The stage is set for the kickoff of the 2020/2021 Premier League season as the battle for the next champions of the prestigious league game resume despite fear of coronavirus pandemic.
Following the outbreak of Covid-19 which disrupted football leagues globally that saw the conclusion of the 2019/2020 wrapped up late July, Premier League clubs returns to action again.
The top-flight football action returns just six weeks after the curtain community Shield curtain raiser that saw Arsenal winning Champions Liverpool to claim the 2020 Community Shield on 5-4 after penalty shootout.
Last season saw Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich relegated to the second division while West Bromwich Albion, Leeds United and Fulham regained promotion back to the top-flight.
Read Also: New Changes To Expect Ahead Of 2020/2021 Premier League Season
The duo of Manchester clubs, City and United opening games was rescheduled due to their participation in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.
Both clubs are the only exemption as Matchday One will be played on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Africa Top Sports takes a look at the five star games of the opening games when the league comes alive on Saturday.
Fulham Vs Arsenal
We will be having the first London derby of the season when new boys, Fulham welcomes Arsenal at the Craven Cottage on Saturday.
The game which will kick off at lunch time is the first game of the season between the two London clubs.
Arsenal will be heading into the game on the back of their recent victories, the FA Cup and the Community Shield.
MIkel Arteta has done well in trying to get the Gunners back to their rightful position and he will be hoping to build on the success the team have recorded when towards the concluding part of the 2019/2020 season.
Arteta will be building his team around prolific goal poacher and captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and follow their Community Shield triumph with a victory to get the league underway.
For Fulham, they will not want affliction to arise for the second time having failed to remain in the
Premier League two season.
The Cottagers will give it all to ensure this new campaign, they get things right from the start with Scott Parker in charge of the team.
Head- To-Head
Both teams are common foes even though they are from the same city.
Their meeting has been always indeed a derby which has not failed to produce stunning results and goals.
They have met on 57 previous occasions across all tournaments.
But the odds have always remain with the Gunners who have won 39 games while Fulham won just eight games with 10 of those ties ended in draws.
Predictions
With Arsenal winning all their last previous meetings with Fulham, there will be no way Arteta and his hungry lads will never want to maintain that record.
Though both teams are expected to score in the game but Arsenal could be going home with the bragging right on a goal margin of 3-1.
Expect Aubameyang to carry on his goal scoring form last season for the opener.
Liverpool Vs Leeds United
This will be one of the most intriguing league opener as Premier League champions begin their title defense against Championship Leeds United.
Dubbed the game of champions, both teams dominated their divisions last season but the performance Liverpool put on at the beginning of the 2019/2020 campaign was what paid off for them on the long run.
The Reds fumbled towards the concluding part of the season and even their performance against Arsenal in the Community Shield was questionable.
But Saturday game at Anfield will be a diferent ball game for Jurgen Klopp and his kops who are hoping to maintain their home record.
For Leeds United, it will be a daunting task but not an insurmountable one when they begin their Premier League campaign.
Their style of play which got them the Championship title shows are how determined they are when they lost the ball.
Head-To Head
Both sides have previously met four times with Liverpool winning three with one draw.
Prediction:
Liverpool last season maintains the highest unbeaten record at Anfield and they will want to do anything to avoid a shocker.
Losing at home to Leed United will not be an option to the champions who also keep their home record going.
We predict the final score to be 4-2 as Mohamed Salah will hope to continue his opening game scoring form.
West Brom vs Leicester
The Baggies are back to the Premier League after two years hiatus and will be aiming to remain in the top-flight league.
They quite understand what lies ahead of then when they host Leicester City and that is start getting the points as early as possible.
West Brom have won all their previous opening game and will aim for a third successive opening day victory when they play at the Hawthorn against Leicester City.
The Baggies in their 2016/2017 opening game won Crystal Palace and went on to repeat the same feat in the 2017/2018 season with victory over Bournemouth.
On the other hands, their opponent, Leicester City will target a fifth successive victory at the Hawthorns with striker, Jamie Vardy also eyeing to equal Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of five goals in five matches against one team.
Vardy has scored four times in Leicesters meeting against West Brom.
However, the Foxes have never won five consecutive away Premier League against one opponent.
Head-To-Head
Both teams have met eight previous times but Leicester City has won more games compared to their opponent.
Leicester won six games while West Brom won just two with the other two games end in stalemate.
Prediction:
Both sides will struggle to claim the first victory for of the day, but we envisage a hare of the spoils at the end of 90 minutes.
Brighton Vs Chelsea
All attention will be on Chelsea on Monday when they kick off the new season away at the Amex Stadium against Brighton and Hoves Albion.
Owner Roman Abramovich despite the effect of the COVID-19 on clubs doled out the money for Frank Lampard to overhaul the team following their performance last season.
When clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester City were afraid to spend the money, Chelsea splashed £200million for a new look-squad with the signing of Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Sarr Malang.
Lampard will now be spoiled with choice of selection when they travel to Amex to face Brighton.
Both teams played a 1-1 draw in a pre-season game that saw fans in attendance.
The game also saw Ziyech limp out of the pitch after he sustained an injury which has niw ruled him out of the squad.
Head-To-Head
Both teams have met eight previous times in all competitions with Chelsea winning five while Brighton won just once and two of the games ended draw.
Prediction
Chelsea new striker, Timo Werner will aim to score in his debut following his performance while on international duty with the German national team in the UEFA Nations League.
We predict Chelsea to continue their domination over Brighton with a 3-0 win.
Sheffield United Vs Wolves
The Blades were one of the surprise team of last season as they shocked naysayer following their promotion to the Premier League in the 2019/2020 season.
Under Chris Wilder, Sheffield United stunned almost all the top clubs as they finished ninth.
There perfect start to last season got them in the position and they will want to build on that when they host yet another tough opponent Wolves.
Wolves last day lost to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge denied them a Europa League competition ticket as they also crashed out of the tournament last season in the quarter-final.
Under Nuno Espirito, Wolves were excellent last season and finished seventh on the league table.
Both teams encounter is a must watch on Monday games.
Head-To-Head
Both teams have played against each other 21 times and Sheffield United won 6 direct matches while Wolves won 7 games.
Eight of their last previous meeting ended in a draw.
Prediction:
This game is another game that we are going to see both side share the spoil. We predict a 2-2 draw at the end of 90 minutes.