The 10 questions that will define the Premier League season
Ten questions that will define the Premier League season, featuring Arsenal's title defence, Tottenham's summer spending, and Frank Lampard's point to prove.
Which new managers can hit the ground running?
Never before has there been such managerial turnover in one Premier League summer. The 2026/27 campaign will begin with nine new coaches in the division's dugouts, while both Michael Carrick and Roberto De Zerbi will be overseeing their first full seasons in charge.
Incredibly, Carrick is the 10th longest-serving manager in the Premier League, despite only taking charge at Manchester United in January. Three of last season's top six are under new management, with intrigue right across the division.
Can Arsenal go back-to-back?
Arsenal got the monkey off their back last season after ending the club's 22-year wait for the Premier League title. After three consecutive seasons as runners-up, Mikel Arteta's men exorcised their demons to be crowned champions. Itch suitably scratched, Arsenal head into a Premier League season as the hunted, rather than the hunters, for the first time since 2004.
The Gunners have never won back-to-back titles in the Premier League era, and last defended a league title in 1935. Good teams win league titles, great teams defend them.
Can Unai Emery and Aston Villa succeed again amid financial restrictions?
There's not a manager in the Premier League who has overachieved more than Unai Emery in recent seasons. The Spaniard inherited an Aston Villa side mired in relegation trouble in October 2022, and in less than four years has twice qualified for the Champions League and ended a 30-year trophy drought with Europa League success.
Emery has achieved all that despite the challenges of navigating financial rules that make it harder than ever for those outside the financial elite to contend.
Emery has had to contend with the sales of Douglas Luiz, Jhon Duran, Moussa Diaby, and Jacob Ramsey to balance the books in recent seasons, while this summer has seen central figures Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers leave Villa Park.
Aston Villa have now operated at a profit of around £17.2m across the last five seasons, while simultaneously rising to upset the established elite. Rogers and Tielemans leave huge holes in Emery's side, and exciting additions Joao Gomes and Johan Manzambi need to hit the ground running.
How will Iraola-ball cope with European demands?
Liverpool opted to stick rather than twist when it came to Arne Slot this summer. Just when it appeared the Dutchman would be granted the chance to redeem himself for last season's struggles, Liverpool's owners chose to wield the axe. In came Andoni Iraola, fresh from overachieving with Bournemouth and a coach Richard Hughes knows well.
Iraola's impressive work on the south coast offers excitement, but huge question marks remain.Iraola has never before coached a side in Europe, let alone one of Liverpool's stature.
His high-intensity football has outworked teams in the Premier League, but is it sustainable across a season that includes mid-season matches? After a pre-season defeat to AS Monaco, some alarm bells rang after Iraola said his team played a good first 30 minutes but "they don't have much more, in terms of the levels required to play like this".
Can Enzo Maresca step into Guardiola's shoes?
There isn't a bigger challenge than succeeding Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Sure, Enzo Maresca inherits one of the most talented groups in world football, but Guardiola's near-flawless decade at the Etihad will take some replicating.
Maresca has shown he's a more than capable coach at Leicester City and Chelsea, but the challenge at City represents a whole new level of expectation. The Italian's soundbites on 'feeling back at home' have been well received, and his previous time at Eastlands should aid his adaptation. City, however, are used to winning. The pressure will be on from minute one.
Will Frank Lampard prove he can cut it at the top?
Frank Lampard needed his next job to go well after struggles at Everton and Chelsea, and Coventry City has proven a perfect fit. Lampard led Coventry to promotion last season, winning the Championship with room to spare, to end the club's 25-year exile from the top flight.
The former England midfielder has proven himself adept in the second tier, with impressive spells at Derby and Coventry, but must now show he can go toe-to-toe with Europe's top coaches. Coventry have backed him handsomely in the summer, to give themselves the best possible chance of consolidation.
Can Carrick continue Manchester momentum?
Michael Carrick's interim reign at Manchester United started with a bang and snowballed all the way to the permanent gig.
Few had Carrick as a candidate to replace Ruben Amorim, but his performances as caretaker coach became impossible to ignore.
Carrick brought a calm to the chaos at Old Trafford, a cool authority that brought together a talented but dysfunctional side. He won 70.59% of his 17 games in all competitions, securing Champions League qualification in style.
It's that achievement that could bring the biggest challenge for Carrick this season. Manchester United played only 40 games last season, the lowest-possible number after early cup exits and an absence from Europe. A far bigger workload awaits in 2026/27, and Carrick will need to prove he can juggle squad selection and less time on the training pitch.
Has operation reset been the right model for Newcastle?
Having banged on the Premier League's glass ceiling with no luck, Newcastle have changed focus for the upcoming campaign. No side in the Premier League has had such an overhaul as the Magpies, who saw long-serving head coach Eddie Howe step down, and key figures Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes sold.
Rather than invest in the here and now, Newcastle have looked for long-term success. More than £110m has been spent on Bazouma Toure, Aladji Bamba, Sean Steur and Ewen Jaouen, a quartet all under-21 and without a minute of Premier League experience between them. It's a massive gamble for the Magpies, who are betting on youth.
Can Everton rediscover home comforts?
Leaving Goodison Park was never going to be straightforward for Everton, with the Toffees leaving their long-term home for a shiny new stadium on the banks of the River Mersey last summer. Everton's record at Goodison Park in recent seasons had, admittedly, been poor, but a record of just six home wins in their Hill Dickinson debut was not good enough either.
David Moyes managed to oversee one of the best away records in the Premier League last season, but regular disappointments at home ended European hopes. If the Toffees can right those wrongs in front of their long-suffering support, a return to continental competition might not be beyond them.
Tottenham throw caution to the wind, but will spend equal success?
After successive 17th-place finishes, the Tottenham Hotspur hierarchy were candid in the club's failings at the end of last season.
Non-executive chairman Peter Charrington admitted "football success had not been driving our decisions" in a statement that promised change. Spurs have backed their promise, with a summer splurge that has seen the club's transfer record twice shattered for Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, while adding Premier League proven quality in Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, and Martin Duvrabka.
More incomings are expected, with Roberto De Zerbi promising a 'bomba' signing, and there's a high chance the three or four most expensive Spurs signings of all time will occur in this summer window. For the first time in a long time, Spurs are acting like a side of 'Big Six' status.
