MANCHESTER: Manchester United kick-off the 2024/25 Premier League season at home to Fulham on Friday before Manchester City begin the defence of their title at free-spending Chelsea on Sunday.

New Liverpool manager Arne Slot will be under the spotlight on Saturday with a trip to newly-promoted Ipswich for his first competitive game since succeeding Jurgen Klopp. Manchester United’s shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City back in May went a long way to keeping Erik ten Hag in charge at Old Trafford. The Dutchman has been backed by United’s new football operations hierarchy, led by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, and was handed a contract extension to 2026. Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui have arrived to strengthen Ten Hag’s squad for around £150 million ($192 million). Fulham won at Old Trafford for the first time in 20 years in February. Any repeat on Friday will have United fans fearing another season to forget. “We’re going to empty the tank and give everything we’ve got,” Tuanzebe told the BBC. “They’re just humans” he added. “It is just 11 v 11 on the pitch. Not many teams win at Portman Road and we intend to keep it that way.” New Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has a baptism of fire against his former club. Maresca was part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at City before leading Leicester to promotion from the Championship last season.