Phil Foden and Cole Palmer won the top men's prizes at the PFA Awards for the 2023-24 season on Tuesday.

Foden took home the Players' Player of the Year award for the first time, while Palmer was named the Young Player of the Year.

Two-time Young Player winner Foden had already been announced as the Premier League Player of the Season and the FWA Footballer of the Year.

Following the midweek ceremony, he has now also been recognised by his fellow professionals after starring in Manchester City's fourth straight title triumph.

Ex-City man Palmer had likewise been nominated for the top award after an outstanding first season at Chelsea, in which he netted 22 league goals.

However, Palmer was not included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

Foden made the cut alongside City team-mate Erling Haaland and Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins in attack.

There were four City players included, with Kyle Walker and Rodri selected, but the champions were outnumbered by Arsenal's five representatives.

David Raya, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard earned recognition, with Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk completing the XI.

The PFA WSL Team of the Year included both Players' Player of the Year Bunny Shaw and Young Player of the Year Grace Clinton.

Shaw was one of six City stars in the XI despite her side being pipped to the title by Chelsea, who could count only three players in the team.

Phil Foden and Cole Palmer won the top men's prizes, while Reggae Girlz and Manchester City striker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw won the top women's prize at the PFA Awards for the 2023-24 season on Tuesday.

Foden took home the Players' Player of the Year award for the first time, while Palmer was named the Young Player of the Year.

The women's Players' Player of the Year honour went to Shaw, with the Young Player of the Year award copped by Grace Clinton.

Two-time Young Player winner Foden had already been announced as the Premier League Player of the Season and the FWA Footballer of the Year.

Following the midweek ceremony, he has now also been recognised by his fellow professionals after starring in Manchester City's fourth straight title triumph.

Ex-City man Palmer had likewise been nominated for the top award after an outstanding first season at Chelsea, in which he netted 22 league goals.

However, Palmer was not included in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

Foden made the cut alongside City team-mate Erling Haaland and Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins in attack.

There were four City players included, with Kyle Walker and Rodri selected, but the champions were outnumbered by Arsenal's five representatives.

David Raya, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard earned recognition, with Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk completing the XI.

The PFA WSL Team of the Year included both Players' Player of the Year Shaw and Young Player of the Year Clinton.

Shaw was one of six City stars in the XI despite her side being pipped to the title by Chelsea, who could count only three players in the team.

Jamie Carragher believes players should stop accepting moves to Chelsea and back themselves to excel at a "proper club", as the Blues close in on the signing of Joao Felix.

Chelsea have spent over £1billion in the transfer market in just over two years under the Todd Boehly regime, but could only manage a sixth-place Premier League finish in 2023-24 after finishing 12th in 2022-23.

Enzo Maresca has become the fifth boss to take charge of the Blues in that time, and his first pre-season at the helm saw another significant outlay sanctioned by the Boehly regime.

Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Filip Jorgensen, Omari Kellyman, Aaron Anselmino, Renato Veiga, Caleb Wiley, Marc Guiu and Tosin Adarabioyo have all arrived with Chelsea's spending totalling £160million.

That figure is set to increase in the coming days with a deal in place to bring Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix – who enjoyed a loan spell at Stamford Bridge in 2023 – back to the club, while Brentford's Ivan Toney has also been suggested as a potential target.

Carragher believes young players should reject the long-term contracts being handed out by the Blues, with the sheer size of Maresca's squad sure to hamper their development.

"Chelsea have just got to stop buying players. Players have got to stop signing for Chelsea," the former Liverpool defender told Sky Sports on Monday.

"If I was a player, I would look at that squad and think, 'why would I sign for Chelsea?' The only reason is if your agent says it's a seven-year deal on big money.

"I'd say, back yourself as a player. Sign a four-year deal at a proper club and back yourself to do well. When you're up for renewal your money goes up anyway.

"It's not a young and exciting team. They're buying Joao Felix... tell me where he's going to play.

"They've signed Pedro Neto... where's he going to play when they've already got Cole Palmer?

"Where would you play Enzo Fernandez, a £100million player? Where would you play [Christopher] Nkunku? Great football teams need competition, but in every team I played in, you had seven or eight players who knew they were playing. That is a healthy squad.

"With Chelsea, where are they even getting changed on the training ground? If you've got 40 players, how do they fit in one dressing room? How do you put a training session on as a manager?"

Maresca's first competitive game at the helm ended in a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, with the representatives of winger Raheem Sterling publishing a statement demanding "clarity" on his future after being left out by the Blues boss.

The Premier League is back, and it was complete with plenty of thrills and spills on the opening weekend.

Champions Manchester City began their title defence with a relatively routine 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, while Liverpool kick-started the Arne Slot era by beating promoted Ipswich Town by the same scoreline.

Manchester United left it late against Fulham, new Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler enjoyed a fantastic start to his tenure, though that was not the case for Julen Lopetegui at West Ham, and Arsenal were comfortable victors over Wolves. 

However, who were the lucky winners and unlucky losers based on the underlying metrics from this weekend's matches?

With the use of Opta data, let's find out.

Lucky winners: Aston Villa

Jhon Duran's cool finish got Villa over the line against West Ham, with Unai Emery's team clinching a 2-1 win at the London Stadium. The Hammers, who handed debuts to six players during the match, had cancelled out Amadou Onana's early opener when Lucas Paqueta converted a penalty.

And even though Villa got the job done, they were not exactly defensively solid, with only Ipswich (2.65) registering a higher expected goals against (xGA) than Emery's team (2.46) this weekend, albeit a large chunk (.78) of that was down to the Hammers' penalty.

That being said, Villa did face 14 shots, with Tomas Soucek squandering some big chances late on, while having 15 going the other way and accumulating 2.03 xG themselves, so a draw would have perhaps been a fair result.

Lucky winners: Newcastle United

There was plenty of drama at St James' Park, with Newcastle overcoming Fabian Schar's dismissal to beat Southampton 1-0.

Southampton created 1.77 xG, with Villa the only team to have won at the weekend while registering a higher xGA than Newcastle.

The Magpies had only three shots - the lowest figure of any team this weekend - and produced just 0.25 xG, but it is the scoreline that matters, with Joelinton's goal clinching three points.

Unlucky losers: Southampton

Naturally, with Newcastle coming in as a lucky winner, then Southampton classify as an unlucky loser.

Russell Martin's team love to have the ball, and they capitalised on their numerical advantage by having 77.8% of the possession, registering 649 passes to Newcastle's 118.

It was certainly not a case of keeping the ball for the sake of it, though. Southampton had 48 touches in Newcastle's box (going the other way, the hosts had only 14) and made 67 final-third entries, mustering 19 shots. Getting only four of those attempts on target is obviously an issue, but Martin can consider his team unfortunate.

Unlucky losers: Chelsea

Manchester City were comfortable winners at Stamford Bridge, but is there cause for some positivity for Enzo Maresca after his first competitive match in charge?

Chelsea limited City to 0.77 xG from 11 shots (0.07 per attempt), while accumulating 1.01 going the other way from 10 efforts.

Indeed, had Nicolas Jackson not needlessly strayed offside before capitalising on Ederson's first-half parry to slot home, it might have been a different story for the Blues, so there is some reason to be cheerful.

Enzo Maresca wants Raheem Sterling to stay at Stamford Bridge but acknowledged Chelsea must trim their bloated squad.

Sterling was omitted from the matchday squad as the Blues started their 2024-25 Premier League campaign with a 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester City.

The England international had featured in the first match across the last 11 league seasons for Chelsea and former clubs City and Liverpool.

Sterling's representatives issued a statement prior to kick-off on Sunday seeking "clarity" after the 29-year-old was left in the cold, along with Trevoh Chalobah, Romelu Lukaku and Conor Gallagher.

Maresca said prior to the match that the decision was based on "technical" aspects, and reiterated that sentiment in his post-match conference – though conceded outgoing transfers are needed.

"The only thing I can say again is it's a technical decision, it's nothing more than that," said Maresca after his first league game in charge of the Blues.

"I want Raheem Sterling, but I want all the 30 players that we have, but there's no space for all of them. So, for some of them, they have to leave."

The statement surrounding Sterling's future had disappointed numerous pundits before Chelsea's opening-game clash with City, who won thanks to goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie Redknapp urged Sterling to "play better" and "just get on with it", while former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher had a similar conclusion.

"Massive fan of Raheem as a player and a lad," Carragher wrote on social media platform X. "Not a fan of the Chelsea setup with [the] owners, but this statement is ridiculous!

"As a camp... We look forward to gaining clarity! No need for a statement, especially an hour before kick-off! Just play better."

Ben Chilwell, Axel Disasi, Armando Broja and Carney Chukwuemeka were all absent from the Chelsea match squad, too, leaving Maresca with more decisions to make over players' futures.

"Axel is only just coming back from an injury, while Chilly [Chilwell] has been ill," the former Leicester City boss added, having previously said Chilwell is a likely candidate to leave.

"Every case is a bit different. Carney, he's a very good player but with his injuries in the past the best thing for him is to play 30, 35 games in a row and to show himself he's fit and how good he is.

"With us, is he going to play 35 games? I'm not sure."

Enzo Maresca insisted Chelsea were equal to the masterful Manchester City in the aftermath of Sunday's 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian started his Blues tenure with a loss as Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic scored in either half for the Premier League champions in their 2024-25 opener.

Chelsea mustered 1.23 expected goals (xG), however, to City's 0.82 and almost drew level when Nicolas Jackson had a strike ruled out for offside on the stroke of half-time.

Jackson was again denied by Ederson after the interval, while Enzo Fernandez's cross would have found debutant Pedro Neto for a tap-in if not for Rico Lewis' late intervention.

Former Leicester City boss Maresca believes his side matched City's efforts, yet the game was decided by the quality of Pep Guardiola's team in both boxes.

"I think we competed very well for much of the game," former City development coach Maresca told Sky Sports. "We were similar if not better.

"The performance was there but we didn't take the chances. Probably the big difference was inside the box. I'm quite happy in terms of performance.

"For me, the important thing is to create chances. We didn't score but we created chances. The first goal for them was almost offside, we almost scored.

"These things change results but the performance was good overall. It was quite clear, you can see a team trying to keep the ball and dominate.

"We were against the champions. We will continue and win games. They are a master in this kind of moment.

"They are a master of keeping hold of the ball. The performance was there and that is the main thing. You can see how they managed the ball.

"In terms of chances, we had the same. Keeping the ball was more or less there. We don't like to lose. We just need to continue."

Maresca's maiden match in charge at Stamford Bridge was clouded by his decision to leave out Raheem Sterling, whose representatives then issued a statement demanding "clarity" over the forward's future.

Sterling had featured on the opening matchday of the last 11 Premier League seasons for Liverpool, City and Chelsea, but was omitted from the squad along with Ben Chilwell, Romelu Lukaku and Conor Gallagher.

Maresca insisted the decision was based off "technical" aspects before the game, and reiterated that sentiment following the disappointing defeat.

"To be honest, I didn't see the statement," Maresca said. "I have nothing to say. It was a tactical decision, no more than that.

"In the next day, we will clarify in case we need to. I have been clear, it's a tactical decision. I didn't see it."

Erling Haaland is aiming to become a better all-round forward in the 2024-25 campaign after starting the season with a goal in Manchester City's 2-0 win over Chelsea.

Haaland put City ahead after 18 minutes at Stamford Bridge, taking in Bernardo Silva's pass and bursting between two challenges before clipping a neat finish over Robert Sanchez.

The Norwegian had previously started both of his Premier League campaigns with City by scoring a brace, against West Ham in 2022-23 and Burnley in 2023-24.

He is the sixth player to score his team's first goal in three different Premier League seasons and the second to do so for City, after David Silva (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16).

Across the last three seasons, Haaland has also scored two more Premier League goals in the month of August (13) than Chelsea have managed as a team (11), and four more than rivals Manchester United have netted (nine).

Haaland had a long pre-season to prepare for 2024-25 following Norway's failure to reach Euro 2024, but he says he is still finding his feet.

"Three points, it's a perfect start, the first games are always hard for everyone, it doesn't matter if you had a pre-season or not," Haaland told Sky Sports. 

"I had a long pre-season but I don't feel perfect, I'm not in the perfect state. It's good to get that win.

"I knew exactly what to do, I think it was a really good goal. I remember last year he [Sanchez] made a really good save against me, it had been irritating me for a long time, so yeah, it was a perfect goal."

Haaland has now been directly involved in 106 goals in 100 appearances for City across all competitions, with Sunday's opener being his 91st goal for the club (15 assists).

However, the Norwegian has been criticised by some pundits over a perceived lack of contributions outside the penalty area, and he has made improving his overall game a key target.

"The best players are the best on the easiest things. Touching it with your right and passing with your left. That's the important thing. Pep [Guardiola] says this all the time," he added.

"I want to get more involved, that's what Pep wants. But in games like this, do I need to be that much more involved? 

"That's the million-dollar question. I want to get more assists and become a better player."

Pep Guardiola was left both relieved and pleased as Manchester City overcame Chelsea on Sunday to banish last season's Stamford Bridge demons.

City and the Blues played out a chaotic 4-4 draw in the corresponding fixture last term, but no such issues were present on matchday one of 2024-25 as Guardiola's side kicked off with three points.

Erling Haaland delivered a well-taken opener on his 100th competitive appearance for City, with his 91st goal for the club paving the way for a routine triumph.

Mateo Kovacic put the result beyond all doubt six minutes from time, powering forward before steering an eye-catching finish into the top-left corner against his former club.

With key midfielder Rodri absent after a late return to training and Phil Foden only fit enough to appear from the bench, Guardiola was satisfied to see his team pass their first test of the campaign.

"I didn't expect it. We are away from our best so three points is the good news. The bad news is we have 65 games ahead of us," he told Sky Sports after the full-time whistle.

"We have an advantage, it's our ninth season together so we know each other well. Of course, there are mistakes you have to improve on but we talked, the difference in being champions was our body language, how did we behave?

"It's the bad moments in the season and in the games that define the big teams. For me, it is an honour to be in charge of these guys. I'm so fortunate, I could not say more.

"There is a plan, defensive, offensive. But afterwards, it's how we celebrate the good moments and come back from the bad moments.

"That's what defines these teams and no one talks about it. For a while, we could never win at Stamford Bridge – this is a big step."

Across the last three seasons, Haaland has scored two more Premier League goals in August (13) than Chelsea have managed as a team (11), and four more than rivals Manchester United have scored (nine).

The Norway striker could have had a second after the break if not for a smart Robert Sanchez stop, before his foul on Levi Colwill saw a finish from the impressive Rico Lewis disallowed.

Yet a routine victory was hardly expected for the visitors, considering they started without Rodri, whose influence on Guardiola's team remains seismic.

Prior to this clash, City had lost just six of 102 matches when Rodri had started since the start of the 2022-23 season, as many defeats as they had suffered in 18 games without him.

Guardiola warned records are there to be broken, however, as the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss hailed the influence of Rodri's replacement Kovacic.

"Be careful with statistics with us because we break it," Guardiola told BBC's Match of the Day.

"Rodri is massively important for us so it's important to have Mateo here because he is an experienced player and a great person. He made a good performance."

Manchester City opened their Premier League title defence with little trouble after sweeping aside Chelsea with a 2-0 away victory on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's team are chasing a record-extending fifth consecutive title and opened their 2024-25 campaign with a routine three points at Stamford Bridge, in stark contrast to the remarkable 4-4 draw in this fixture last term.

Erling Haaland chipped past Robert Sanchez with a well-taken opener in the first half of his 100th appearance for City, profiting from Bernardo Silva's deft offload to send the visitors on their way to victory.

Nicolas Jackson responded for Chelsea by having an equaliser ruled out before the break, with the Blues striker caught offside after Ederson unconvincingly parried from Cole Palmer's dipping strike.

Jackson again tested Ederson after the interval with a volley from Romeo Lavia's header, but Mateo Kovacic's fine individual finish against his former club six minutes from time sealed the win.

Victory saw City – who also had a Rico Lewis goal disallowed – join seven other teams on three points, while Enzo Maresca's Chelsea are just one place above the bottom three after his first match at the helm.

Data Debrief: Haaland provides further opening-game heroics

Haaland has been directly involved in 106 goals in 100 appearances for City, and the Norway talisman has enjoyed the opening fixture in this competition as well.

The 24-year-old became the first City player to score on matchday one in three consecutive Premier League seasons, after David Silva (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16).

He has also scored 13 times across his nine Premier League appearances in August, two more than Chelsea have managed as a team since the start of the 2022-23 season.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are winless in their last seven league meetings with Man City (D2 L5), since a 2-1 away win in May 2021, and will have to recover before their next top-flight trip to Wolves on Sunday.

Raheem Sterling wants clarity on his Chelsea future after he was left out of the Blues' squad to face Manchester City.

Sterling was a surprise omission from Enzo Maresca's matchday squad for their opening Premier League fixture of the 2024-25 campaign.

The 29-year-old, who joined Chelsea from City in 2022, had featured in all of the Blues' pre-season matches.

However, after Sterling was left out of Sunday's clash against his former club, the winger's camp told Mail Sport that they were chasing clarity from the club.

"Raheem Sterling is contracted to Chelsea for the next three years," a statement read.

"He returned to England two weeks early to conduct individual training, and has had a positive pre-season under the new coach, who he has developed a good working relationship with.

"He is committed, as ever, to delivering at the highest level for Chelsea and the fans, who he holds in high regard, and given his inclusion in official club pre-match material this week, our expectation was that Raheem would be involved in this weekend’s fixture in some capacity.

"As a camp, we have always had positive dialogue with, and assurance from, Chelsea in relation to Raheem's future at the club, so we look forward to gaining clarity on the situation.

"Until then, we will continue to support Raheem's desire to start the new season positively."

Sterling was Chelsea's third-highest scorer in all competitions last season, netting 10 times in 43 games, slightly overperforming his 9.1 expected goals (xG), albeit he only converted four of 17 big chances, defined by Opta as an opportunity from which a player would reasonably be anticipated to score.

Maresca, meanwhile, brushed off the selection choice.

"It's a technical decision, nothing else to say," he told the media. "Managers are paid to make decisions and sometimes players don't like it."

Chelsea have once again been busy in the transfer market, signing nine players, with winger Pedro Neto arriving in a move worth over £50million from Wolves last week.

The Blues have a bloated squad, with coach Maresca having conceded they must focus on shipping players out, with England left-back Ben Chilwell – who was also left out of the squad on Sunday – having been told he can leave.

Conor Gallagher was also absent, as he remains in limbo over a possible move to Atletico Madrid. Forwards Armando Broja and Romelu Lukaku were among the other big names left out by Maresca, with both players expected to depart.

Chelsea's starting XI against City had an average age of just 23 years and 180 days, which is the second-youngest by any Premier League team for their opening match of a season.

Ben Chilwell has been told it would be best to leave Chelsea by head coach Enzo Maresca ahead of their Premier League opener against Manchester City on Sunday. 

Chilwell, who has made 106 appearances for the Blues since his reported £45m move from Leicester in 2020, has struggled with injuries in recent years. 

The 27-year-old featured 21 times in all competitions last season, missing 26 games with a hamstring injury which was then followed by a knee issue. 

His subsequent misfortune with injuries has seen him drop down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, with Marc Cucurella impressing with Spain at Euro 2024. 

Chilwell played 64 minutes in Chelsea's six pre-season games, failing to feature in their final three fixtures before the new campaign against Real Madrid, Manchester City and Inter. 

“Chilly [Chilwell] is with us but he has not been training for the last few days because he has been ill,” Maresca said.

“The reason he did not play versus Inter was because, with Chilly it is quite clear, even though I love the way he is, the problem is, he is struggling a bit to find the right position.

“This morning we had 22 players training and if you ask all of them they will say they want to play against City on Sunday. But that is impossible.

"When you train every day and do not get any minutes it is not good for them or for me.

“I need to make a decision and probably it is better to leave and go and get minutes. The transfer window is open so we’ll see what happens.”

Chelsea kickstart their campaign against reigning champions City on Sunday in what will be Maresca's first competitive game in charge of the club. 

The Blues have continued to add during the transfer window, with Wolves' Pedro Neto the latest of nine new arrivals at Stamford Bridge. 

Maresca now has over 40 players in his squad despite the loan departure of Lesley Ugochukwu and the permanent sale of Diego Moreira earlier this week. 

“We spent 20 days in America with 28 or 29 players, so it was quite good to manage the squad,” Maresca added.

“Now we have guys who are not part of the squad and are training apart.

“At the moment, it is not difficult, but if I start to think I have 43 players, it’s not good.”

Lesley Ugochukwu has completed a season-long loan move to Southampton from Chelsea.

Ugochukwu, who made 15 appearances in all competitions for the Blues last season, was not registered in time for the Saints' Premier League opener against Newcastle. 

The 20-year-old arrived at Stamford Bridge last year in a reported £23.2m deal from Rennes but missed 20 Premier League games as he struggled with a hamstring issue.

He was welcomed to St. Mary's on the same day Cameron Archer sealed a £15m permanent switch from Aston Villa, with the pair adding to Russell Martin's ranks. 

The duo join 12 new faces on the South Coast, with the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Flynn Downes, Ben Brereton Diaz and Ronnie Edwards all signing in the window. 

“It was a very easy decision, Ugochukwu said. "They just came back to Premier League.

"When I heard Southampton, when I spoke to the gaffer as well, I said, 'I have to come here.'

“I’m just here to work hard and give everything for the fans and for myself as well.”

Head coach Russell Martin added: “Lesley is a brilliant athlete who has all the ingredients to be a really top player in the future, and we want to help him achieve that.

"He combines his size and power with real composure in possession.

“He’s another young player we’ve brought in who has sampled the Premier League already, which is important, and someone we feel can help us in the midfield area with the physicality that he brings to the game.”

Rodri has "no chance" of featuring for Manchester City in their opening Premier League fixture against Chelsea.

The midfielder was integral to City winning an unprecedented fourth Premier League title last season, playing a team-high 2,937 minutes in the top flight.

He scored eight goals and set up a further nine before then playing a key role in Spain's success at Euro 2024.

However, Rodri - who returned to training late following an extended break after his exploits with La Roja in Germany - will not be ready to play for City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

"No chance," replied Pep Guardiola when asked if Rodri would feature, with City's manager having also said: "He is in training. He feels good."

While Rodri's absence has not prevented City from loaning out Kalvin Phillips to Ipswich Town, the champions will be hoping the 28-year-old is back in the fold soon.

Rodri has not been involved in a Premier League defeat since a loss to Tottenham in February 2023.

Since then, City have played 55 matches in the competition, with Rodri featuring in 50 of those.

With Rodri in the team, City have claimed 41 wins (82%) and nine draws. Yet Guardiola's team have lost four of the five games Rodri has not featured in, winning just one (20%). Their points per game drops from 2.6 with Rodri in the side in that time, to 0.6 without.

City's contingent of England players to have featured in the Euro 2024 final – John Stones, Phil Foden and Kyle Walker – are available, though Guardiola does not think they will play the whole match.

He said: "I'm pretty sure they won’t be ready for 90 minutes, maybe yes, maybe 15 minutes."

"The important thing is everybody is back and except for Oscar [Bobb] the rest are OK."

Enzo Maresca says Conor Gallagher is training at Chelsea but will not be involved against Manchester City as he looks to "find a solution with the club".

Gallagher had flown to Spain last week to finalise a move to Atletico Madrid, but the transfer has stalled due to the collapse of an agreement over Samu Omorodion going the other way.

The England international, who has made 95 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, netting 10 goals and registering 10 assists, has since returned to London while negotiations continue.

Maresca confirmed that while Gallagher has returned, he is training separately while talks between the clubs are still ongoing.

"Gallagher is back and he is training. He is doing some medical tests and training separately, so he won't be involved in this game," Maresca said in a press conference.

"He is also trying to find a solution with the club, so we will see what happens.

"Unfortunately, these things happen every summer. All clubs have problems but, hopefully, for him, this situation will finish where the player, club and manager will be happy."

Chelsea have already bought nine additions in the transfer window, meaning Maresca has 43 players to work with in his squad, and reports suggest more could be coming, with Joao Felix and Victor Osimhen being linked to the club.

Having stepped in to replace Mauricio Pochettino, who only spent one year with the Blues before departing, the Italian has asked for patience as he tries to find the right balance.

"Some clubs work with a manager for eight years, so with time we will close the gap and hopefully that can happen soon," Maresca added.

"Sometimes it sounds like an excuse from managers, and I know timing in football is difficult, but in our case, with the process and ideas, we will close the gap.

"We need their [fans'] support because when you are on the pitch, and you can hear the fans behind the team, it is like 12 players. If they support us and be patient, then we will pay them back with performance and results."

Another new season, another new head coach at Stamford Bridge. 

And Enzo Maresca could hardly have been handed a tougher assignment as he leads Chelsea in the Premier League for the first time, with champions Manchester City the visitors to SW6 on Sunday.

It has been another busy off-season for the Blues, with the Todd Boehly regime sanctioning a £161million outlay on nine signings, including Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

City, on the other hand, have been largely quiet as Guardiola continues to put his faith in the group that delivered an unprecedented fourth straight league crown last season.  

As two of English football's giants prepare to go head-to-head on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, we dive into the best Opta stats to preview Sunday's clash.

What's expected? 

It will come as a surprise to nobody to learn City are overwhelming favourites to defend their title in 2024-25, the Opta supercomputer giving them an 83% chance of topping the pile.

The supercomputer is also firmly on their side ahead of matchday one, with simulations of Sunday's game resulting in City being assigned a 59.6% chance of victory.

City's last trip to Stamford Bridge resulted in what was surely the game of the 2023-24 season, as Cole Palmer scored a last-gasp penalty in a 4-4 draw last November.

The chances of the points being shared again on Sunday are rated at 20.8%, with Chelsea only triumphant in 19.6% of scenarios.

The Blues are winless in their last six Premier League meetings with City, recording two draws and four defeats since Thomas Tuchel led them to a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium in May 2021.

That result was swiftly followed by another victory in the 2021 Champions League final, but City have since gone unbeaten through nine meetings with Chelsea in all competitions (seven wins, two draws), the joint-longest run without defeat against the Blues in their history (also nine between 1936 and 1949).

This will be the first time Chelsea have opened a top-flight campaign against the reigning champions since 1971-72, when they were beaten 3-0 by Arsenal at Highbury.

City, meanwhile, have made a habit of starting quickly in recent years, winning their opening match in 12 of the last 13 Premier League seasons, the only exception being a 1-0 loss at Tottenham in August 2021.

Maresca thrown in at the deep end

Maresca is set to become the fourth Chelsea boss to face the defending champions in his first Premier League game at the helm, with none of the previous three starting with a win.

Claudio Ranieri oversaw a 3-3 draw with Manchester United in September 2000, Avram Grant's tenure started with a 2-0 defeat to the Red Devils in September 2007, and Rafael Benitez's Blues held City to a goalless draw on his November 2012 bow.

Despite leading Leicester City to the Championship title with an impressive haul of 97 points last season, Maresca – who previously served as manager of City's Elite Development Squad in 2020-21 – was a somewhat left-field appointment by Boehly. Banking some early credit – something Mauricio Pochettino failed to do – could prove crucial.

As a coach straight out of the Guardiola school, Maresca is expected to instil a heavy pressing, possession-based style in West London. The question is how quickly his Chelsea players will take to it. 

Pochettino's Chelsea only lost one of their final 15 Premier League games last season (nine wins, five draws), including winning their last five in a row, yet their players have found themselves on another tactical crash-course in pre-season, which included a 4-2 defeat to City in Columbus, Ohio.

Many members of Chelsea's bloated first-team squad should be suited to Maresca's demands, though. The Blues averaged 12.2 pressed sequences per game in the Premier League last season, compared to Leicester's 11.3 in the Championship under Maresca, also forcing 9.0 high turnovers per 90 minutes to the Foxes' 7.9.

Sunday's game may not offer a perfect representation of what is to come under the Italian, though, with City likely to dictate proceedings. 

If Maresca is willing to tweak his approach, there could be joy to be had on the counter-attack, and new £51.4million winger Neto could relish coming up against City's high line.

The former Wolves man travelled 14.53 metres per carry in the Premier League last season, ranking third in the division behind Chiedozie Ogbene (15.13) and Anthony Elanga (14.54).

Only 12 players, meanwhile, managed more assist-ending carries than Neto's three, despite the jet-heeled winger being limited to just 1,518 Premier League minutes by injury. City will have to be on their toes if he makes his debut. 

Will City be without Rodri?

City ended last season by winning nine straight league matches by two goals or more, the longest such run in their Premier League history, with their final three victories all coming against London clubs (4-0 versus Fulham, 2-0 against Tottenham, 3-1 versus West Ham).

While Phil Foden claimed the Premier League's Player of the Season prize after a series of talismanic performances in the run-in, Guardiola's side surely could not have done it without Rodri.

Rodri has taken his all-round game to a new level, scoring eight Premier League goals and adding nine assists last season – both career-high figures – before going on to claim Player of the Tournament honours as Spain won Euro 2024.

Since the start of the 2022-23 season, City have only lost six of the 102 matches they have played with Rodri in their starting lineup, suffering the same number of defeats in just 18 games without the Spaniard during this span.

In the Premier League last term, they boasted a record of 27 wins, seven draws and no defeats when Rodri appeared, but lost three of four games (one win) when he was absent.

City's ability to cope without the 28-year-old could be put to the test on Sunday, however. He did not return to training until Wednesday following his Euro 2024 heroics, making it unlikely – though not impossible – that he will play a full part at Stamford Bridge.

Guardiola's champions did show defensive frailties at times last season, conceding the joint-most goals from fast breaks in the Premier League (seven, alongside Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion) despite giving up the seventh-fewest fast breaks in total (26).

If Rodri misses out or sees his participation limited on Sunday, City's competitors will be interested to get a look at their midfield depth.  

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chelsea – Cole Palmer 

Palmer showed his old club what they were missing last season with his last-gasp penalty at Stamford Bridge, one of 33 Premier League goal involvements (22 goals, 11 assists) he recorded in 2023-24 – more than any other player.

Sixteen of his goals came in home games, the joint-most a Chelsea player has ever netted at Stamford Bridge in a single campaign, alongside Didier Drogba in 2006-07 and Frank Lampard in 2009-10.

With Palmer also making a sizeable impact for England at Euro 2024, including coming off the bench to net in their final defeat to Spain, another productive campaign is expected of him.

Manchester City – Erling Haaland

Palmer's fine debut season did not result in a Golden Boot win, though, with Haaland retaining the prize with 27 Premier League goals in 2023-24.

Haaland has 63 goals in 66 Premier League matches since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, and if his previous opening-day performances are anything to go by, Chelsea should be fearful.

The Norwegian has started both of his Premier League seasons with a matchday-one brace, scoring twice versus West Ham in 2022-23 and Burnley in 2023-24.

He could become the first player in Premier League history to achieve that feat in three different seasons, let alone three in a row.