. Arsene Wenger
certainly seems to have ridden the storm to
find smoother waters after surviving growing
discontent that reached its nadir with the
home defeat to Aston Villa on the opening
weekend last year. Unburdened by the
financial shackles of recent times and fresh
off a convincing Community Shield
performance, the Gunners come into this
campaign with renewed optimism. Read our
full season preview here
ASTON VILLA
Aston Villa endured
a difficult season
last time out
finishing on just 38
points –the club’s
joint lowest tally in
Premier League history – and the mood is
further complicated by owner Randy Lerner’s
desire to sell. With grumbles regarding
manager Paul Lambert, too, the priority
might be to keep Villa out of trouble so they
remain a saleable asset. It’s not the ideal
backdrop to a new season but if the right
investor comes along then things can
change quickly. Read our full season
preview here
BURNLEY
Winning promotion
to the Premier
League was a truly
remarkable
achievement by
Sean Dyche and his
team. Having introduced a ‘one-club
mentality’ and got his team working together
to play a pressing game, Burnley picked up a
club record 93 points in a season. The
Clarets will be underdogs in the top flight but
there is plenty of cause for optimism and
with the Chelsea the first team to visit Turf
Moor the atmosphere around the place
should be superb right from the start. Read
our full season preview here
CHELSEA
Jose Mourinho’s
return to English
football last season
brought the usual
touchline drama,
plenty of headlines
and a few classic moments including away
wins at Manchester City and Liverpool. But
unusually for Chelsea’s iconic manager,
there were no trophies and he had to settle
for third place in the Premier League despite
topping the table in April. However, this was
always the season Mourinho was targeting
to get Chelsea back on top. The moment is
now. Read our full season preview here
CRYSTAL PALACE
The turnaround at
Crystal Palace was
one of the stories of
last season. After
losing nine of their
first 10 matches on
return to the top flight, the influence of
incoming manager Tony Pulis transformed
their fortunes in spectacular fashion as they
were catapulted up to 11th in the table. By
being well organised and taking minimum
risks in their own half, Palace have become a
very difficult team to play against. The
question is simple. Can they repeat it? Read
our full season preview here
EVERTON
After sustained
success with David
Moyes some felt the
only way was down
for Everton, but
instead the arrival
of Roberto Martinez added a new dimension.
The Spaniard created an entertaining team
that continued to get results as they achieved
their best points tally of the Premier League
era. With further financial backing this
summer there has rarely been so much
optimism around Goodison Park. Read our
full season preview here
HULL CITY
Little fancied going
into last season
after winning
promotion as the
Championship’s
joint-14th highest
scorers, Steve Bruce showed himself to be a
savvy customer as Hull City hit the Premier
League running. Frequently tinkering with his
formation to present a new challenge to
opponents, Hull proved a surprise success.
With European football secured for the first
time thanks to an FA Cup final appearance in
May, the Tigers will be looking for renewed
impetus this season. Read our full season
preview here
LEICESTER CITY
Leicester
overpowered the
Championship in
emphatic style in
2013/14, becoming
only the fifth team
to pass 100 point mark in second tier,
scoring 83 goals and winning an amazing 31
matches in the process. As a result, there is
every reason to feel good about their
chances as the Foxes return to the top flight
after a decade away. Even so, manager Nigel
Pearson will be acutely aware that the
Premier League represents a very different
challenge.
Read our full season preview here
LIVERPOOL
Liverpool were the
Premier League
entertainers last
season and nearly
went all the way
only to trip up in the
final weeks of a campaign that surpassed all
expectations. Those demands are back to
the levels that might be considered
customary for five-time European champions
and the question now is whether the Reds
can build on their successes to launch
another convincing bid for the Premier
League title. Read our full season preview
here
MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City
became Premier
League champions
for the second time
in three years last
season and the
feeling that they rarely hit top gear must be
regarded as a testament to their capabilities.
Encouragingly Manuel Pellegrini’s side won
their final five games to win the trophy and
will be looking to take their form into the new
season with Champions League improvement
an obvious target. Can they also defend the
English title for the first time in their
history? Read our full season preview here
MANCHESTER UNITED
It’s been all change
at Old Trafford with
the arrival of Louis
van Gaal as the
domineering
Dutchman sets
about doing things his way. There have been
amendments at the training ground and
moans about the summer tour but after the
club’s worst Premier League finish last
season, United fans will be most interested
in the changes on the pitch. The buzz has
already returned after the International
Champions Cup win but nobody is in any
doubt Van Gaal has a big job on his hands.
Read our full season preview here
NEWCASTLE
Despite making a
promising start last
season, Newcastle
limped over the line
after Christmas and
will need new
impetus for 2014/15. Alan Pardew remains
and with a host of savvy acquisitions, he’ll
be hoping for an improved effort. The
Magpies boss has already mentioned the
Champions League as a target so with the
squad bolstered by some exciting new
additions expect Geordie ambitions to be as
high as ever. Read our full season preview
here
QPR
It required a late
goal at Wembley but
Harry Redknapp
fulfilled his remit
and succeeded in
restoring Queens
Park Rangers to the Premier League at the
first time of asking. Now the question is
whether they can make a better fist of it than
last time when they were relegated with just
25 points. This time around Redknapp has
had the summer transfer window to reshape
his team and there is optimism that this
could be an exciting new period for the
Hoops. Read our full season preview here
SOUTHAMPTON
It’s been a summer
of upheaval at
Southampton
having not only lost
manager Mauricio
Pochettino but also
five of their best players, including three of
them - Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and
Dejan Lovren - to Liverpool. Despite Morgan
Schneiderlin being unsettled, Saints are
insistent that the exodus ends here and there
have been some promising arrivals. Ronald
Koeman is the man being asked to hold
things together but can Southampton survive
the storm to forge a brighter future? Read our
full season preview here
STOKE CITY
The fears that life
after Tony Pulis
would be difficult
were banished in
emphatic style
thanks to a strong
first season under Mark Hughes last time
out. Indeed, in coming ninth, Stoke achieved
their highest league finish in almost 40 years
and there is belief that the Potters can build
on that in 2014/15. Having kept key players
and added further quality, these are exciting
times for Stoke and they can justifiably be
regarded as the best team in the Midlands
right now. Read our full season preview here
SUNDERLAND
Things looked
particularly grim for
Sunderland when
1-0 home defeat to
Everton left them
seven points from
safety and bottom of the Premier League in
mid-April but a 2-2 draw at Manchester City
preceded wins at Chelsea and Manchester
United to spark an unlikely escape. Black
Cats boss Gus Poyet will be hoping to build
on that momentum this season and enjoying
a campaign free from relegation fears. Read
our full season preview here
SWANSEA CITY
Swansea struggled
to cope with the
demands of juggling
Europa League
commitments with a
Premier League
campaign last season and coupled with the
sacking of Michael Laudrup it made for a
difficult time at the Liberty Stadium. Garry
Monk took the reins and things looked in the
balance for a while – the Swans had just 29
points after 30 games - but four wins from
last seven lifted the team into mid-table and
raised hopes that those difficulties are now
fully behind them. With a new-look team, can
Swansea embark on a new adventure under
their young coach? Read our full season
preview here
TOTTENHAM
With Tim Sherwood
dispensed with,
Mauricio Pochettino
steps into the
Tottenham hot seat
and is the man now
tasked with making sense of the undoubted
talent on the books at White Hart Lane. Spurs
finished sixth in a fraught season last time
out that saw Andre Villas-Boas lose his job
in December and with Manchester United
expected to bounce back, a top-four finish
won’t get any easier. Can Pochettino
succeed where those before him failed and
keep Daniel Levy happy? Read our full
season preview here
WEST BROM
With West Brom
about to embark on
their fifth
consecutive season
in Premier League
and the finances
looking good, the Baggies ought to be
regarded as a picture of stability. However,
after going through Steve Clarke and Pepe
Mel last season, some supporters have been
left underwhelmed by the appointment of 56-
year-old Alan Irvine as the latest head
coach. Will the Scot last longer than his
predecessor? Read our full season preview
here
WEST HAM
West Ham finished
13th last season but
a points tally of 40
wasn’t particularly
convincing and
there were some
murmurs of discontent regarding the fare
served up by Sam Allardyce at Boleyn
Ground. With pressure from the board as well
as the fans, Allardyce will need to start
strongly if he is to change the mood around
Upton Park. With the club set to move into
the Olympic Stadium in 2016, stakes are high
for the Hammers.