With Chelsea fans struggling to recognise the club as being anything close to that which won Premier League and Champions League trophies under previous owner Roman Abramovich, Maresca has already alienated some of the fanbase by backing the club decision to offload Conor Gallagher and force Trevoh Chalobah — two home-grown players with deep roots and long histories in Blue — to train away from the first-team.

With just one win in seven preseason games, fans upset with the owners and treatment of Gallagher and Chalobah and many unconvinced by Maresca’s credentials, he is already battling against the tide before the season’s even started. — Mark Ogden

This will be Pep Guardiola’s last season at Man City

Guardiola is entering the final year of his current contract at Etihad Stadium, but did make some positive noises over potentially extending during City’s preseason tour to the United States. That obviously remains a possibility after such a sustained period of success — featuring six Premier League titles (including the past four), City’s first Champions League triumph and two FA Cups — but there are circumstances on the horizon which make it more likely than ever before that the 53-year-old could call time on his stay in Manchester.

Most obviously, City’s trial over 115 alleged breaches of Premier League rules begins in September. As ESPN reported earlier this week, the aim is for a final verdict — including any appeal — to be delivered by the end of the 2024-25 season. It is a complicated case in which City strongly refute all charges, and so any outcome is possible.

Victory would feel like vindication and validation all rolled into one. A damning verdict, however, could see City hit with a points deduction, or even demotion from the league. A transfer ban and a huge fine are other possibilities; some are even calling for City to be stripped of their recent honours if the evidence against them is overwhelming.

The environment in which Guardiola would have to continue as City boss may be particularly uninviting. Combine that with the rumours that there are members of Guardiola’s backroom staff who, while not desperate to leave, are keen on a return to Spain, and the emergence of Arsenal as their toughest competitors since peak-Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, and Guardiola may decide that reaching a decade of service at City next summer could be the perfect time to quit. It would also give him a year to prepare for managing at the 2026 World Cup if he chose to move into international football, something he has talked about doing (although at his age there is still plenty of time for that).

City’s dominance has raised difficult questions for the Premier League, but it will be a sad day whenever a visionary manager like Guardiola does depart. — James Olley

Lamine Yamal to keep Barça in unexpected title race

Barcelona are in dreadful shape. As has been the story of the past three summers, financial problems are once again delaying player registrations while the club also deals with injuries to key players before the season begins. They have a tough start in LaLiga, away at Valencia and at home to Athletic Club. New coach Hansi Flick is still getting familiar with new players, a new league and a new language. And, to top things off, Real Madrid have added Kylian Mbappé to a star-studded squad.

The easy prediction would be to say Barça will be miles behind their Clásico rivals — or even drop further down the table.

The good news is they only have to play Madrid twice, though, and they have enough quality to beat everyone else in LaLiga. They may drop points early on, but as Pedri, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araújo return from injuries, they will improve. New signing Dani Olmo will also help in an attack led by Yamal, who will continue his incredible rise.

Yes, here we go again: Barça are perhaps relying on a 17-year-old to win them matches. But as he showed with Spain at the European Championship, the pressure does not get to him. He is already the headline act at Barça — Yamal shirts were everywhere at Monday’s Joan Gamper Trophy — and you can feel the excitement in the stadium every time he is on the ball.

Barça may be in disarray off the pitch, but Yamal’s impact will help them keep pace with Madrid, even if they ultimately come up short. — Sam Marsden

Liverpool will do better with Slot than last season under Klopp

Replacing Klopp after nine successful years at Liverpool would not be easy for any manager in the world, not even Guardiola or Ancelotti. The German managed 491 games in all competitions for the Reds with a 62% win percentage (305 wins, only 86 losses and 100 draws). He won pretty much everything at least once, and his teams produced some of the best football English football has ever seen. So good luck to Arne Slot: he will need it, and a lot of it.

However, after almost a decade of the same voice (albeit a great one) in charge at Anfield, Klopp’s departure gave the club an opportunity to bring in a new personality, with new ideas and a different style, which is arguably what a tired squad needed. Slot has brought it all. The preseason was great in terms of results and performances — with big wins over Arsenal, Man United and Sevilla — despite some players coming back late from their holidays after the Euros and Copa America. The Dutch manager has been a breath of fresh air so far.

Last season, Liverpool finished with 82 points, winning 24 of their 38 Premier League games with 10 draws and four defeats. They were almost perfect at Anfield with just one loss (against Crystal Palace) and three draws in their 19 matches and a +32 goal difference. Away was more difficult: nine victories, seven times sharing the points and three times on the losing side (at Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton). — Julien Laurens

Bayern won’t win the Bundesliga. Neither will Bayer Leverkusen

The sportsbooks tell a pretty clear tale about what is supposed to happen in the Bundesliga this season. Bayern Munich, whose 11-year title streak ended thanks in part to an all-time Bayer Leverkusen run, is a runaway title favorite. Leverkusen, the champ, is a clear No. 2.

Of course, this makes sense. Bayern’s roster is far more valuable than anyone else’s in Germany, and it only became more valuable with the addition of winger Michael Olise, midfielder João Palhinha and center-back Hiroki Ito this summer. Oh, and last season, they easily produced the best overall xG differential despite finishing third, which suggests poor fortune played a role in the end of their title streak. Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, has basically kept the band together — manager Xabi Alonso, string-puller Florian Wirtz and everyone else — while adding Aleix García, one of LaLiga’s best midfielders in 2023-24.

Bayern’s Bundesliga dominance has slowly waned for a while, however, and they just hired a young manager (Vincent Kompany) who might require a bit of a growth period. As for Leverkusen, they played in 26 one-goal matches last year in all competitions and managed to lose zero of them; that’s not going to happen again. This means the door could be open for another challenger, and two names quickly spring to mind.

Borussia Dortmund reached the Champions League final last season and have managed to freshen up their squad with both veterans (forward Serhou Guirassy, defender Waldemar Anton, midfielder Pascal Gross) and intriguing youngsters (forward Maximilian Beier, fullback Yan Couto). And after losing a trio of young stars last season and struggling with inconsistency early on, RB Leipzig was possibly the second-best team in the league from March onward; they’ve enjoyed far more continuity this offseason, and with Xavi Simons, Loïs Openda, Benjamin Sesko, new addition Antonio Nusa and others, they have the brightest set of young attackers in the league.

There’s a chance that Bayern reestablishes order in Germany this year, but there’s also a chance we get a legitimate four-team race, one that either BVB or, especially, RBL could win. — Bill Connelly

It will end badly for Antonio Conte at Napoli

To paraphrase Casablanca: “Maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but soon and for the rest of his life.” Well, sort of.

Look, in terms of being an instant impact/change-of-culture/on-pitch tactical guru, Conte is top three or four in the world. He excelled straight away at Siena, Juventus, Chelsea, Inter and Spurs. However, after the initial boost, things tend to sour pretty quickly when he’s around. The adrenaline of his two-a-day practices wears off and you’re left with sulky Conte, moaning about how much work still needs to be done and how the club isn’t matching his ambition, which usually means they haven’t acquired (or retained) enough stars for his liking.

Fair or not, Conte has developed a reputation as a short-term manager (he has lasted more than two years just once in his career) who prefers established veterans to developing youngsters. We’ve already seen it at Napoli, with the signing of Leo Spinazzola and the obsessive pursuit of Romelu Lukaku, which will likely end up driving out Victor Osimhen — Napoli’s best player — for much less than he would otherwise command. You also wonder whether the highly regimented Conte is the best steward for Napoli’s other star, the hugely gifted (but somewhat anarchic) Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Most of all, you wonder how it’s going to work with the club president, the ebullient Aurelio De Laurentiis, who went through four different coaches last season. De Laurentiis is used to being the Alpha male and is unlikely to take it well when Conte lapses into his sulk-and-whine routine and points out the flaws in his squad.

Conte at his best is not just an adrenaline high, he’s a consummate winner. The problem: like that shot of adrenaline, it tends not to last long. — Gab Marcotti

West Ham to challenge for the top four

West Ham will look at what Aston Villa achieved last season and think, “Why not us?” If Villa can finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League, it means any club with the right ambition and the right manager can do the same, and West Ham will believe they’ve got both.

It’s been a positive summer at the London Stadium, with players like Jean-Clair Todibo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Niclas Füllkrug arriving. Add those names to a squad that already includes Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and James Ward-Prowse, and West Ham look like a team very much capable of upsetting the big six — just as Villa did.

For all the money they’ve spent this season, the most impressive new signing is the manager, Julen Lopetegui. David Moyes did a great job — for which he’s perhaps still underappreciated — but Lopetegui is the perfect candidate to take West Ham to the next level. He led Sevilla into the Champions League and won the Europa League in 2020. At Wolves, he took over a team that had won just one of their previous 15 Premier League matches and ended up finishing 13th in the table.

West Ham have shown the ambition Lopetegui craved at Molineux, and he has a chance to cash in this season by getting into the top four. — Rob Dawson

Julián Álvarez to inherit Griezmann’s crown

Julián Álvarez will arrive in Madrid this summer to show the world (and Manchester City) that he has more football in his boots than anyone else. At City he played second fiddle to Haaland, but wanted more. The opportunity Atlético Madrid have given him is perfect for his growth; under Diego Simeone, Álvarez should be able to flex his best.

Atleti are in a transition of their own and will likely change the scheme to work around La Araña and Antoine Griezmann. I think the France international is facing his last year at Atleti and Álvarez is very much part of the future. Expect Griezmann to set the tone. — Rodrigo Faez

Tottenham will win a trophy

The curse of all curses has revealed itself. Yes, I have gone ahead and said it. I have uttered “Candyman” three times in front of a mirror and will now face the consequences.

“Spurs will win a trophy.”

Laugh all you want. Ridicule this sentiment with pomposity, but I don’t care.

Part of my reasoning is due to Ange Postecoglou. It’s clear that last season was a learning curve for the Greek-born Australian manager, as the demands of his system were too much for Tottenham’s squad, especially in the later stages of the campaign.

Spurs were the worst team in the league when it came to allowing goals after an individual error. They were also high on the list in conceding penalties as well as having a terrible record for expected goals conceded (64.6), per opta. But I think that all of these issues, which are self-inflicting, are also rectifiable and the Europa League (or domestic cup competitions) is a good place to show this improvement. What’s more, Europe will provide a platform to enhance the performance levels of their newer/younger members of the squad early in the campaign. The development of 18-year-olds Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, for example, will be important. (The latter, by the way, is very promising.)

Harry Kane‘s ghost is also not as prevalent as it was in 2023-24, which was Spurs’ first season without their greatest striker. Dominic Solanke, who won my vote as 2023-24’s Most Improved Player last campaign, is clearly not Kane, but he is a great addition to a squad that needs more goals from other players. He will help Tottenham be more clinical.

Defensively and in the midfield, I back them to be smarter too. They have the squad to win something. I understand that the general consensus is that adding midweek matches will hurt Tottenham but I think if balanced correctly, it can actually help them and as said in this bold prediction, it might even push them to win silverware for the first time since 2008.

Come on, Spurs. Don’t make me eat my words.

Candyman … where are you? — Luis Miguel Echegaray