PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH PREVIEWS – SATURDAY AUGUST 13 - MONDAY AUGUST 15

(Transfer information as of Thursday 1400)

Hull City v Leicester City – Saturday 1230

Last year’s positions: Hull 4^th (Championship), Leicester 1^st

Key signings:

Hull - Jonathan Edwards (free), Will Mannion (undisclosed compensation)

Leicester – Nampalys Mendy (£13 million), Ron-Robert Zieler (£2.6 million), Ahmed Musa (undisclosed), Luis Hernandez (free)

Key departures:

Hull – Mohamed Diame, Ryan Taylor, Sone Aluko

Leicester - N’Golo Kante, Andrej Kramaric, Mark Schwarzer

• Champions Leicester start their title defence, and only one of their star players – N’Golo Kante – has moved on. Nevertheless, they start as only seventh favourites at 33-1. Hull are the rank outsiders at 1500-1 (no bookie has been bold enough to quote 5000-1 on any club after last season), and have undoubtedly suffered from being unable to appoint a permanent manager, with no new acquisitions that will excite the faithful. Expect Leicester to start with a win here.

Burnley v Swansea City - Saturday 1500

Last year’s positions: Burnley 1^st (Championship), Swansea 12^th

Key signings:

Burnley – Nick Pope (£1.1 million)

Swansea – Leroy Fer (£4.75 million), Mike van der Hoorn (free)

Key departures:

Burnley – Joey Barton, Matt Gilks, Lloyd Dyer, Matt Taylor

Swansea – Ashley Williams, Andre Ayew, Eder, Alberto Paloschi, Bafetimbi Gomis (loan)

• If Burnley are to survive in the Premier League, then this is an example of a match they need to target for a win. Swansea seem to have little prospect of improving on last year’s lower mid-table finish, especially as two key players have left. That said, Burnley themselves have little cash to splash. A low scoring draw may be a good bet here.

Crystal Palace v West Bromwich Albion - Saturday 1500

Last year’s positions: Crystal Palace 15^th, West Brom 14^th

Key signings:

Crystal Palace – Andros Townsend (£13 million), James Tomkins (£10 million), Steve Mandanda (free)

West Brom – Matt Phillips (£5.5 million)

Key departures:

Crystal Palace – Dwight Gayle, Alex McCarthy, Brede Hangeland, Marouane Chamakh, Adrian Mariappa

West Brom – Stephane Sessegnon, Victor Anichebe

• Two sides who finished within a point of each other last year. Don’t expect a goal fest, but home advantage and the exciting signing of Andros Townsend might give Palace the edge.

Everton v Tottenham Hotspur - Saturday 1500

Last year’s positions: Everton 11^th, Tottenham 3^rd

Key signings:

Everton – Ashley Williams (£12 million), Idrissa Gueye (£7.1 million), Marten Stekelenburg (free)

Tottenham – Vincent Janssen (£18.6 million), Victor Wanyama (£11 million)

Key departures:

Everton – John Stones, Leon Osman, Tim Howard, Tony Hibbert, Steven Pienaar

Tottenham – Alex Pritchard, Federico Fazio (loan)

• Eveeton have spent some money on a proven top flight performer in Ashley Williams, and it remains to be seen who Everton will spend their new wealth on, and what impact Ronald Koeman’s managerial expertise will have. Even with the now departed John Stones in their defence last season, Everton leaked goals alarmingly. Expect Tottenham to triumph here as their young squad continues to develop.

Middlesbrough v Stoke City - Saturday 1500

Last year’s positions: Middlesbrough 2^nd (Championship), Stoke 9^th

Key signings:

Middlesbrough – Marten de Roon (£12 million), Viktor Fisher (£3.8 million), Victor Valdes (free), Bernardo Espinoza (free)

Stoke – Joe Allen (£13 million), Ramadan Sobhi (£5.5 million)

Key departures:

Middlesbrough – Jonathan Woodgate

Stoke – Peter Odemwingie, Steve Sidwell

• Middlesbrough are another promoted side who have a winnable home game on the opening day, and they could well pull it off.

Southampton v Watford - Saturday 1500

Last year’s positions: Southampton 6^th, Watford 13^th

Key signings:

Southampton – Nathan Redmond (£11 million), Alex McCarthy (£4 million), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (undisclosed)

Watford – Isaac Success (£12.5 million), Christian Kabasele (£5.8 million), Brice Dja Djedje (£3 million), Jerome Sinclair (free), Juan Camilo Zaniga (loan)

Key departures:

Southampton – Sadio Mane, Victor Wanyama, Kelvin Davis, Graziano Pelle, Gaston Ramirez, Paulo Gazzaniga (loan)

Watford – Almen Adbi, Jose Manuel Jurado,

• Southampton continue to gain plaudits for their performances and style of play, but what will life be like under Claude Puel? It also appears at first glance that their squad is currently weaker than last season’s. Watford once again have a new manager, Walter Mazzari, and if his big signings fire, the Hornets could edge this one.

Manchester City v Sunderland – Saturday 1730

Last year’s positions: Man City 4^th, Sunderland 17^th

Key signings:

Manchester City – John Stones (£47.5 million), Leroy Sane (£37 million), Gabriel Jesus (£27 million), Ilkay Gundogan (£21 million), Nolito (£13.8 million)

Sunderland - None

Key departures:

Manchester City – Martin Demichelis

Sunderland – Emmanuel Giaccherini, Danny Graham, Steven Fletcher, Wes Brown

• City have again spent the summer investing in a wealth of talent, mostly in the forward positions, although their biggest spend came in the last few days with a British record outlay on defender John Stones. It remains to be seen how all of these attackers will fit into the side, never mind where it leaves a talented young player like Kelechi Iheanacho. David Moyes returns to Premier League management with Sunderland, replacing the England-bound Sam Allardyce, and perhaps because of the managerial change, they have not been active in the transfer market. City start as title favourites, and as favourites to win here.

Bournemouth v Manchester United – Sunday 1330

Last year’s positions: Bournemouth 16^th, Man Utd 5^th

Key signings:

Bournemouth – Jordon Ibe (£15 million), Lys Mousset (£5.4 million), Lewis Cook (£10 million), Brad Smith (£6 million), Nathan Ake (loan)

Manchester United – Paul Pogba (£89 million), Eric Bailly (£30 million), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£26.5 million),  Zlatan Ibrahimovic (free)

Key departures:

Bournemouth – Tommy Elphick, Matt Ritchie, Lee Tomlin

Manchester United – Guillermo Varela (loan), Victor Valdes, Nick Powell

• Two sides who have been splashing the cash during the close season meet here. Whether or not United fare better this season remains to be seen, but the Red Devils will certainly be expecting to start with three points here.

Arsenal v Liverpool – Sunday 1600

Last year’s positions: Arsenal 2^nd, Liverpool 8^th

Key signings:

Arsenal – Granit Xhaka (£34 million)

Liverpool – Sadio Mane (£36 million), Georginio Wijnaldum (£25 million), Loris Karius (£4.5 million)

Key departures:

Arsenal – Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta

Liverpool – Jordon Ibe, Joe Allen, Martin Skrtel, Jerome Sinclair

• Arsenal finished last season strongly, but that was not enough to satisfy some supporters as another year went by without a significant title challenge. Arsenal have made just one major addition to the squad this summer. Many people are expecting Liverpool to fare better this time now Jurgen Klopp has had more time to mould the team in his style. This match – possibly the heavyweight clash of the opening weekend – could be won by whoever performs to their best on the day.

Chelsea v West Ham United – Monday 2000

Last year’s positions: Chelsea 10^th, West Ham 7^th

Key signings:

Chelsea – Michy Batshuayi (£33.2 million), N’Golo Kante (£32 million)

West Ham – Andre Ayew (£20.5 million), Manuel Lanzini (£9.4 million) – previously played for club as loan player, Arthur Masuaku (£6 million)

Key departures:

Chelsea – Mohammed Salah, Baba Rahman (loan), Nathan Ake (loan)

West Ham – James Tomkins

• Antonio Conte takes charge of Chelsea, so can he do better than Jose Mourinho, avoid last season’s stories of player unrest and lead them to the title? Most bookmakers have Chelsea no better than fourth favourites, and it would be a big leap from tenth to first in one season. They also face a tricky opening game.

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Tipster Street.

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