Countdown To The EPL (1): 30 Days To Go

After what seemed like an eternity's wait for soccer enthusiasts, or should I say addicts - me included - all over the world, the most amazing football league in the world is back! Or... ummmm... not quite, you still have to endure for a little while. The Barclays Premier League, or the EPL, will not kick off until in a month's time. Today is exactly 30 days to the first weekend of the English Premier League (Matchday 1) which has been absent from our TV screens and viewing centers for nearly three months.

I must confess that it has not been an easy period for me and I know that it has not been easy for you too. Yeah, I know that feeling. My weekends have become duller, because there is no football to cheer me up. The Confederations Cup provided short-lived succor and it was a real joy to watch the Chelsea stars on parade: Juan Mata, Cesar Azpilicueta, John Obi Mikel, Fernando Torres, Oscar and David Luiz. They didn't disappoint, but what disappointed me was the kick-off times which most of the time robbed me of several sleeping hours. Thank God the EPL is coming back at long last and I hope it's worth the wait.


The 2013/2014 season will officially kick off on the 17th of August with a couple of mouthwatering ties already lined up in the first three weeks. For example, Chelsea will square off against Manchester United at Old Trafford in what will be new manager Jose Mourinho's first real test of the season and this match comes up in barely 4 weeks' time. Things will even get tougher for Man Utd manager, David Moyes, the following week as his side will battle it out with perennial foes, Liverpool, at Anfield; while Arsenal will slug it out with their North London archenemies, Tottenham Hotspur, in what is the first derby of the season later on the same day. Europa League winners Chelsea will not play any part in EPL proceedings that week, because of their UEFA Super Cup date with destiny against European champions, Bayern Munich (hmmm... Mourinho vs Guardiola, Bayern Munich vs Chelsea part two... mouthwatering, isn't it? But that would be a story for another day).

You will agree with me that this promises to be a season of sizzling football, at least going by the recent changes in personnel at several of the league's top clubs including Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton and Manchester City. New and potential arrivals and departures from the top guns will only serve to make things more interesting and more unpredictable. What I will do here in this series is to preview the upcoming Premier League season and analyze what I consider as the top 6 title contenders in the league: (in no particular order) Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. I will review their preparations including their preseason form and activities in what has been a rather cautious transfer window and analyze this against the backdrop of the trends in the previous seasons to see if it has any bearing on the season that is to come.

Starting on Saturday 20, I will analyze the clubs in this order:

Tottenham Hotspur,
Liverpool,
Manchester City,
Arsenal,
Manchester United, and
Chelsea.

In the final post of this series I will make predictions on what to expect from each of the clubs in the Premier League and also what I expect to see in the upcoming 2013/2014 English Premier League season.

See you there.