Premier League preview: Liverpool is flawless and compete for the championship in the quarterfinals of the new season

Xinhua News Agency reporter Ma Bangjie

As always, Premier League clubs spend a lot of money to recruit soldiers before the start of the new season. Only Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea have sold nearly 900 million pounds (1 pound is about 9.7 yuan) in the transfer market. If nothing unexpected happens, the Premier League champions in the new season will also be produced among these four teams that ranked high last season.

The transfer operation of defending champion Liverpool is the most eye-catching. They made a fortune and have spent nearly 300 million pounds to buy strong players such as Wilz, Ekitic, Kelkz, Flynnop, and sent Arnold, Diaz and Nunes away. They are also seeking to buy Newcastle United forward Isaac and Crystal Palace defender Gee. If these two deals can be reached, they will also cost hundreds of millions of pounds.

Liverpool is particularly anxious about Guy's purchase. In three preseason games, Liverpool missed seven times. On the 10th, Liverpool's gate was broken twice. Head coach Slott admitted that Liverpool currently has the problem of strong offense and weak defense, and the defense line needs to be strengthened. 34-year-old Van Dijk is already looking old, and Liverpool's two goals conceded in the Community Shield game were related to his poor defense. Van Dyke's partner Connate has hidden worries about his injuries. Liverpool urgently needs strong aid like Guy. Gee's contract with Crystal Palace Club expires next year, and Crystal Palace also hopes to sell him now. The question is whether Guy himself is willing to go to Liverpool. If he goes, he may have to be a substitute for Van Dyke and cannot ensure his position as the main player.

Last season, Liverpool team's main players were almost familiar with their faces and worked well with each other. They achieved 11 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in the first 13 Premier League games, laying the foundation for the final early victory. In the new season, new players need to integrate into the team. The more new players there are, the longer the team will need to run-in. Wirtz and Ekitic, two attackers who have transferred from the Bundesliga, need to adapt to the pace of the Premier League. This may give Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea three competitors a chance to take advantage of.

Arsenal has ranked second in three consecutive seasons. Before the start of the new season, they had already spent 200 million pounds to buy players in the transfer market, aiming to win the championship. Last season, no Arsenal player scored more than 10 goals in the Premier League. Dzekelish, who joined from Portugal Sports, will be highly expected to solve the problem of Arsenal's weak forward. The 27-year-old scored 97 goals in 102 games for Portugal Sports. In the new season, the tactical design of the North London "Arsenal" will be implemented around him. Arsenal, with strong troops, always makes people feel that they are short of breath at critical moments. Whether they can make a breakthrough this season and finally reach the top depends on whether Zhekelais can make up for them.

Even though there was no success last season, Guardiola's Manchester City is still a force that cannot be ignored. In the past eight months, they have spent nearly £300 million to revamp the team. De Bruyne and other veterans left, Marmush and other new players arrived, and the meritorious midfielder Rodri came back from injury. In addition, former Liverpool coach Klopp's former right-hand assistant Linders also recently joined Guardiola's coaching team. This is an important signal for the Spaniards to carry out tactical transformation. He is working on creating the "2.0 version of Manchester City". Once the tactics are successfully upgraded, Manchester City also has a chance to win the championship.

Chelsea were not favored by the outside world, but their performance in defeating Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the Club World Cup final was eye-catching. According to Chelsea Club statistics, head coach Maresca's total value is as high as £1.4 billion. They have two quality players in almost every position and the lineup is quite thick. Although they have the ability to compete for the Premier League championship this season, their probability of winning is not as good as Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City.

In recent years, the competition for Premier League championships has basically been between Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal; in comparison, relegation teams are basically fixed. Burnley Club is the representative of it. Over the past four seasons, they have been repeatedly "jumping down": relegation, upgrade, relegation, upgrade. According to this trend, if nothing unexpected happens, what awaits them at the end of this season may be a "relegation".

The reason for this phenomenon is the Premier League’s “parachute payment” rule. According to this rule, the Premier League will give all relegated teams a large amount of funds, that is, "parachute payment", to ensure that they can land safely in the next division of the English Championship. These teams already have the Premier League foundation, and with this funding, they often lead other opponents in the Champions League and finally get the chance to return to the Premier League. But after returning to the Premier League, they seem to be inadequate and will be relegated again. These clubs "jump down and jump up" and look like trampolines, so some British media called "parachute payment" "trampoline payment".

This season, the three "upgraded teams" of Burnley, Leeds United and Sunderland will fight for relegation. Brentford will also face huge pressure to relegate. Thomas Frank, who led them to achieve success, has gone to Tottenham Hotspur for a high score. He has always been the backbone of Brentford. Without him, this small London club has little hope for a Premier League trip this season.