By Brian Bariyo Tumuramye
England: After a summer of speculation, pre-season preparation and transfer tugs-of-war, the Premier League is back.
All eyes will be on Anfield on Friday night, when Liverpool kick-off the 2019/20 Premier League season against newly-promoted Norwich
For the hosts, a fast start is crucial.
Jurgen Klopp and his men got a close-up look at defending champions Manchester City last weekend in the Community Shield. They saw a Pep Guardiola side ready to go again. Ready to scale the remarkable heights they have achieved in the past two seasons – and determined to climb even higher.
But Liverpool showed they are ready, too. Their pre-season was far from ideal, but Liverpool’s display at Wembley suggested they are set to go toe-to-toe with City once more.
Last season, during the thrilling title battle between those two teams, every match, every point proved critical.
That is the message Klopp will be giving his players ahead of kick-off on Friday; start with intensity, win in style, lay down a marker.
City will then have to respond away to West Ham on Saturday lunchtime.
Tottenham face Aston Villa live on Saturday evening at 5.30pm, while Arsenal travel to Newcastle on Sunday afternoon at 2pm. Both London clubs will want to show they cannot be discounted.
Then comes the mouth-watering Manchester United and Chelsea showdown at Old Trafford at 4.30pm.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer against Frank Lampard. The first ‘big-six’ head-to-head of the season. Two clubs eager to enter a new era with a win.
It will be an intriguing, exhilarating ending to this eagerly-anticipated opening weekend. But it is just the start.
There will be 128 Premier League games this season – and there will be twists, turns and tense storylines running through every one of them.
Norwich, Sheffield United and Aston Villa arrive with hopes and dreams; the likes of Wolves, West Ham, Leicester and Everton harbour ambitions of breaking into the top six; but supporters of every Premier League side know they will be served up memories to treasure – and moments they would rather forget.
VAR will add tension and no doubt spark debate. But the brilliant skills, passion and power of the players in the world’s most exciting league will dominate the headlines.
