New faces, old stagers and a mid-season break – Premier League talking points

Clubs are preparing for the 30th season of the Premier League era, which kicks off on August 5.

Champions Manchester City begin as favourites for the title, while Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest are the newly-promoted sides.

Here, the PA news agency picks out some of the talking points ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

Erik ten Hag, Manchester United’s fifth permanent manager since the end of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, faces a major challenge to revive fortunes at Old Trafford. United have not lifted the title since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 and have just endured their worst Premier League season from a points perspective. That dismal campaign took place amid ongoing fan protests against the club’s owners, while star man Cristiano Ronaldo asked to leave the club this summer. Ten Hag has insisted Ronaldo will not be sold and is part of his plans. The former Ajax coach will be desperate for a strong start to his tenure as he attempts to succeed where David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer each ultimately failed.

Manchester City were crowned champions for the fourth time in five seasons in May after ending Liverpool’s quadruple bid with a nail-biting 3-2 comeback win over Aston Villa. City once again begin as title favourites after bolstering their enviable ranks with prolific striker Erling Haaland and England midfielder Kalvin Phillips. Yet manager Pep Guardiola has perhaps surprised some by allowing attacking duo Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus to join Premier League rivals Chelsea and Arsenal respectively. Liverpool, champions in 2020, have replaced Sadio Mane with Darwin Nunez and appear most likely to dislodge City, while Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will hope Sterling can help