The beginning of the Premier League season is all the time lengthy awaited, but it comes round so early in the summertime that one can’t assist ending up feeling a bit of however prefer it’s only a continuation of the preseason.
One week you’re taking part in Inter Milan in a pleasant at dwelling, the subsequent you’re taking part in Man Metropolis and it really counts… the solar remains to be shining and the switch window remains to be open, however the factors rely the identical because the nail biters come Might.
This was the group’s downfall final yr – a sluggish begin (regardless of some good performances) meant that Mauricio Pochettino’s group had been taking part in catch-up all yr. They actually solely bought into gear in week 7, when Cole Palmer emerged as a starter, and an enormous precedence this season is ensuring we don’t find yourself in the identical state of affairs.
The fixtures fall fairly kindly for the group on that entrance. We’re already a few factors higher off, and we’ve bought video games in opposition to West Ham, Brighton and Nottingham Forest up subsequent. There aren’t any simple recreation within the Premier League, or definitely none that you could rely on being simple earlier than they begin, however that’s as beneficial as runs go.
We had higher benefit from it although – after that it will get actually nasty via October and November. The next run sees us face Liverpool, Newcastle, Man U, Arsenal and Aston Villa all by the first of December – adopted by Chelsea v Spurs on the seventh to cap all of it off.
That may be a horrible run, and one which may see an actual spiral of confidence if factor don’t exit means. It’s massively necessary that the group squeeze each final level out of this softer run, in any other case we may discover ourselves in a fairly determined state of affairs by mid-December.
Enzo Maresca will hope that each passing week helps the squad adapt to his system an increasing number of, and if we see enchancment over the subsequent month there’s no cause we will’t win factors off these greater groups. However the reverse can also be true – if we wrestle within the subsequent month, it’s onerous to see us moving into gear in opposition to among the stronger sides within the league.
Not like Pochettino’s system, which was very efficient on the counter in opposition to groups who got here out and attacked, whereas Maresca’s seeks extra management of the ball. It will likely be very attention-grabbing to see the way it performs in these two distinct phases of fixtures.