Manchester City begin bid for EPL history, Liverpool face stern Chelsea test

In a bid to become the first side to ever win four consecutive English topflight titles Manchester City is all set to kick off the new English Premier League EPL season at Burnley on Friday Arsenal appear bestplaced to capitalise if Citys grip on the English game is to come to an end and will expect to get off to a flier at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday Meanwhile Liverpool and Chelsea face an early test of how they will bounce back from disappointing seasons when they face off at Stamford Bridge on Sunday Heres what the opening weekend of the Premier League could look likeKompany plans to burst City bubbleCity are still riding the wave of euphoria from the end of last season as they added the clubs first ever Champions League to go with Premier League and FA Cup glory The summer has not been without its challenges for Pep Guardiola as captain Ilkay Gundogan departed to Barcelona and the riches on offer in Saudi Arabia was too much for Riyad Mahrez to turn down City have also had to fight to retain Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva while Croatian duo Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol are the new only two new arrivals in the transfer market so far Guardiolas opposite number in the dugout on Friday already has a statue outside the Etihad from his playing days but Vincent Kompany has quickly established himself as one of the brightest coaching talents on the continentAlso Read Unraveling mega deals and dilemmas Kylian Mbappe and the Saudi Arabia offerThe former Belgian captain turned around a club in crisis during his first season at Turf Moor to return Burnley to the Premier League with seven games to spare The Clarets are a very different proposition to the side that punched above their weight to survive for six seasons in the top flight under Sean Dyche between 2016 and 2022 Inspired by Guardiola Kompany has transformed Burnley into a side that dominate the ballChelseas Nkunku blowOptimism around Chelseas positive performances in preseason under new boss Mauricio Pochettino has been punctured by the news that Christopher Nkunku will be sidelined for up to four months after undergoing knee surgery The French international was brought to Stamford Bridge to ease the Blues goalscoring woes after they finished 12th last season their lowest since 1994 Pochettinos time in charge gets off to a testing start when Liverpool visit looking to put their own disappointment from last season behind them But all is also not well at Anfield with fans frustrated at the lack of new arrivals Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai are Jurgen Klopps only two new signings to help fill the void left by the departure of captain Jordan Henderson Fabinho James Milner Naby Keita Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Roberto Firmino The array of attacking weapons on offer to Klopp has shown in a freescoring preseason but the Reds have also looked defensively weak with little protection for the back four from the midfieldWolves in crisisManchester United begin their quest for a first league title in a decade on Monday against a Wolves side who were left without a manager just three days before the season begins Julen Lopetegui stepped down on Tuesday after becoming disillusioned with the lack of resources to spend in the transfer market Gary ONeil has stepped into the hotseat at Molineux tasked with repeating his success in keeping Bournemouth up against the odds last season United will expect to get off to a winning start at Old Trafford but the home crowd will have to wait for their first sight of new striker Rasmus Hojlund The Dane is suffering a back injury that is set to keep him out for a few weeksFixtures all times GMT Friday Burnley vs Manchester City 1900 Saturday Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest 1130 Bournemouth vs West Ham Brighton vs Luton Everton vs Fulham Sheffield United vs Crystal Palace all 1400 Newcastle vs Aston Villa 1630 Sunday Brentford vs Tottenham 1300 Chelsea vs Liverpool 1530 Monday Manchester United vs Wolves 1900