The new season of the English Premier League begins on Friday, a little over two months after the 2022-23 campaign ended.

Any new season brings new hope. But in the Premier League, the question remains the same: Can Manchester City be beaten? The domination of Pep Guardiola’s team is so astounding — they have won five times in six seasons — that it sometimes looks as if others are just battling to finish second.

Yes, Liverpool gave them a few frights and even won the title in the pandemic year; Arsenal ran them close last season. That though was till about March this year. After that City hit top gear and sent every other team packing.

Last season was City’s best in the club’s history. The Premier League title, FA Cup triumph and the ultimate prize — the Champions League. The treble — only Manchester United, among all the English teams, had done that in 1999 — has further raised expectations. Guardiola himself said after the Champions League triumph over Inter Milan on June 10 that the team’s hunger is far from sated. “I don’t want after one Champions League to disappear, so work harder next season and be in there,” he had said.

Guardiola is expected to do more magic with this team and given the ammunition he has, City are the favourites to win every tournament they will play this season.

Of course, Ilkay Gundogan has joined Barcelona and Riyad Mahrez has left for the Sa­udi club Al Ahli. But City do not seem to be too bothered. They have got Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea and are wooing Lucas Paqueta of West Ham. They also got Josko Gvardiol, one of the world’s best central defenders, from RB Leipzig. But what could be interesting is 21-year-old Cole Palmer who shone on the right side in a position Mahrez used to operate from last Sunday.

Palmer’s beauty of a strike against Arsenal in the Community Shield final evoked comparisons with the Algerian footballer. Now whether Guardiola will send him on loan or keep him and give him enough game time remains to be seen.

Up front, the Spanish coa­ch has a problem of plenty. Goal machine Erling Haaland is there, Julian Alvarez hopes to continue with the good work he did last season, Jack Grealish is expected to be a threat and the omnipresent Kevin De Bruyne is ready to rock for one more season. City will keep coming at you, relentlessly, without giving you a second to think about it. Four Premier League titles in a row is very much possible.

Now the question is who will give the fiercest challenge to this all-conquering team? Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea are th­ere. Add to that new pretenders Newcastle United.

Arsenal’s young gunners earned plaudits for their brilliant performance last season. They were runaway lea­ders for most of the season — on top 248 days and the romantics were already talking about Mikel Arteta’s men in the same breath as Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles. But soon the fans realised City were just too good for them and Arsenal had to finish second-best.

That of course guaranteed Arsenal a return to Champions League football after quite some time and now, as they embark on a new season, there is a buzz around the team. Arsenal broke the bank to get fo­rmer West Ham captain Dec­lan Rice’s signature and lured Kai Havertz from Chelsea. Netherlands defender Jurrien Timber has been signed from Ajax. Much will depend on how Arteta manages his resources and given he will have the extra pressure of playing Champions League, that will decide the team’s fate.

Manchester United finished third and also made a return to the Champions League. United, now living in the shadows of Man City who were once termed as noisy neighbours, have got ball-playing goalkeeper Andre Onana from Inter Milan. Manager Erik ten Hag has also signed Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund and midfielder Mason Mount from Chelsea. Still what could ruin United’s season is their lack of fire in the final third. They have not got a good No. 9 — Hojlund is relatively unknown — and that’s something Ten Hag will worry about. Marcus Rashford is good inside the penalty box but in crunch situations, he has been found wanting. Consistency is something Rashford has not been able to show so far. Ten Hag is also trying to dispose of Harry Maguire to West Ham.

Liverpool finished fifth to miss out on Europe’s top club competition and this time Juergen Klopp and his men would try to make amends. There has been an exodus at Liverpool. Klopp has offloaded James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita, while Jordan Henderson and Fabinho were lured by the riches of the Saudi league. Alexis Mac Allister, Argentina’s World Cup winner from Brighton, and Dominik Szoboszlai, the captain of Hungary and a star of the Bundesliga at Leipzig, have arrived. The way Liverpool imploded last season after fighting for a quadruple in 2021-22 was simply amazing.

“Sometimes you need to get a knock to realise, ‘Ah, th­ere is a problem,’” Klopp said. But now with some reinforcements, fans will hope for a turnaround. But does this team have the capability to threaten City? Only time will tell.

Chelsea and Newcastle United also will be hoping for some good results in the new season. Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino has a reason to worry. Christopher Nkunku, who came from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, will miss the earlier part of the season after picking up a knee injury. Chelsea were in a splurging mood in the January window but this time they look circumspect. Chelsea had a torrid Premier League season last time around and finished outside the top 10. Fans hope Pochettino will help them regain glory.

The English Premier Leag­ue has been hit hard by the Saudi Pro League. Top players have preferred to leave the world’s most exciting league and join Saudi Arabian clubs. Players like N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Fabinho, Mahrez and Henderson tho­ught life would be smoother in the desert sands, while Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane, the league's most consistent scorer, may too leave if he accepts Bayern Munich's offer.

The exodus to the Saudi league will give opportunities to new players to showcase th­eir skills in England and there is no better feeling to witness fresh talents spring up and catch your imagination.