The Premier League is back and starting a week earlier than usual due to the mid-season disruption caused by the inaugural World Cup in Qatar.
A London derby between Crystal Palace and Arsenal gets proceedings underway at Selhurst Park on Friday night, with no shortage of intrigue and storylines across the opening weekend.
Each bolstered by new big-money strikers in Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez, Manchester City and Liverpool are expected to jostle for title supremacy once again this term after going down to the final day last season, with the Reds already striking the first psychological blow after winning the Community Shield.
There doesn’t appear to be much to separate a chasing pack that includes the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham, while another new era begins under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. Fulham and Bournemouth have both made swift returns to the top-flight, while Nottingham Forest are back at this level for the first time in 23 long years.
Here, Standard Sport’s team of football writers make their predictions for the 2022/23 campaign...
Champions
Dan Kilpatrick: Manchester City. Their unparalleled wealth has made for an uneven playing field and means rivals must be near perfect to have a chance at overthrowing the reigning champions.
Simon Collings: City. The best team in the country last season and they look even stronger now they have signed Haaland.
Nizaar Kinsella: City. The addition of Haaland means they will be the team to beat.
Malik Ouzia: Liverpool. The window is still open, but as it stands I just wonder whether City might have left themselves a touch short with the players they have let go.
Top four
DK: City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea. City and Liverpool aren't going anywhere, while the experience of Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel should give Spurs and Chelsea, respectively, the edge over Arsenal and Manchester United.
SC: City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal. The top two are a cut above the rest, but the battle for third and fourth will be close. Chelsea could sneak into the top four.
NK: City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea. I can’t see any of the challengers shaking up the order of last season based on how they’ve performed in the transfer market. I do think Arsenal will have a better chance of disrupting it than Manchester United.
MO: Liverpool, City, Tottenham, Arsenal. I’d be pretty confident on the top three. Fourth may depend on whether Arsenal cope with Europe and whether Thomas Tuchel explodes.
London pecking order
DK: Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Fulham. Spurs are well-placed to push on and Chelsea still boast impressive squad depth, despite being in transition. Arsenal's business has been encouraging but there are still question marks over Mikel Arteta. The Hammers have a good core, led by Declan Rice, but Fulham are short of quality.
SC: Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Fulham. The top three teams in London are incredibly close and could easily change order. Palace could also gatecrash the top 10 under Patrick Vieira.
NK: Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Fulham. Spurs will push for the title under Conte but fall short. Will Brentford suffer second-season syndrome? It’s possible but they’ll have enough to stay up.
MO: Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Fulham. Feels quite straightforward beyond that top-four race. Whether Brentford kick on again or struggle second time around seems the hardest call.
Bottom three
DK: Fulham, Leeds, Bournemouth. Fulham walked the Championship but have barely improved their squad, while Leeds' new signings lack Premier League experience. Bournemouth are also in danger of continuing to yo-yo between the divisions after an underwhelming summer.
SC: Everton, Leeds, Bournemouth. Leeds have lost their two best players in Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha, while Bournemouth just haven’t invested. Everton and Fulham will be close for the final relegation spot.
NK: Fulham, Southampton, Bournemouth. Southampton might be a surprise package for the drop having signed several talented academy teenagers who might not be quite ready to play at the highest level.
MO: Fulham, Bournemouth, Southampton. I don’t fancy the top two from the Championship and Southampton could be this year’s Burnley, finally going down after flirting for a while.
It is a big season for...
DK: Arteta. Arsenal cannot 'trust the process' indefinitely and after being backed in the transfer market again, this is surely the season Arteta must return the club to the Champions League.
SC: Todd Boehly. Chelsea were a dominant force under Roman Abramovich, but what will life under Boehly and Clearlake Capital be like?
NK: Christian Pulisic. It is a make-or-break year for the Chelsea midfielder. It feels like now or never for his career at Stamford Bridge.
MO: Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, both of whom effectively took gap years last season. We’ll see how they go on the Erik ten Hag grad scheme.
Breakthrough star
DK: Harvey Elliott. The Liverpool teenager could be an outside bet for England's World Cup squad if he can get into Jurgen Klopp's team and stay there.
SC: Gavin Bazunu. The Republic of Ireland’s No1 who has never played above League One level, Southampton paid £12m to sign him from Manchester City.
NK: Brennan Johnson. He looked unstoppable for Nottingham Forest in the Championship last season.
MO: Djed Spence. Looked a level above for Forest last season and can prove it at Spurs.
The signing of the season will be...
DK: Darwin Nunez. A shout out to free transfer Ivan Perisic but Liverpool rarely get their recruitment wrong and Nunez has all the characteristics to be another huge hit.
SC: Gabriel Jesus. Arsenal were crying out for a striker abd Jesus should revel as their No9.
NK: Kalidou Koulibaly. Could emulate Virgil van Dijk with his near flawless game.
MO: Gabriel Jesus. Measuring by the impact they’ll have on their team compared to last season, I’ll go for Jesus leading the Arsenal line.
I’m most looking forward to...
DK: A multi-team title race. Perhaps it is wishful thinking but a mid-season World Cup could shake up the established order in the second half of the campaign and create a three-or four-team title race.
SC: A trip to Craven Cottage. It’s one of the country’s great football grounds.
NK: A visit to the City Ground. It will be raucous after 23 years away from the top-flight.
MO: Seeing how anyone manages to feign enthusiasm for Southampton vs Brighton on Boxing Day, eight days after England win the World Cup.
