Sunday is coming, and the 2021-22 Premier League season is coming with it. As the champions prepare to start the defense of their crown, they will be very keen to get off on the good foot at the start. There are some early obstacles in their path, however.
Pep Guardiola led Manchester City to a third Premier League trophy in four seasons in 2020-21, and he did it in run-away fashion. The Noisy Neighbors finished 12 points clear of archrivals Manchester United at the top of the table. MCFC again look to be the class of the EPL, but it my not be quite the procession as last season turned into. A few the top challengers will be looking to get the better of Pep’s lads early on.
Season Preview – A Look At Manchester City’s Title Rivals – Leicester City https://t.co/5FHirkPi2M
— Bitter and Blue (@BitterandBlue1) August 12, 2021
Tottenham Hotspur (still home to Harry Kane at the time of this writing), defending FA Cup Champions and newly minted Community Shield winners Leicester City, and the reigning Kings of Europe, Chelsea, will all host the Cityzens within the first six weeks of the season. Not only will City be visitors, but they will also be playing with several players still knocking the rust off from their vacations following national team duty.
Season Preview – A Look At Manchester City’s Title Rivals - Chelsea https://t.co/KXMpvHnKwF
— Bitter and Blue (@BitterandBlue1) August 12, 2021
A side effect of having one of the top clubs in the world is having players who also play a prominent role at the international level. Several of the Club’s top performers featured heavily in their national teams this summer. In all, 19 players on the current roster played significant roles with their country as the competed in the various federation tournaments. Most of those players have also taken post-tournament vacations to recuperate.
The England and Brazil players just returned to training over the weekend after each lost in their respective cup final. Absent, of course, was Phil Foden, who suffered an injury in training with England and will reportedly miss the first few months of the campaign. His return will be eagerly awaited, but freshly minted City man Jack Grealish should help to ease that blow.
Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Man City will begin their chase for another league title under Pep Guardiola. This Premier League race is likely to be a tighter affair than last. If City can out of the gate strong, they will be tough to stay with. But they may need to piece it together at the start.