(Football news) After an incredible and gripping 2023–24 English Premier League season, Manchester City has won the title for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year, finishing two points ahead of their closest rivals, Arsenal, in second place.
In Jurgen Klopp’s final season at Anfield, Liverpool had to settle for third place, while Aston Villa finished in the top four and qualified for the Champions League for the first time. Fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and sixth-placed Chelsea will both be playing in the Europa League next season.
However, should eighth-placed Manchester United win the FA Cup, the Blues may drop down into the Europa Conference League and eliminate seventh-placed Newcastle United from the competition entirely.
In his final season at the London Stadium, David Moyes could only lead West Ham United to a ninth-place result; on the last day, Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace had an incredible run of form that propelled them into the top 10.
The teams that ended in the bottom half of the table were Brighton & Hove Albion, Bournemouth, Fulham, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brentford, and Everton; the latter managed to finish in 15th place even though they were docked eight points for breaking financial regulations.
Despite being deducted four points for a similar crime, Nottingham Forest managed to finish in the top tier, ending five points ahead of Luton Town, who finished in 18th position and will be joining Burnley and Sheffield United in the Championship.
After winning the Championship title on their first try, Leicester City will return to the top division of English football. Ipswich Town, who were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 22 years, and the victorious team from the playoff match between Southampton and Leeds United will also be joining them.
With two major international football competitions this summer—Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024—most players will be concentrating on international football in the following weeks, but eventually their attention will return to domestic play.
Here are the important events leading up to the much-awaited 2024–25 Premier League season and who the favourites are expected to be.
Ninety days after the end of the 2023–24 season, on Friday, August 17, is when the Premier League has confirmed that the 2024–25 season will begin. Additionally, it has been confirmed that the 2024–25 final round of games will take place on May 25. As usual, all ten games will begin at the same time.
The Premier League has announced that plans will be made to provide teams extra recovery time over three of the holiday gameweeks, with no team playing within 60 hours of another encounter, in an effort to alleviate the crowded fixture schedule during Christmas and New Year’s.
Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated Chelsea 2-1 at Molineux on Christmas Eve, 2023, marking the first Premier League match played on a holiday since 1995. Nevertheless, December 24, 2024, will not feature any celebratory events.
The 380 games in the 2024–25 season are presently slated to comprise 33 games on weekends, four rounds of games during the week, and one gameweek on bank holidays.
However, these schedules are likely to change as the season progresses. On June 18, at 9:00 a.m. (BST), all of the fixtures for the 2024–25 campaign will be revealed.
Who are the favourites to win the 2024-25 Premier League title?
Manchester City is still the club to beat in the Premier League after winning six of the last seven championships and scoring more than 90 points in five of those seasons under the guidance of manager Pep Guardiola, who has announced that he will continue at the Etihad Stadium for at least another season.
One of the keys to the Citizens’ success has been Guardiola’s ability to continually modify his philosophy and work around mini-rebuilds that have happened every season, replacing important cogs in his machine with shiny new ones that slot seamlessly into place.
The Citizens have been a dominant force on the domestic front for some time, breaking numerous records along the way.
Any of Man City’s closest competitors may find it difficult to break through their unwavering rhythm in the upcoming campaign, but if their exceptionally high standards falter in any way, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal may be able to take advantage.
In the 2023–24 title campaign, which went down to the very last day, the Gunners gave it their best but were ultimately forced to settle for a second consecutive second-place finish. Nevertheless, Arsenal will be considered as one of the favourites to dethrone Man City given the strides they have made under Arteta. A top-tier center-forward and possibly a new midfield player could be helpful in their long-overdue pursuit of premier league success.
The only side to defeat Man City in the Premier League in the previous seven years is Liverpool, who won the championship with 99 points in 2019–20. Following nine incredible years under Klopp’s leadership, a new era under Arne Slot is approaching.
Slot, who won the 2022–23 Eredivisie title in his penultimate season as Feyenoord’s manager, has big shoes to fill at Anfield, but the Dutchman is taking over a talented Reds team that has the ability to succeed in 2024–25 and contend for the top place.
Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United in 2013, the team has yearned for a return to the pinnacle of English football. Since then, eleven seasons have gone by, and each time they have finished behind Man City.
They ended the 2023–24 season a massive 31 points behind their noisy, sky blue neighbors, and they also failed to qualify for Europe (barring an FA Cup victory).
Erik ten Hag’s future as manager is still up in the air, but off-field changes have already been made in an attempt to bring the Red Devils back to prominence. Chief among them is the arrival of minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who now has complete control over football operations at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe has stated that Red Devils supporters “have to be a bit patient” and ready for the “long journey” ahead before they can mount a serious challenge for top spot. Nevertheless, a return to the Champions League will be an immediate priority for Man United next season.
Despite spending over £1.4 billion on transfers over the last ten years, Man United has not come close to winning a Premier League title. Chelsea is another massively wealthy Premier League team that has seen some turbulent seasons.
The Blues had a somewhat sluggish start to life under Mauricio Pochettino this season after an appalling 12th-place finish in 2022–23. However, the Argentine’s youthful squad clicked towards the conclusion of the campaign en route to securing European participation for next season.
Chelsea may have a tall order to contend for the 2024–25 title, but they should be able to secure Champions League football if they can maintain the fitness of most of their star players and strategically spend money on bolstering their squad, giving the signing of a new number nine priority.
Although both teams hope to finish at the top of the table, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa will start 2024–25 as heavy favorites to win the championship. Earlier in the season, both teams surprised many by emerging as strong contenders for the title, but they faded away in the second half of the season.
Also read: England announce their squad for EURO 2024
