One of the great things about football is that it always has the potential to throw up surprises.
Some fans will have been left underwhelmed by the tame end to the last campaign, but there are plenty of big stories and sub-plots to keep an eye out for as 2015/16 gets under way…
1. Will big-spending Liverpool make up for the loss of Sterling?
While his goal and assist tallies weren’t the highest last season, Raheem Sterling remained one of a handful of players at Liverpool with undeniable star quality.
But with the England winger moving on – and Steven Gerrard trading Merseyside for Hollywood – Brendan Rodgers faces a real test of his ability, even with top talents like Roberto Firmino on board.
New signings Christian Benteke and James Milner have the Premier League experience that some of last year’s new recruits lacked, but the sheer turnover of players at Anfield could mean it takes a while for everything to kick into gear.
2. Will Louis van Gaal fall out with every Man United player?
The Manchester United manager demands the highest standards – and isn’t afraid to make enemies in pursuit of success.
Van Gaal has already alienated Victor Valdes and forced Rafael and Robin van Persie to find pastures new, so there are no question marks surrounding his capacity for controversy.
We’re all waiting for his next trick. Perhaps he’ll mock Wayne Rooney’s hair transplant, or bring up the time David De Gea got caught stealing a donut. Nothing’s beyond the Dutchman.
3. Can Man City finally become the sum of their parts?
For a club that has been able to cherry-pick some of the world’s best players over the past few years, City remain surprisingly reliant on one man.
While Sergio Aguero is arguably the best player in the Premier League, City have no justification for struggling so much without the Argentine. Even their league title in 2014 was almost by default.
With Sterling hitting the ground running and Wilfried Bony getting more used to his new team-mates, this season could be the one where the entire squad comes together to demonstrate an Aguero-less team is still one to be feared.
4. Can Southampton keep things going with European distractions?
Many football fans – us included – have been quick to write off the Saints in recent season – be it due to the loss of director of football Nicola Cortese, the sacking of Nigel Adkins, or the exodus of players and manager in the summer of 2014.
Each time they have come back stronger, so there’s no reason to think the extra strain of Europa League football will hinder them too much.
That said, some of Southampton’s top performers saw their form drop off in the second half of last season, and a strong start this time around may be dependent on Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic rediscovering the form of 12 months ago.
5. Are any of the promoted teams good enough to stay up?
Each of the three new arrivals has a question mark over their head for a variety of reasons.
Norwich have many of the same personnel who went down two years ago, Bournemouth are completely inexperienced at this level, and Watford are liable to change their manager several times before September.
There’s a case for each of the three having enough to keep their head above water – but it could be a long season for the top-flight new boys.
6. What’s happened to Claudio Ranieri over the past decade?
When Claudio Ranieri parted ways with Chelsea back in 2004, a few fans of other clubs thought he had been hard done by.
While that may have been the case, the Italian has struggled since, failing to stay in the same job for more than two seasons and winning just one trophy (the French second tier, with Monaco) in the last 10 years.
He was a surprise appointment at Leicester, having masterminded a dreadful run as Greece boss, and another failure could leave the 63-year-old struggling to find work in an elite league ever again.
7. Is Arsenal’s Premier League drought set to end?
There’s plenty of positivity around the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal finally have an experienced goalkeeper, Mesut Özil’s back to full fitness, and Arsene Wenger has finally won a match against Jose Mourinho.
What’s more, Martin Keown, member of the 1998, 2002 and 2004 title-winning squads, has seen a belief around this year’s crop that they can end their long title drought.
On the other hand, the Gunners have only made one signing and it looks like they might start another season with Olivier Giroud as their senior striker. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
8. Is Tim Sherwood any good at spending money?
Tim Sherwood has certainly divided opinion in his spells with Tottenham and Aston Villa, but it’s important to remember that he was working with other people’s squads on both occasions.
Now that he’s had a chance to strut his stuff in the transfer market, he’s promptly signed three windows’ worth of players in one summer.
Will his policy of Manchester City rejects and three different guys called Jordan pay dividends? Only time will tell.
9. Can Steve McClaren redeem himself?
The Newcastle manager’s career has had more ups and downs than most, but one gets the sense that if he doesn’t impress this season, the jig could be up.
His efforts at Middlesbrough were undone by his failings with England, his fast start with Derby was undone by a finish so slow it was basically a crawl, and his success in Holland was undone by Jozy Altidore’s ability to do the same thing.
Perhaps the North East air will bring the best out of the Yorkshireman, or perhaps we’ll find him sat shrugging his shoulders as the Toon Army enter another relegation battle.
10. Will Diego Costa’s body give out?
Last season it seemed as though there were question marks over Diego Costa’s fitness practically every weekend.
He stayed fit long enough to fire Chelsea to the title with time to spare, but the second half of the season was more injury-hit than the first, and he’s already been forced to miss the Community Shield defeat.
With back-up options Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao hardly the most inspiring, Chelsea could be in trouble if the Spain international is faced with a stop-start season.
11. Was Harry Kane a one-season wonder?
If we had a penny for every time we were told not to overvalue Harry Kane last season, we’d have enough money to afford his vastly inflated fantasy league price tag.
The Spurs and England striker enjoyed a breakout campaign, showing genuine class against a range of opponents, and all signs point to him being able to prove it was no fluke.
But then again we said the same about Michu, so what do we know?
