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Get ready for more of the same after a predictable opening weekend.
Manchester City went to Chelsea and won comfortably. Arsenal took care of Wolves, Liverpool did the same with Ipswich, Aston Villa looked strong winning at West Ham, Manchester United struggled but still won on a late goal against Fulham and none of the three promoted teams won.
Mild surprise could be offered in Everton losing so badly at home to Brighton, Spurs being held to a draw by promoted Leicester and Crystal Palace losing to Brentford, who chose not to play striker Ivan Toney due to transfer speculation.
But certainty is exactly what we saw with City winning at Chelsea the way they always do — by grinding their opposition into the turf.
The Sky Blues weren’t spectacular, but they left London with a 2-0 win in which they never looked like they hit top gear.
It’s what we’ve seen with the methodical, predictable and, some could say, boring enterprise since manager Pep Guardiola took over. Unless City can be held to account for their 115 financial charges, it’s hard to do anything but shrug your shoulders and focus on the European competitions, the race for top four and the relegation spots.
You do have to wonder how the schedule-makers thought to torture newly promoted Ipswich. Just 15 months ago, they were two divisions below the Premier League. The Tractor Boys opened their return to the top division last week with a decent effort in a 2-0 loss to Liverpool and get to follow that up with a trip to Manchester City.
Expect more of the same this week: City will dominate possession and Ipswich will sit tight at the back, but we all know what the result is going to be.
2. Chelsea needs stability
It may have been predictable to see Chelsea, even at home, lose to Manchester City. But the club’s structure and governance is chaotic.
Since owner Todd Boehly bought the club, Chelsea has spent more than $2 billion buying players. The squad is bloated, it’s creating drama and you can only imagine the mood going into training every day.
New manager Enzo Maresca has admitted having such a massive squad is difficult to manage. It blew up before their opening game last week when Raheem Sterling was left out of the match day squad and issued a statement through his agents that he was blindsided.
Talk all week around Chelsea has centred around Sterling, England international fullback Ben Chilwell and other first-teamers who have been banished to train away from the rest of the squad.
Sterling, who is only 27, still has four years left on his contract.
Chelsea has chosen to spread out the tremendous costs of signing players by stretching contracts out — some like Cole Palmer’s by as much as nine years — to aid in profit and sustainability accounting.
Chelsea continues to stockpile new talents, the latest coming on Wednesday, spending a further $75 million on Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid.
“If it’s six year contract, or a 20-year contract, I don’t care, I’m just here to make the right decisions for the team,” Maresca said in a news conference this week. “About the contract situation, it’s not my job.
“You like to say we have 42 or 43 players. Today’s session is with 20 players. Yesterday’s session was with 21. But the other 15 or 20, they are training apart. Chelsea players, yes, 42 or 43, sure, but they are not working with me every day. I don’t see them so it’s not a mess like it looks from outside. Absolutely not.”
Not sure how it can’t be a mess to not consider half your team to not be a part of the club.
Chelsea has enough talent to put together two teams that would compete in the top half of the league, the question will continue to be if the mindset, composition and tactics are right.
The Blues have Wolves this week — not an easy game — but one they should still win. If they don’t it will be another tumultuous week at Stamford Bridge.
3. Crisis clubs are emerging already
After a year adjusting to manager Ange Postecoglu’s system and life without Harry Kane, Spurs were supposed to mount a serious challenge for a Champions League spot at the very least this season.
An opening-match draw to a newly promoted club doesn’t get them off to the best start.
This week they play Everton, another club who were hoping to build some momentum during their last season at their historic home before moving to a spectacular new stadium next campaign. You have to wonder if they’ll open that stadium in the Championship not the Premier League if they play like they did last week.
The Toffees lost 3-0 to Brighton and saw Ashley Young get a straight red card to miss the next three games.
Both teams desperately need a win this week.
4. Manchester United has something to prove
The Red Devils get that Brighton club that looked so sharp last week and sit atop the league with the best goal difference.
Yes, United won, but it needed a late goal against Fulham to get the win and hardly looked convincing. If United is going to push on as true contenders to get back into the Champions League, they’ll need to beat teams like Brighton to separate themselves.
Looking more convincing in attack is going to be the key for them.
5. Liverpool looks legit
It would be natural to expect a drop off under new manager Arne Slot after Jurgen Klopp left, especially after they’ve added not one new player to the squad.
The Reds looked lethargic against Ipswich in the first half, but in the second half Mo Salah looked at his vintage best, Diogo Jota was dangerous with every touch. They won 2-0, but it could have been by five or six if they were more clinical, and that was just from one half.
This week Brentford provides a much tougher test under the well-prepared and creative hand of Thomas Frank. If Liverpool gets a comfortable win this week, it’s safe to assume they’ll truly be a team to watch with not too difficult of a transition to a new boss.
FUBO Game of the Week
Aston Villa vs. Arsenal.
Both are in Champions League, both looked impressive last week. Villa is at home, where it was an absolute beast last season. Arsenal lost the title by two points last year. They dropped six points to Villa as the Birmingham side did the double over Mikel Arteta’s squad.
A draw might be the best bet, but if Villa can get a win here, it’ll lay down an early marker for the shape of the top of the table this season.
Odds: Aston Villa: 16/5, Arsenal: 3/4, Draw: 27/10
This weekend’s slate
Saturday: Brighton v. Manchester United; Crystal Palace v. West Ham; Fulham v. Leicester; Manchester City v. Ipswich; Southampton v. Nottingham Forest; Tottenham v. Everton; Aston Villa v. Arsenal.
Sunday: Bournemouth v. Newcastle; Wolves v. Chelsea; Liverpool v. Brentford.