Premier League Week 1 Predictions: Opening EPL Picks, Fixtures and Key Players
As the transfer window hurtles towards its natural conclusion, big-time football returns to our screens, as the Premier League kicks off Saturday.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur start the season off with a bang in Saturday's first match, and it's arguably the most anticipated fixture of the opening weekend.
Spurs have held off suitors to retain the services of Harry Kane, as the Mirror's Adrian Kajumba reported, with United said to be keen to acquire the England international for £40 million.
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And with the transfer window open until September 1, the striker may still make the shock switch to Old Trafford, especially if he puts Louis van Gaal's team to the sword.
Here are the fixtures for the opening weekend of the campaign, with score predictions and players to watch out for:
| Saturday, Aug. 8 | 12:45 p.m. BST/7:45 a.m. ET | Manchester United vs. Tottenham Hotspur | 1-1 |
| Saturday, Aug. 8 | 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET | Bournemouth vs. Aston Villa | 2-1 |
| Saturday, Aug. 8 | 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET | Everton vs. Watford | 0-0 |
| Saturday, Aug. 8 | 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET | Leicester City vs. Sunderland | 3-2 |
| Saturday, Aug. 8 | 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET | Norwich City vs. Crystal Palace | 1-1 |
| Saturday, Aug. 8 | 5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET | Chelsea vs. Swansea | 1-1 |
| Sunday, Aug. 9 | 1:30 p.m. BST/8:30 a.m. ET | Arsenal vs. West Ham United | 3-0 |
| Sunday, Aug. 9 | 1:30 p.m. BST/8:30 a.m. ET | Newcastle United vs. Southampton | 1-2 |
| Sunday, Aug. 9 | 4 p.m. BST/11 a.m. ET | Stoke City vs. Liverpool | 1-2 |
| Monday, Aug. 10 | 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET | West Bromwich Albion vs. Manchester City | 1-2 |
Harry Kane, Memphis Depay and Raheem Sterling
The opening match of the new season is one of English football's classic encounters, as north meets south in a clash of the titans.
Manchester United play hosts to a Spurs side who have had a quiet summer, with no major signings to speak off during the transfer window.
Considering Mauricio Pochettino's side were so reliant on wonderkid Kane last year, it is a surprise the White Hart Lane club have not considerably freshened up their options.
United have once again had an active period in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich and Southampton linchpin Morgan Schneiderlin.
Red Devils boss Van Gaal has also brought in a face he knows very well, and his former Netherlands international attacker could be United's most inspired signing of the summer.
France Football (h/t Tom Sheen of the Independent) has named Memphis Depay the world's best young footballer ahead of Manchester City's new marquee signing, Raheem Sterling, who placed third.
The wide attacker was sensational for PSV Eindhoven last season, scoring a glut of goals and displaying a physique that has earned him the nickname of "The Tank."
Memphis (as he prefers to be known) netted 22 goals in 30 Eredivisie appearances for PSV, per WhoScored.com, as the player left his team with a championship-winning medal in his hand.
Sterling's own fallout with Liverpool has been well-documented, and he is sure to receive an interesting reception when his time comes to walk out at Anfield dressed in sky blue.
Jamie Jackson of the Guardian compared and evaluated Memphis and Sterling and gave his verdict that both could become superstars over the next year:
"Both Depay and Sterling possess a stellar gift. The potential to elevate themselves into the elite player bracket. There will be a view that Depay, at close to half the fee of Sterling, provides better value. Yet the price (of any player) is a red herring. It is not Sterling's fault how much he cost. His concern is turning the brilliant stuff on during virtually every match.
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The United player has also talked up his chances in the team's famous red shirt and believes he can live up to his billing as one of the world's top talents, per Jackson.
"I'm going to let my feet speak," Memphis said. "I hope I can develop here in the Premier League, and I hope I can be like those great legends one time in my career. I'm going to work hard, so let's see. I believe I can be a great player for Manchester United."
However, as the world focuses on Manchester's two prodigies, a boy from Spurs is now floating under the radar.
Last year, Kane was the best striker in the league for a long period of time. But his loss of form at the end of the campaign stole away many plaudits, and he now faces the difficult "second season" that boy wonders always suffer.
The fact United are looking at Kane is no surprise. LvG needs a new No. 9 to link up with Memphis and Wayne Rooney, and if the Spurs striker replicates his midseason form of last term, his price will rocket into the stratosphere.
Kane, Memphis and Sterling are the new breed of wondrous talent now plying their trade in the Premier League, and any of the them could be the hero for their team come the end of the season. Kane has the blueprint for success after last season's efforts, but with Spurs out of sorts in the transfer market, it is questionable whether the player can reclaim his best form.
Sterling has shown at Liverpool he is a world-class player in the making, but he has much to prove in a City shirt, where poor form will be rewarded with a place on the bench. He is no longer the youthful hope of a rebuilding giant and must now perform at an optimum every week at the Etihad with a giant price tag on his back.
Memphis has joined United at the right time, with the high-profile failures of Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria fresh in supporters' minds. He can be the spark that sees United once again set English football alight and take the fallen superclub back to the summit of the table.
But his task at United is not simple, and with the pressure of playing at a superior level than the Eredivisie, the attacker might still come unstuck.
