5 things to look out for in the Premier League’s Opening Weekend

Darwin Nunez joined Liverpool from Benfica this summer for a base fee of £64 million, subject to up to £20 million in add-ons, and could make his Premier League debut for The Reds in their game against Fulham.

In the 2021/22 season Nunez, while playing for Benfica, scored 26 goals in 28 games, making him the overall top scorer in the Primeira Liga in only his second season with the club. Along with this the Uruguayan registered four assists in the Primeira Liga.

Nunez is a player to watch this season, with a goal every 76 minutes in Portugal, an average of 1.18 goals per game and a 38% goal conversion rate. The Uruguayan also had an impressive 2021/22 Champions League before being knocked out by new club. Nunez scored six times in his ten appearances, including two against Liverpool.

A goal against Manchester City in Liverpool’s 3 - 1 in the Community Shield win showed that Nunez could be a big deal in the Premier League, leading to a lot of excitement for his potential debut this weekend.

Erik ten Hag left Ajax at the end of the 2021/22 season to join Manchester United, who had sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during the season and had decided against keeping Ralf Rangnick after the end of the season.

Manchester United have had a major squad shake-up this summer, with big names like Paul Pogba leaving Old Trafford and Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at the club hanging in the balance.

However, they have also brought in their fair share of talent. Christian Eriksen joined United after just a season back in the Premier League with Brentford, Tyrel Malacia of Feyenoord and centre-back Lisandro Martinez from Ajax - for a fee of £46 million.

This combination of a new manager, new players and potential big absences makes United’s clash with Brighton one to watch this weekend.

The Todd Boehly era is well underway at Stamford Bridge, with Chelsea announcing the signings of Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Carney Chukwuemeka.

However, Chelsea’s preseason has been hit or miss so far. Most recently Chelsea have completed two wins over Italian side Udinese, the first one being a 3 - 1 win in front of a crowd with Sterling scoring his first goal for the club, and a 2 - 0 win behind closed doors.

Before this, though, they faced Charlotte FC and Arsenal while on tour in America, losing both times, on penalties to the MLS team and in an unwanted 4 - 0 thrashing to their London rivals.

Chelsea’s first game is against Everton at Goodison Park, where Thomas Tuchel’s men could get the Todd Boehly era off to a bang, as Everton, despite adding to the squad this summer, finished the season weakly, barely avoiding relegation. However, this could be a good test of where Chelsea are in their “rebuild”, and definitely something to watch.

Pep Guardiola added Norwegian forward Erling Haaland to his Manchester City roster this summer, with City looking to win a third title in a row.

Haaland has had a more than impressive career in both Austria and Germany with Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund. The 22-year-old has scored 17 goals in 16 appearances for Salzburg and 62 goals in 67 appearances for Dortmund, his statistics backing up his £51 million price tag.

The Norwegian will be an interesting figure in Guardiola’s set-up, which has played without a traditional striker for over a season. Despite missing a great chance in the Community Shield clash with Liverpool, Haaland’s Premier League debut will be something to keep a close eye on.

Nottingham Forest finally finished their 23-year exodus from the top flight of English football with their Play-off Final win over Huddersfield Town.

Their first game back in the Premier League comes Saturday against a seemingly resurgent Newcastle team with a lot of new signings. This fixture is also a historic one, being played 112 times, with the last coming back in 2018 in the League Cup, with Newcastle having a much better record with 51 wins in comparison to Forest’s 34.

Nottingham Forest played extremely attacking football during the 2021/22 season, scoring 73 goals, which equates to 1.59 average goals per game, with top scorer Brennan Johnson finding the back of the net 16 times.

The Reds’ defensive performances were even more impressive, only conceding 40 goals, keeping 17 clean sheets and only conceding an average of 0.87 goals per 90 minutes.

After an impressive Championship season, this game will be one to watch to see just how well this could adapt to the Premier League.