It’s the start of a brand new Premier League season. A heady time of optimism for supporters before grim reality reasserts itself a few games in.
Check out all the team news from around the grounds as teams prepare for the opening weekend.
Manchester United v Tottenham Saturday August 8 12.45pm
Manchester United: De Gea left out of squad
David de Gea has been left out of Manchester United’s squad for their season-opener against Tottenham because Louis van Gaal says the goalkeeper has been affected by speculation regarding his future.
It seems Sergio Romero or Sam Johnstone will make their first appearance for the club in De Gea’s absence.
Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and defender Marcos Rojo are unavailable as they lack match fitness.
Provisional squad: Lindegaard, Romero, Johnstone, Shaw, Blind, Blackett, Jones, Evans, Smalling, McNair, Darmian, Varela, Valencia, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Goss, Fellaini, Herrera, Mata, Pereira, Januzaj, Young, Depay, Rooney, Hernandez, Wilson.
Tottenham: Spurs wait on Lloris fitness
Hugo Lloris will undergo a late fitness test before Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino makes a decision on whether to start him against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The goalkeeper only returned from a fractured wrist in midweek during Spurs’ 2-0 friendly victory over AC Milan, while striker Roberto Soldado and midfielder Ryan Mason also face late fitness tests.
Winger Andros Townsend remains a doubt and striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who is yet to complete his proposed transfer to Aston Villa, is unlikely to feature. Defenders Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer and Kieran Trippier are available to make their debuts.
Provisional squad: Lloris, Vorm, Walker, Rose, Vertonghen, Dier, Davies, Fazio, Trippier, Wimmer, Alderweireld, Yedlin, Lamela, Townsend, Dembele, Chadli, Eriksen, Mason, Bentaleb, Carroll, Alli, Lennon, Pritchard, Soldado, Kane.
Everton v Watford Saturday August 8 3pm
Everton: Duo available for Toffees
Defender John Stones and winger Kevin Mirallas are expected to be available for Everton’s Barclays Premier League opener against newly-promoted Watford at Goodison Park.
But while that pair look to have put ankle knocks behind them, and midfielder Tom Cleverley is set to make his debut after joining from Manchester United, there are doubts over two forwards – fellow summer recruit Gerard Deulofeu and striker Romelu Lukaku, both having had hamstring issues.
Tony Hibbert (knee), Darron Gibson (abductor), Muhamed Besic, Steven Pienaar and Aiden McGeady (all hamstring) definitely miss out.
Provisional squad: Howard, Robles, Coleman, Baines, Oviedo, Galloway, Jagielka, Stones, Browning, Cleverley, Barry, McCarthy, Barkley, Osman, Mirallas, Deulofeu, Lukaku, Naismith, Kone.
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Watford: Britos banned for Hornet’s opener
Watford will be without suspended defender Miguel Britos for their Barclays Premier League return at Everton on Saturday.
New goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis is also banned, while midfielder Almen Abdi is a doubt with a knee injury.
A late decision will be taken on Dutch signing Steven Berghuis (leg), but Joel Ekstrand remains sidelined with the cruciate knee injury he sustained in March.
Provisional squad: Gomes, Nyom, Cathcart, Prodl, Paredes, Holebas, Behrami, Capoue, Watson, Ighalo, Jurado, Deeney, Forestieri, Anya, Angella, Vydra, Layun, Gilmartin, Berghuis, Pudil, Abdi.
Bournemouth v Aston Villa Saturday August 8 3pm
Bournemouth: Gradel and Tomlin set for debuts
Max Gradel and Lee Tomlin are in line for their Bournemouth debuts in Saturday’s Premier League season opener with Aston Villa.
Manager Eddie Howe expects a challenging team selection for the Cherries’ maiden top-flight encounter and has nine summer signings to choose from in his squad.
Sylvain Distin, the former Newcastle, Manchester City and Everton defender, is among those who could make his competitive debut.
Provisional squad: Camp, Francis, Cook, Gosling, Distin, Elphick, Surman, Pugh, Arter, Rantie, Daniels, Wilson, Smith, MacDonald, Kermorgant, Stanislas, Ward, Ritchie, Boruc, O’Kane, Atsu, Mings, Tomlin, Gradel.
Aston Villa: New boys to be assessed
Tim Sherwood will assess several of his new players before deciding whether to hand them their Aston Villa debuts.
Jordan Amavi, Jordan Ayew, Jose Crespo, Rudy Gestede, Jordan Veretout, Idrissa Gueye and Micah Richards could all make their Villa bows but Sherwood wants to ensure they are up to speed to face Bournemouth.
Jores Okore is out with a knee injury, though, but is Sherwood’s only definite absentee.
Provisional squad: Guzan, Bunn, Baker, Clark, Amavi, Hutton, Crespo, Bacuna, Richards, Richardson, Senderos, Gueye, Veretout, Gil, Cole, Grealish, Sinclair, Gestede, Agbonlahor, Ayew, Kozak.
Leicester City v Sunderland Saturday August 8 3pm
Leicester City: Foxes wait on new signings
Claudio Ranieri will take charge of Leicester for the first time and will assess new boys N’Golo Kante and Yohan Benalouane before the visit of Sunderland.
The pair joined this week and the Italian needs to check if they are up to speed ahead of the start of the Barclays Premier League season.
Christian Fuchs and Shinji Okazaki are available and could make their debuts against the Black Cats after joining before Ranieri’s appointment while captain Wes Morgan is available after playing in Jamaica’s Gold Cup campaign.
Provisional squad: Schmeichel, Schwarzer, De Laet, Moore, Morgan, Wasilewski, Benalouane, Huth, Fuchs, Albrighton, Kante, Mahrez, Schlupp, King, James, Hammond, Drinkwater, Vardy, Ulloa, Kramaric, Okazaki, Nugent.
Sunderland: Fletcher hoping to return
Sunderland new boy Yann M’Vila is not expected to figure in his side’s opening game of the season at Leicester on Saturday.
The French international, signed on a season-long loan from Russian side Rubin Kazan, is struggling for match fitness after a limited amount of training time with his new team-mates.
Black Cats boss Dick Advocaat hopes Steven Fletcher will return to partner Jermain Defoe up front after missing the final friendly against Hannover 96 last week, but Wes Brown is a major doubt.
Provisional squad: Pantilimon, Mannone, Matthews, Kaboul, Jones, Van Aanholt, Brown, O’Shea, Coates, Lens, Rodwell, Gomez, Buckley, Larsson, Johnson, Giaccherini, Bridcutt, Cattermole, Watmore.
Norwich City v Crystal Palace Saturday August 8 3pm
Norwich City: Mulumbu misses season opener
Norwich will head into the Barclays Premier League opener against Crystal Palace without summer signing Youssouf Mulumbu after the midfielder had an operation on a fractured metatarsal.
Full-back Martin Olsson continues to recover from shoulder surgery following the Sky Bet Championship play-off final victory at Wembley, while forward Kyle Lafferty (knee) is also not yet fit.
New signings Andre Wisdom and Robbie Brady could both be included in the squad.
Provisional squad: Ruddy, Whittaker, Bassong, Martin, Wisdom, Brady, Tettey, Johnson, Howson, Hoolahan, Redmond, Jerome, Rudd, Dorrans, R Bennett, E Bennett, Grabban, Hooper, Van Wolfswinkel.
Crystal Palace: Goalkeeper decision required
Crystal Palace must decide who will start in goal for their opening Premier League fixture away to Norwich on Saturday.
A finger injury has ruled the long-serving Julian Speroni out of Palace’s opening three matches, so either Wales keeper Wayne Hennessey or new signing Alex McCarthy will be given the chance to succeed the Argentinian.
Morocco forward Marouane Chamakh is unavailable because of a hamstring injury and will also miss Palace’s next fixture, against Arsenal, but expensive summer signings Yohan Cabaye and Connor Wickham are both expected to make their debuts.
Provisional squad: Hennessey, A McCarthy, Ward, Mariappa, Hangeland, P McCarthy, Dann, Cabaye, Bamford, Bolasie, Campbell, Zaha, Jedinak, Gayle, Murray, McArthur, Fryers, Williams, Mutch, Souare, Lee, Delaney, Bannan, Ledley, Kelly, Puncheon, Guedioura.
Chelsea v Swansea City Saturday August 8 5.30pm
Chelsea: Mourinho to make late call on Costa
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho does not know whether Diego Costa will be fit when the Barclays Premier League champions begin their title defence at home to Swansea on Saturday.
Costa missed last Sunday’s Community Shield loss to Arsenal with a recurrence of the hamstring problem which has persistently plagued him in recent seasons.
Radamel Falcao and Loic Remy are vying for the starting spot if Costa is unavailable, and Chelsea have no further concerns.
Provisional squad: Courtois, Begovic, Blackman, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Ake, Hazard, Fabregas, Matic, Oscar, Willian, Mikel, Ramires, Cuadrado, Loftus-Cheek, Traore, Costa, Remy, Falcao, Moses.
Swansea City: Swans fully fit
Swansea manager Garry Monk has a fully-fit squad to choose from for his side’s Barclays Premier League opener at Chelsea.
Bafetimbi Gomis has been troubled by a hamstring injury but the French striker played in Swansea’s final pre-season game against Deportivo La Coruna last weekend and reported no reaction.
Ghana forward Andre Ayew is poised to make his debut against the champions following his move from Marseille, but fellow summer signings Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Franck Tabanou and Eder could all start on the bench.
Provisional squad: Fabianski, Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Ki, Cork, Shelvey, Routledge, Ayew, Gomis, Nordfeldt, Rangel, Bartley, Amat, Tabanou, Fulton, Britton, Emnes, Dyer, Eder, Montero, Grimes, Sigurdsson.
Arsenal v West Ham Sunday August 9 1.30pm
Arsenal: Gunners without injured Wilshere
Jack Wilshere will miss Arsenal’s Barclays Premier League opener against West Ham at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
The England international faces four weeks on the sidelines after suffering a hairline fracture to his left fibula.
Alexis Sanchez, who only recently returned to training after his Copa America exploits for Chile, is also out while Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky are both unavailable through injury.
Provisional squad: Cech, Bellerin, Chambers, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Ozil, Walcott, Ospina, Giroud, Gibbs, Mertesacker, Debuchy, Ramsey, Gabriel, Flamini, Arteta.
West Ham: Fitness boost for Hammers
Slaven Bilic has an almost fully-fit squad to choose from for his first Premier League game in charge of West Ham when he takes his side to Arsenal on Sunday.
The Croatian left a number of key players in London as the Hammers crashed out of the Europa League at the hands of Astra Giurgiu but most are in line to return at the Emirates, with loanee Carl Jenkinson unavailable against his parent club.
Strikers Enner Valencia and Andy Carroll (both knee) are definite absentees, with Bilic ruling the roost over the remainder of his squad over the weekend.
Provisional squad: Adrian, Randolph, O’Brien, Tomkins, Collins, Ogbonna, Reid, Cresswell, Hendrie, Noble, Nolan, Amalfitano, Obiang, Kouyate, Poyet, Payet, Jarvis, Lanzini, Maiga, Zarate, Sakho.
Newcastle v Southampton Sunday August 9 1.30pm
Newcastle: McClaren ponders starting line-up
Newcastle boss Steve McClaren is weighing up whether to hand starting roles to new boys Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba in his side’s season-opener against Southampton on Sunday.
The pair are still settling into life on Tyneside and may have to make do with a place on the bench, while captain Fabricio Coloccini is also a major doubt after missing most of pre-season with an Achilles problem.
McClaren has a number of players struggling to recover from injury, with the likes of Cheick Tiote, Emanuel Riviere and Paul Dummett all unlikely to feature.
Krul, Darlow, Coloccini, Williamson, Lascelles, Haidara, Janmaat, Taylor, Mbemba, Sissoko Anita, De Jong, Colback, Aarons, Marveaux, Obertan, Cisse, Gouffran, Perez, Mitrovic, Wijnaldum
Southampton: Long and Clasie face fitness tests
Jordy Clasie and Shane Long will be assessed before Southampton’s Premier League opener at Newcastle.
The pair missed Thursday’s 2-0 Europa League win at Vitesse Arnhem due to a hamstring injury and illness, respectively, so will be evaluated upon the team’s return to the south coast.
Saints manager Ronald Koeman may also miss the match as a ruptured Achilles likely requires an operation, while Ryan Bertrand, Gaston Ramirez, Florin Gardos and Fraser Forster are absent.
Provisional squad: Stekelenburg, K Davis, Gazzaniga, Cedric, McCarthy, Martina, Targett, Caulker, Yoshida, Fonte, Wanyama, Clasie, S Davis, Reed, Ward-Prowse, McQueen, Rodriguez, Long, Tadic, Mane, Juanmi, Pelle
Stoke City v Liverpool Sunday August 9 4pm
Stoke City: Bojan back for Potters
Stoke will be without captain Ryan Shawcross against Liverpool, but striker Bojan Krkic is in line to make his first competitive appearance in seven months.
The Potters this week revealed centre-back Shawcross required surgery on a troublesome back issue and will miss at least two months of the campaign, with defender Marc Wilson (ankle) also unlikely to face the Reds having not trained all week.
Bojan returned to action this summer following his long-term knee problem and could even be selected from the start by boss Mark Hughes, who expects new signing Ibrahim Afellay to feature but could be without Marko Arnautovic due to a thigh strain.
Provisional squad: Butland, Bardsley, Pieters, Muniesa, Whelan, Ireland, Johnson, Odemwingie, Arnautovic, Joselu, Wilson, Afellay, Van Ginkel, Adam, Diouf, Walters, Cameron, Sidwell, Teixeira, Given, Crouch, Wollscheid, Bojan, El Ouriachi.
Liverpool: Allen missing for season opener
Liverpool will be without Joe Allen for their 2015-16 Barclays Premier League opener against Stoke at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday after the midfielder was ruled out for three to four weeks with a hamstring problem.
The other definite absentees are striker Daniel Sturridge (hip) and defender Jon Flanagan (knee), who are expected to return in early September and just prior to Christmas respectively.
The likes of summer recruits Christian Benteke, Danny Ings, Roberto Firmino, James Milner and Nathaniel Clyne are poised for Reds debuts, while it remains to be seen whether forwards Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini – who both look set to leave the club – are involved.
Provisional squad: Mignolet, Bogdan, Toure, Lovren, Skrtel, Sakho, Gomez, Clyne, Enrique, Moreno, Can, Milner, Lucas, Henderson, Markovic, Lallana, Ibe, Firmino, Coutinho, Benteke, Ings, Origi.
West Brom v Manchester City Monday August 10 8pm
West Brom: Worries over Lescott
Joleon Lescott is a doubt to face Manchester City in West Brom’s opening game of the season on Monday.
The defender missed two days of training this week with an undisclosed injury but manager Tony Pulis is hopeful he will return to face his former club.
Rickie Lambert, James McClean and James Chester stand by to make their debuts but any loan deal for Arsenal’s Serge Gnabry will go through after the registration deadline and he will be unavailable for the game when he signs.
Provisional squad: Myhill, Rose, Gamboa, McAuley, Lescott, Chester, Olsson, Brunt, Pocognoli, Morrison, McClean, Gardner, Fletcher, McManaman, Sessegnon, Berahino, Lambert, Ideye, Anichebe.
Manchester City: Delph and Clichy miss opener
Manchester City will be without new signing Fabian Delph and defender Gael Clichy for their Barclays Premier League opener at West Brom next Monday.
Midfielder Delph is still suffering from the hamstring injury suffered on debut in a pre-season friendly against Real Madrid a fortnight ago while Clichy has an ankle problem.
City have no other fitness concerns, with striker Sergio Aguero and playmakers David Silva and Samir Nasri having overcome the sickness bug that affected them in midweek.
Provisional squad: Hart, Caballero, Zabaleta, Sagna, Kompany, Demichelis, Mangala, Denayer, Kolarov, Silva, Nasri, Navas, Toure, Fernando, Fernandinho, Lopes, Aguero, Bony, Sterling, Iheanacho.