1. What to watch out for this week • Instant reunion... If this summer's transfer activity was not painful enough for Southampton fans,...
1. What to watch out for this week
• Instant reunion... If this summer's transfer activity was not painful enough for Southampton fans, then an opening game against Liverpool will pour salt in already open wounds.
Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert could well face their former side at Anfield, although Adam Lallana will not be fit to play against his boyhood club in his first competitive game for his new side.
The Saints, however, will be no pushovers. The new signings—like Dusan Tadic, Graziano Pelle and Shane Long—will have a point to prove, while those left behind by the likes of Lallana and Lovren may well want to show the grass is not always greener.
• One game does not make a season... For the second year in a row, a new manager begins his Manchester United tenure with a game against Swansea City.
Twelve months ago, David Moyes got his reign underway with a 4-1 win in Wales, a result that very much proved not to be a harbinger of things to come.
Win or lose, then, perhaps fans and journalists should avoid getting ahead of themselves after Louis van Gaal's first game is completed.
• A tough act to follow... After losing to Arsenal in the Community Shield, it will be interesting to see how Manchester City start their campaign against Newcastle, a side that has made a number of intriguing purchases during the off-season.
Last time they won the title, City made a pretty poor fist of their title defence. It will be interesting to see if there is a similar "hangover" effect this time around.
2. Player to watch
Diego Costa. Other players start with more pressure on their shoulders, certainly, but few others carry a weight quite like the Brazilian turned Spaniard will do this term.
Not only does the striker have a £32 million price tag to live up to, but he also has to deal with the expectation that he will be the difference for a side that—as Jose Mourinho told us time and time again—was one prolific goalscorer away from winning the title last season.
Costa was bought to be that final piece of the puzzle. A first game away to Burnley will give him a stark look at the less glamorous side of Premier League football, but in theory it should also give him a great opportunity to get off to the goalscoring start Chelsea fans all want for him.
3. Game of the weekend
Liverpool vs. Southampton. After a summer of upheaval for both sides, both Brendan Rodgers and Ronald Koeman will be anxious to see how their new-look sides might fare over the coming season.
It is worth remembering that 12 months ago Liverpool kicked off the new season with a 1-0 win over Stoke, a result only secured after Simon Mignolet made a last-minute penalty save.
It was a moment that seemed to propel Liverpool to a brilliant start to the season, giving them valuable momentum that stayed with them almost until the bitter end.
A similar win at Anfield may give Rodgers' post-Suarez side the belief they can repeat last season's efforts even without their talisman.
For Southampton, meanwhile, getting something from the game would assuage fears that the many summer sales have weakened the club to the point of being relegation candidates—while also getting early revenge against a club that stole away a number of their most beloved players.
It should be an intriguing battle, giving us a number of clues to the season ahead.
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