The Premier League is back - who's hot and who's not?

The English Premier League is back in action this weekend after a three-month break, as the best teams in England try to take down four-time reigning champions Manchester City.

Kiwi football fans can get back into their routines of staying up late or setting their alarms to watch some of the best teams in the world battle it out in the Premier League's 33rd season.

The 2024-25 season starts this weekend with the first match kicking off on Saturday morning with Manchester United taking on Fulham.

Here's all you need to know for the upcoming season.

Can anyone stop Manchester City winning a fifth-straight title?

It’s hard to see past the six-time Premier League champions claiming their fifth title in a row this season. In what may be Pep Guardiola's final season in charge, he'll want to finish on a high. Man City still boast some of the Premier League's most entertaining talents with the likes of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.

Loyal Arsenal fans have endured back-to-back second-place finishes and remain in the hunt for their first title since 2003. Mikel Arteta has grown in the managerial role for the Gunners and is the most likely candidate to knock over Guardiola's side after some heartbreaking finishes in recent seasons.

Liverpool are always in the mix for title contention, but with Jurgen Klopp’s reign over, it’s time for Dutch manager Arne Slot to take over. So far he hasn’t given us much to work with. At the time of writing, Liverpool have made no signings in the off-season and they’re still lacking in the defensive midfield position - the heart of the team, some might say.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur make up the rest of the ‘big six’ and have all been underwhelming in recent seasons with their title hopes dependent on how well they can start the season.

The rest of the teams in the league aren’t out of the question as in 2016 Leicester City famously took out the Premier League title which no one picked them to win. An anomaly sure, but in one of the tightest leagues in the world, anything can happen.

There’s always a team that surprises, like Aston Villa last season. Who could it be this time around?

David Moyes’ tenure is over at West Ham and a new era begins with Spanish manager Julen Lopetegui who already has Premier League experience under his belt at Wolverhampton Wanderers. West Ham have been busy in the off season recruiting the likes of German striker Niclas Fullkrug from Borussia Dortmund, and fullback Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United. They have also signed Crysencio Summerville from Leeds who scored 19 goals in the Championship and was named player of the season for the league.

They finished ninth last season but made it to the quarterfinals of the Europa League. Led by England international winger Jarrod Bowen, they have a real chance of challenging for higher placings and the Hammers’ faithful may be blowing bubbles all season.

Conversely, which side could underachieve in the upcoming season?

Might be a hot take but I'm picking Tottenham Hotspur. They may not come into this season expected to challenge for the title - they never really do - but other teams like to mention their lack of Premier League success. Spurs finished fifth last season after losing plenty of games towards the back-end of the season.

Australian manager Ange Postecoglou is on good terms with Spurs' fan base, but his side will need a good start to the season to maintain that positive relationship. Dominic Solanke's $113 million transfer will be a welcome arrival from Bournemouth as Harry Kane’s role never seemed to be filled last season. However, I think they will finish outside of the top six.

It’s always difficult for the newly-promoted sides to avoid relegation. Who looks like they can do enough to survive this time around?

Former Premier League champions Leicester City rebounded back into England’s top flight after they won the Championship by one point over Ipswich Town. Despite losing talented midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea, Steve Cooper’s side remains mainly intact after last season.

Jamie Vardy scored 18 goals in the Championship last season and if he can bring that sort of form into the Premier League they have a chance of surviving.

Why hasn’t there been as much transfer activity as usual in the off-season?

Popular football journalist Fabrizio Romano’s social media accounts haven’t been as active this transfer window. Known for coining the catchphrase ‘here we go!’ when announcing a new transfer, it feels like we haven’t heard much use of the phrase during the break.

After Manchester City’s 115 charges against financial fair play, it seems clubs don’t want to get their wallets out and splash the cash. In this transfer window so far, EPL clubs have spent around $2.4 billion on players. Compare this figure to last year where clubs spent $5.2 billion in the transfer window. The most expensive transfer was Solanke's move to Spurs followed by French defender Leny Yoro's $108 million move to Manchester United.

The only team that doesn’t seem fazed is Chelsea as they have been the biggest spenders, signing 10 new players for a combined value of around $398 million. I’m not sure why their new manager Enzo Maresca insists on having six keepers at once but they may need another changing room to fit all their players in. I feel sorry for their kit man who has the mammoth task of preparing all 43 players’ gear.

Chelsea also managed to extend Cole Palmer's contract by two years to 2033. The 22-year-old scored 22 goals in the Premier League last season and is an exciting young talent.

The UEFA Euros took over the off-season period which prevented clubs from contacting players and many transfer discussions had to be put on hold until after the competition ended. That means we may see some late movers.

There’s still time for big signings to come in, as agents and clubs scramble to get last minute deals over the line, but time is running out as the transfer window closes on August 30.

What’s been the biggest storyline leading into the kickoff of the new season?

How many new managers can the Premier League introduce in one season - I can’t keep up. A quarter of the league’s managers will be in charge of an English top-flight game for the first time this weekend.

Liverpool, Chelsea, Ipswich, Southampton and Brighton are all headed by managers without previous Premier League experience so it will be intriguing to see how they adapt their play to the Premier League.

Aren’t there a raft of charges against Manchester City and Chelsea when it comes to financial fair play. What’s going on there?

Manchester City’s alleged 115 financial fair play breaches have been a contentious talking point over the last few months, but nothing seems to be happening. The charges are in relation to City failing to provide accurate financial information while also failing to cooperate with investigations from the Premier League. Chelsea are also in hot water when it comes to FFP regulations.

A final verdict is reported to take place by the end of this season but it seems like things are moving very slowly. Will they get points taken off them? It’s possible, and at this stage it feels like it could be the only thing stopping Man City from winning the league. Watch this space.

OK, it’s time to get down from your position on the fence. Who do you have in the top three, and also the bottom three?

Top three:

No surprises, they've dominated the Premier League for the past four seasons and deservedly so.

I think they will still stay towards the top of the table and have the best shot at the title out of the rest of the teams. Have made some good signings and play a nice style of football.

I'm picking Arne Slot's first season in charge to be successful, despite making no signings to date.

Relegation:

Unfortunately, Ed Sheeran’s beloved Ipswich Town are likely to go straight back down, but I think they will be a lot of people’s second team as they head into the season as major underdogs.

Sheeran, a lifelong Ipswich fan has bought a minority stake in the club, while also being the team's front of shirt sponsor.

They beat Leeds 1-0 in the promotion play-off final but don't look strong enough to stay up.

Kiwi striker Chris Wood's side just survived relegation last season finishing 17th. The club appear to have bought too many players and seem to struggle to find cohesion and consistency.