The main talking points ahead of the new Premier League campaign

The new Premier League campaign is nearly upon us and plenty of intrigue surrounds the 34th edition of the competition.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the main talking points ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Can Liverpool do it for Diogo?

Liverpool stormed to the Premier League title in Arne Slot’s first campaign last term, but now the challenge is to win back-to-back crowns for the first time.

The club suffered tragedy in the summer, though, following the death of Diogo Jota in a car accident in June and how that will affect their players remains to be seen, though they will be determined to honour their team-mate in the best possible way.

It has also been a summer of change at Anfield with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz moving on and large fees being spent on Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong.

City have points to prove

Manchester City have also undergone a squad overhaul this summer after their attempt at a fifth successive title last season fell flat on its face.

Kevin De Bruyne is the highest profile mover, with City doing most of their business before June’s Club World Cup.

Pep Guardiola will demand a title challenge but their future is still uncertain as their 115 Premier League charges still hang over them, with an outcome expected at some point.

Amorim to get United ticking

After a record-breakingly bad 2024-25 Premier League season the only way is up for Manchester United.

Boss Ruben Amorim has been given funds to bring players in to suit his system and, without any European football, the pressure will be on to challenge at the top end of the league.

While a title push seems out of the question, there should be no reason why they are not challenging for the top six.

Bridging the gap

The gap between the Premier League and Championship has never been so big and the three teams promoted in the last two seasons have all gone straight back down without ever looking like staying up.

Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland will be looking to buck that trend this season but they face a huge challenge.

The Black Cats are back in the big time for the first time since 2017 while Leeds and Burnley have yo-yoed in recent seasons.

Best of the rest

Newcastle will hope a difficult summer in the transfer market will not derail their bid to become a regular fixture in the top four, with Alexander Isak’s future still hanging in the balance.

Tottenham will not need to do much under new boss Thomas Frank to improve on last season’s woeful league showing but Brentford’s stability has been wiped away with Frank’s exit as well as key players and they could struggle under rookie boss Keith Andrews.

Nottingham Forest will be tested by European demands and West Ham will be looking for improvement under Graham Potter, while Everton will hope to hit the ground running at their new home.