Chelsea

Danny Murphy doesn't think Enzo Maresca can guide Chelsea into the Champions League, despite spending the most money in the transfer window up to now.

"I just haven't got a clue how Maresca is going to put together a balanced team with all the players Chelsea have got," said Murphy. "They will score lots of goals, but with too many forwards in a team you are going to be vulnerable - I still think that without Thiago Silva at the back, irrespective of who plays then they are lacking leadership."

Matt Upson, however, has predicted Chelsea to secure a fourth-placed finish come the end of the season.

"Chelsea are my wildcard," said Upson. "I just have a sneaky feeling that Maresca is going to be quite harmonious in how he fits in. I could be wrong, but I just feel like he's a coach, and to function at that club you need to be a manager who is just a coach."

We asked 30 BBC TV and radio pundits to pick their Premier League top four for this season, with explanations for their selections.

Ashley Williams is the only one who has predicted Chelsea to finish third, with another six saying the Blues will claim a top-four spot.

Ex-Chelsea winger Pat Nevin said: "It is a complete guess but I am going to be wild and say Chelsea will sneak in, in fourth place.

"If you take last season as a whole, it could be anything again this time. But if you look at the last few games, then they looked fine - they will be good, even."

Former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas says that Cole Palmer could be a "good shout" to be named Premier League player of the season at the end of the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.

The Blues struggled last season, finishing sixth in the league, but 22-year-old forward Palmer was one of the team's bright lights, scoring 22 Premier League goals with 11 assists.

"He stood up so many times to make things happen for Chelsea when nobody really believed," said Fabregas on the Planet Premier League podcast.

Fabregas' former Arsenal teammate Emmanuel Petit also heaped praise on Palmer saying, "he had a very beautiful season last season, so I think he is going to be on the same way this season."

Palmer recently signed a new contract with Chelsea to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge until 2033.

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Former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has said that the Blues' summer transfer splurge will make new manager Enzo Maresca's job more difficult.

The Blues have spent £230m on 11 new signings this summer, bulking their squad up to more than 50 senior players.

Speaking on the Planet Premier League podcast, Fabregas said, "it's a hard for a coach when you have so many players."

He added that, for a new coach who wants to bring their own ideas, "you want to start creating a group of 20-22 players that can potentially be important during the season."

Italian manager Maresca joined Chelsea this summer, having impressed in the Championship last season as he led Leicester City back to the Premier League with 97 points.

Former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit also criticised the Blues' transfer approach, calling it a "nonsense" and saying that, "the relationship between the players won't be the same because nobody knows who's going to play the next game."

He said that successful clubs are characterised by "stability", whilst "clubs with the philosophy of Chelsea don't get anything because they don't have any stability.”

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Cesc Fabregas thinks former club Chelsea "hit the jackpot" by signing Cole Palmer from Manchester City last summer.

Palmer went on to score 22 goals in an underwhelming Chelsea side and has signed a two-year extension on his current contract with improved terms.

Will Palmer have another impressive season in blue?

Fulham have conceded last-minute winners in their last two home games against Manchester United.

But can the Cottagers avenge those defeats at Old Trafford and add themselves to the list of sides that have pulled off opening day upsets in the Premier League?

Fulham

Manager Marco Silva on Fulham's opener at Manchester United: "Of course the players have been speaking about it, because the last two seasons, every time we play against Man United the game has been decided by small margins.

"Two or three times against us, they have scored late goals to win games. I'm excited to be at Old Trafford, its always good to start there.

"The environment is going to be very good. They'll want to start on the front foot but they know what we are capable of doing.

"Every time we play against them, let’s hope we can repeat the same type of performance that we have been showing against them over the last two seasons."

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Fulham

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Fulham manager Marco Silva on his decision to break Fulham’s transfer record to sign midfielder Emile Smith Rowe: "One of the things that pushed me to fight to have him with us, was about his decision to leave Arsenal because he’s been there since he was nine years old, and that’s not an easy decision to make.

"The main thing for me was to feel the desire from Emile to come to our club. That’s what convinced me to push our board that he was going to be the right guy to have at our club. I knew that he was going to make our fans love him, it was like a statement for us.

"He’s a top, top talent and I know we will make him play at his best level again. When I see a player with talent with a desire to play for our club, it makes me want to push to have them with us."

Fulham

Image source, Getty Images

Fulham Manager Marco Silva on his targets and expectations for this season: "We are probably the only team in the Premier League who has lost three or four first-team players but we have to rebuild.

"We are confident and we have a lot of work to do over the next two-and-a-half weeks, until the transfer window closes.

"It's been a very good pre-season for us, the environment around the squad is top level. We are in good shape, even though we know the squad is far from complete right now."

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Football clubs often fail to dish out real punishments to their players over poor behaviour, but Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham have got tough with Yves Bissouma.

The midfielder has been given an internal one-match suspension for filming himself on social media taking laughing gas, which is illegal in the United Kingdom.

Bissouma is still training with the squad but has been told in no uncertain terms that he fell short of the club’s professional standards and will be unavailable for the upcoming game at Leicester.

Interestingly, this is the fourth suspension Bissouma has received under Postecoglou after two red cards and a ban for accumulating five yellow cards last season.

Postecoglou's comments also set a wider tone at the beginning of the season that standards - both on and off the pitch - must be met.

Postecoglou said there is now pressure on Bissouma to behave responsibly and “regain trust” from now on. He also has a big fight for his place after splitting minutes with Pape Sarr, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall in midfield during pre-season, with Rodrigo Bentancur having not been available until the last match after the Copa America.

This is a crossroads in Bissouma’s career and it will be on him to respond positively or he risks fading away.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Nuno Espirito Santo wore a wry smile when he was asked if he had missed the press this summer.

It opened the Nottingham Forest boss' first news conference of the season ahead of Saturday's Premier League opener.

Nuno is never one to give much away to the media during these sit-downs and remained tight-lipped about any transfer plans before the close of the window, but there is a quiet confidence around the City Ground.

Last season's points tally of just 32 saw them finish 17th, six above the relegation zone, after the four-point deduction following a profit and sustainability breach.

But with a pre-season under Nuno, which he did not have last term after replacing Steve Cooper in December, the Portuguese manager is adamant he has seen improvement and there is an expectation of avoiding a season-long scrap.

Image source, PA Media

Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter

The transfer window has been a busy time at Crystal Palace, with Michael Olise leaving for Bayern Munich and interest in key players Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen.

But that is not the only potential sale that is being worked on behind the scenes.

John Textor owns about 45% of the Eagles but has made it clear that he wants to sell his stake to pursue a deal to buy another club, with Everton one of the options.

Palace chairman and co-owner Steve Parish is the man in charge of running the club and said that the situation is amicable.

"John has a multi-club setup and because he has a minority position in Crystal Palace it makes it more difficult for him to do the things that he wants to do," said Parish.

"Personally, I think John is making as good a job as anyone in that multi-club situation, he has great assets. He wants a club that plugs into that where he controls everything that happens. We don't think that is right for us as a club right now.

"We do collaborate with his clubs where we can. He wants to go and do something else, we're helping him do that.

"John has supported the club financially, as we all have. He has put his part in and we have put our part in and we're all aligned on the strategy.

"We're very happy to help John fulfil his ambitions. I was chatting to him on email while he was flying to Brazil last night. We will try to find the right people to come in his place.

"Josh, David and I between us have 55%, with some friends. It's a very stable situation for the club and very amicable. We will work to wish John well and do our best to get him in the position we want him to be in."

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou on midfielder Yves Bissouma being suspended: "That's the club's sanction. Irrespective of that sanction, it's still [about] allowing 'Biss' to understand the poor decision he made and the ramifications of that. I will deal with that as we move along. In terms of the club sanction, it is one game suspended."

Bissouma will be available again for Spurs' home game against Everton on Saturday, 24 August.

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou on whether he believes nitrous oxide is becoming a problem in football: “How prevalent it is, I don’t know, because it’s a world away from my life. But I think the best way is awareness and education, and understanding the ramifications of making those kinds of decisions. There’s the personal ramifications because it’s illegal. There’s a significant price to pay there.

“I’m sure 'Biss' is like every other human being, he’s got people in his life who love him, parents, and they certainly wouldn’t want to see that. Then there’s the professional responsibility. The image of the game. Not the image, but the example you set as a professional footballer because there are so many people who follow the Premier League and we’re all in a pretty privileged position.

“We get well-rewarded for that. But there is a responsibility in what you do. Hopefully with education and awareness… there’s a reason it’s illegal. It’s not just because somebody thought, ‘Let’s just ban this for no particular reason’. There’s some science behind why it is.

“He’s made a poor choice. But within that context, we all make mistakes, there should always be an opportunity for rehabilitation and redemption for every human being, including footballers. That’s up to Biss now."

• Click here for more information on what nitrous oxide is

Image source, PA Media

Tottenham Hotspur

Before we look at what Fulham boss Marco Silva said earlier, here's a recap of the top line for that flurry of news conferences:

Tottenham have suspended Yves Bissouma for the Premier League game at Leicester City on Monday after footage appeared to show the midfielder inhaling laughing gas.

Spurs have made the move despite the 27-year-old apologising for a "severe lack of judgement", having posted a video of himself on social media on Saturday which showed him inhaling from a balloon.

Southampton

Manager Russell Martin on Southampton being among the pre-season favourites to be relegated: "I think it will become part of the story as the season goes on. If you look at what we achieved last season, it doesn’t affect the work we do. We will concentrate on being the team we want to be."

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Southampton

Southampton manager Russell Martin on adapting to a style of play to succeed in the Premier League: "There’s a concern with any style for any team in the Premier League. We are going to be defined by being good enough. Me, the players, we’ll be called naive.

"We’ve done something here we really believe in. The players believe, the fans feel connected to it.

"We'll have to adapt and change a little bit in terms of having less possession. We won't change our principles."

Southampton

Manager Russell Martin on Southampton's return to the Premier League: "I’m feeling excited, looking forward to the challenge. Its always difficult, the first game, to figure out systems and tactics.

"I feel like we are at a point where we need the first game to come. It'll be nice to get it away."

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo on keeping his players during the transfer window: "What I’m aware of on a daily basis at the training ground, everyone is there and I hope everyone is there tomorrow and until the last day [of the transfer window]. That’s our priority, to keep all the players that are with us. I realise there’s interest from other clubs but we want to keep them all, because they’re all good."

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Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo on changes he would like to see from last season: "Hopefully, we improve. That’s the main idea, that we improve our game. The results in the pre-season don’t mean a lot now. We now have the real moments to evaluate what we need to improve. There’s always a chance to do better."