English Premier League Preview: 20 Players Who Must Step Up in 2012-13

The new English Premier League season in only a few days away and will kick off on Saturday, August 18 much to the joy of millions of fans around the world.

Not unlike seasons past, the 20 clubs that are set to begin their 38-match march to the end of the campaign all have at least one player who needs to step out of the shadows and back into the spotlight.

Some are obvious and others perhaps not, but as we gear up for another year of drama, delight and heartbreak, here are 20 players who need to step up for their club this season.

Arsenal: Jack Wilshere

Several months on from the 2011-12 campaign that was wrought with injuries and frustration, Arsenal's young aspiring leader Jack Wilshere needs to find his place in the new-look Gunners side.

A host of new signings between Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla all will have sway over the place of Wilshere in the long run. So, too, will the likes of his fellow youngsters Aaron Ramsey, Emmanuel Frimpong and even Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Wilshere still is a bright talent, but his nearly year-long injury layoff has seen questions arise as to whether he is still the highly rated youth talent that he was thought to be.

This year he needs to put on his boots and go to work, proving to everyone and his manager that he still has what it takes.

Aston Villa: Darren Bent

Darren Bents' goal haul of 19 in 41 games at Aston Villa can be drastically misleading, as last season saw him struggle to be the dominant forward he was from 2008-11 between his time at Tottenham, Sunderland and Villa.

The Birmingham club have made some major changes this summer, including their replacement of Alex McLeash with former Norwich City manager Paul Lambert.

Bent will have to work hard to be the "Grant Holt" type of dynamic forward that Lambert will want to see leading his attack. With the support of Gabriel Agbonlahor, it will see Bent much more likely to fulfill the desires of Lambert.

However, if Bent fails to meet expectations, there could be a swift exit in the coming winter holidays with the new manager keen to make an impact fast and avoid the fate of McLeash. Lambert will be hoping to restore the club to a level of play at least on par with that of former Villa manager and current Sunderland leader, Martin O'Neal.

Goals from the front courtesy of Bent will be the first key ingredient in the new manager making the side push back into the upper crust of the league and hoping to find a way to challenge for an outside UEFA Europa League place in the next few years.

Chelsea: Fernando Torres

Will the real Fernando Torres please stand up? It is no secret that this is the season that will make or break El Nino like none other in his career.

So far since joining Chelsea, the Spaniard has scored 13 goals in 68 matches. In just over double that amount of appearances during his time at Liverpool, Torres scored 81 goals. You don't have to do the math to see that things aren't adding up to the £50 million that was spent on him in January of 2011.

With Didier Drogba out of the picture and Roberto Di Matteo looking to prefer Torres over young Daniel Sturridge, unlike former manager Andre Villas-Boas it is high time that the former Liverpool hitman rise from the ashes of a floundering career.

A goal struck like his old self in the FA Community Shield match to give Chelsea the opening goal certainly will have the people talking that maybe, just maybe, the fearsome forward is back.

Everton: Leon Osman

Many may think that the player most needed to step up at Everton is Marouane Fellaini, but that is not my belief.

In the absence of a departed Tim Cahill and also Jack Rodwell, the one midfield attacker that has to show up this season is Leon Osman.

The 31-year-old has been a solid performer for the side over his career, but the departure of Cahill could thrust Osman into the spotlight, as he will be holding down the midfield attack in support of Nikica Jelavic.

Fulham: Bryan Ruiz

Bryan Ruiz joined Fulham last season from FC Twente and was expected to be a resounding success. However, the Costa Rican forward only made 17 starts for the club and 27 total appearances for the London club with two goals and three assists to his name.

With Clint Dempsey believed set to make a move before the end of the transfer window, Ruiz is expected to take a more prominent role in the club's first team.

His electrifying form from two seasons ago that saw him score 24 goals in the Dutch Eredivisie for Twente during the 2009-10 campaign, is something that Fulham drastically need for him to find this year.

Liverpool: Luis Suarez

Liverpool has gone through a host of changes across all levels of personnel from on the pitch to the front office in the last almost two years since the Fenway Sports Group takeover.

Luckily for them, their prized signing of their reign so far in the form of Luis Suarez has not taken any opportunities to leave Merseyside and just recently recommitted to the club by signing a new four-year deal, according to ESPN.

After a season full of controversy, it is time for Suarez to get back to business. The bookends of his 2011-12 campaign were great, but the major chunk in the middle was mired by controversy, suspensions and a glaring lack of consistency.

The new 4-3-3 formation of Brendan Rodgers should see the Uruguayan truly come out of his shell, as it is similar to the way he played at Ajax. If he can produce half of the performances of those days at Liverpool, he could finally become the difference-maker he was brought into the club to be.

Manchester City: Carlos Tevez

Carlos Tevez was without a doubt sensational in the last months of Manchester City's title race. However, what he was not was a team player for the entire season. If there is one player who needs to step up and be an example to the club on the pitch and off of it, that man is Tevez.

The Argentine spent the better half of the 2011-12 campaign on a self-imposed holiday, while he sulked and contemplated his future before deciding that it was about time to stop his whining and get back to playing football.

The combination play this season between Tevez and Sergio Aguero already looks set to be deadly. It will take all of Tevez's efforts to prove he is back for good after his antics last season saw him lose some of his clout with the fans that once loved him for turning his back to Manchester United and moving across town.

Manchester United: Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney

Manchester United had a frustrating summer in the transfer market, despite having signed Borussia Dortmund's Shinji Kagawa. However, the ESPN announcement of the Red Devils having signed Robin van Persie from Arsenal means there is more than one player who will have to step up to perform.

The first being returning captain Nemanja Vidic after a season full of injuries. Vidic returns to a defense that lacked consistency at center-back last season and are in dire need of his quality.

Wayne Rooney looks to be a major player who will have to now step up this season because of the addition of Van Persie. It is likely that RVP will be the preferred choice as the club's primary striker.

However, Rooney could be moved to an attacking midfield role that rotates up and back with Van Persie, who likes to drop into the hole between the midfield and attack just as Rooney himself prefers at times.

Newcastle United: Steven Taylor

Newcastle Untied will be beyond ecstatic to get team captain and defensive stalwart Steven Taylor back on the pitch this season.

After a season-ending injury last term, he was greatly missed—but the play from James Perch helped to save the club in the absence of their primary choice.

This year Taylor will have to prove he can stay fit and healthy, as both himself and the club will be dependent on his form at the back.

Norwich City: Anthony Pilkington

Anthony Pilkington made a transition to remember, having left League One side Huddersfield town for Norwich City and the English Premier League.

In his first top-flight season, he scored eight goals and provided one assist while helping his club to a solid first season back in the EPL.

Moving forward, the real pressure will now be whether or not the player can repeat his performance, or if his strong 2011-12 season was a fluke.           

Queens Park Rangers: Adel Taarabt

Neil Warnock appeared to have it in for Moroccan playmaker Adel Taarabt last season, as the player hardly saw the pitch under the club's former manager.

With Mark Hughes at the helm, Taarabt got back to form in the final months of the campaign, but it was not enough to help them see off the eventual EPL champions on the last day of the season.

Reading: Pavel Pogrebnyak

Pavel Pogrebnyak was a great pick-up for Fulham on loan last season, as the Russian was preparing to make a run at the UEFA European Championship with Russia.

However, neither worked out for the player, but a transfer back to the English game did when he signed with Reading.

Pogrebnyak will try to be the primary goal scorer for the club rather than one of the collection of players hoping of getting a decent contributory amount.

If he can carry most of the goal load this season, then the chances of the Royals staying up will receive a great boost.

Southampton: Adam Lallana

Adam Lallana is one of the bright young Southampton talents that Southampton has so far been able to keep at St. Mary's stadium.

However, he will have to pull his talent out of this boots this year to make sure his contributions and importance are taken as such.                                        

Stoke City: Wilson Palacios

Stoke City midfielder Wilson Palacios has hardly made a solid impression on the Potters faithful so far.

This season he needs to step up and make the defensive midfield spot his own and develop his relationships with fellow players much more.

Palacios still has the player he was at Wigan Athletic inside of him somewhere, and that could be all the difference he needs to step up and perform

Sunderland: Fraizer Campbell

Sunderland have put all their chips in one basket, as manager Martin O'Neal is banking on youngster Frazier Campbell to be the main goal threat of the campaign.

With Nicklas Bendtner no longer on loan at the club, it appears that O'Neal is ready to put his faith in young players to keep the club in the top portion of the middle of the table this coming season.

Swansea City: Leon Britton

With Liverpool having signed star midfielder Joe Allen this past week, according to The Guardian, Swansea will have to look elsewhere for inspiration this year.

Enter the time for Leon Britton to rise out of the midfield as the new leader. Going forward, Britton does not have the same level of skills as now-Tottenham midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, nor those of Joe Allen, but the possession game he can play will be critical this year at Swansea.                                                            

Tottenham Hotspur: Gylfi Sigurdsson

Gylfi Sigurdsson has come full circle back to the English Premier League on a permanent basis. Having been in the English leagues with Reading before moving to Germany and TSG Hoffenheim, the Icelandic international will hope to fill the boots of Tottenham's departing Luka Modric.

It will be a tough job to live up to in terms of taking over for Modric, as the Croatian is one of the best in the world. But at the age of only 22, Sigurdsson has the time to develop into an even more promising young talent in the league.

West Bromwich Albion: Markus Rosenberg

West Bromwich took a risk bringing in former Werder Bremen striker Markus Rosenberg. The Swedish international has been heading downhill the last few seasons, as his goal-scoring totals continue to dwindle.

However, if the Baggies are to make a significant challenge for the top half, Rosenberg has to find his boots to assist in the goal-scoring total for the year alongside Peter Odemwingie.

West Ham United: Carlton Cole

In many ways, Carlton Cole is West Ham United's version of Arsenal's Nicklas Bendtner. The players have a lot of talent, but they just don't seem to know how to permanently hold onto their talent from match to match.

During his West Ham career, Cole has only produced 56 goals from 206 appearances for the club, which is not a ratio that will be hugely anticipated to see more of this summer.

Cole needs to find his scoring boots and fast, just like he did in the championship last season when he scored his most goals in a campaign yet with 15.

Wigan Athletic: Shaun Maloney

Victor Moses looks set to leave Wigan in the coming weeks. After having also lost Mohamed Diame and Hugo Rodallega, the club will be looking to new faces to step up as the leaders of the side.

Attacking midfielder Shaun Maloney has the talent and experience to see himself rise to the occasion and become a new force to be reckoned with from Wigan.

However, the truth remains that he has yet to prove that he is going to do what everyone knows it is time for him to do and step up for the club.