{"id":20,"date":"2015-08-09T10:25:32","date_gmt":"2015-08-09T10:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/?p=20"},"modified":"2024-07-17T14:29:58","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T14:29:58","slug":"and-were-back-2015-16-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2015\/08\/09\/and-were-back-2015-16-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"We’re Back! The Icons.com 2015-16 Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"LONDON,<\/a>

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 24: John Terry of Chelsea celebrates with the trophy after the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on May 24, 2015 in London, England. Chelsea were crowned Premier League champions. (Photo by Mike Hewitt\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Ladies and gentlemen, we did it. We got through the summer break. It was tough, sure, but it\u2019s over now. You can put down those barbeque tongs, stick the sun lounger back in the shed and forget all about that fence you probably weren\u2019t going to paint anyway. Because this weekend, in stadiums across the country and around Europe, the football \u2013 the proper football \u2013 returns. And this season, like almost every season before it, threatens to be one of unmissable drama.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With Premier League legends Steven Gerrard<\/a>, Frank Lampard<\/a>, Didier Drogba<\/a> and Robin van Persie<\/a> all parting ways with the English topflight, there\u2019s never been a better time for new icons to emerge and big summer moves aplenty at the Etihad, Old Trafford and Anfield mean there are no shortage of fresh faces among the familiar stars.<\/p>\n

At Stamford Bridge, Jose Mourinho\u2019s<\/a> Chelsea \u2013 with leading lights in Eden Hazard<\/a>, Diego Costa<\/a> and Cesc Fabregas<\/a> \u2013 bid to become the first team since 2009 to defend their Premier League crown. But they face a strong challenge from a reinvigorated Arsenal, perennial contenders Man City and a much-strengthened Man United, who have added over \u00a383million of talent over the summer.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a Gerrard-less Liverpool have flashed their cash and captured Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino and Nathaniel Clyne, among others, while Tottenham will be hoping for more of the same from frontman Harry Kane, who emerged as one of English football\u2019s most exciting young strikers following a frenzy of goals last term.<\/p>\n

Newly promoted Watford return to the topflight after an eight year exile while Norwich City look promising after their swift return and there\u2019s more than a sense of intrigue about Eddie Howe\u2019s Bournemouth, who were excellent as they romped to the Championship title.<\/p>\n

On the continent, there\u2019s more glory expected for Barcelona, led by the irresistible and seemingly unstoppable \u2018MSN\u2019 trio of Lionel Messi<\/a>, Luis Suarez<\/a> and Neymar<\/a>. As ever, Luis Enrique\u2019s side will need to see off Clasico rivals Real Madrid but with Cristiano Ronaldo<\/a>, James Rodriguez<\/a> and Gareth Bale<\/a> at his disposal, new boss Rafa Benitez must feel confident of a strong challenge.<\/p>\n

\"BERLIN,<\/a>

BERLIN, GERMANY – JUNE 06: (L-R) Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar of Barcelona celebrate with the trophy after the UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus and FC Barcelona at Olympiastadion on June 6, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The German title race, as in France and Italy, is decidedly less open. With the additions of Arturo Vidal and Douglas Costa, Bayern will be incredibly hard to catch, though Kevin de Bruyne\u2019s Wolfsburg and Dortmund \u2013 with hipsters\u2019 choice Thomas Tuchel taking over from former hipsters\u2019 choice Jurgen Klopp \u2013 will try their level best to keep up.<\/p>\n

Paris Saint-Germain look certain to retain their Ligue 1 crown, as Angel Di Maria joins Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and David Luiz \u2013 a deep run into the latter stages of the Champions League is the aim.<\/p>\n

Juventus will start clear favourites in Italy but the Old Lady has lost some of her favourite sons over the summer with Andrea Pirlo<\/a>, Carlos Tevez and Vidal heading away to varying corners of Planet Football. Rudi Garcia\u2019s Roma have been improving season-on-season and could challenge Juve\u2019s dominance should their squad stay healthy throughout the season.<\/p>\n

Beside the Premier League, we should look then to the Champions League for competitiveness, where any number of around five or six teams could feasibly triumph. Though MSN make Barcelona the hot favourites, a lack of domestic challenge could help the likes of Bayern, Juventus and PSG, who\u2019ll each be looking to improve on the continent. Whoever wins, we\u2019re doubtless in for a treat as the best in the world vie for the ultimate prize.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ladies and gentlemen, we did it. We got through the summer break. It was tough, sure, but it\u2019s over now. You can put down those barbeque tongs, stick the sun lounger back in the shed and forget all about that fence you probably weren\u2019t going to paint anyway. Because this weekend, in stadiums across the… <\/p>\n

Read More<\/i><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[56,54,166,24,8,63,64,78,66,65,57,61,71,74,73,58,67,55,70,35,41,60,42,43,44,45,76,77,46,47,48,69,49,51,68,52,59,72,165,13,167,53,79,62],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews-and-predictions","tag-afc","tag-arsenal","tag-autograph","tag-barca","tag-barcelona","tag-bayern","tag-bayern-munich","tag-bournemouth","tag-bundesliga","tag-bvb","tag-chelsea","tag-dortmund","tag-french-league","tag-italian-league","tag-italy","tag-jose-mourinho","tag-juventus","tag-lfc","tag-ligue-1","tag-liverpool","tag-man-city","tag-man-u","tag-man-united","tag-man-utd","tag-manchester-city","tag-manchester-united","tag-norwich","tag-norwich-city","tag-premier-league","tag-premier-league-top-4","tag-premiership","tag-psg","tag-real-madrid","tag-robin-van-persie","tag-roma","tag-season-predictions","tag-season-preview","tag-serie-a","tag-signed-memorabilia","tag-sport","tag-sports-memorabilia","tag-steven-gerrard","tag-watford","tag-wolfsburg"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfQcey-k","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29,"url":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2015\/08\/07\/we-predict-the-2015-16-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":20,"position":0},"title":"We Predict… The 2015-16 Season","author":"Icons.com","date":"August 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 It feels like an age since Chelsea lifted that Premier League trophy, bringing the 14-15 Premier League season to a close. It's been a busy summer for almost every club but here we are, at that exciting stage again; the beginning of a new season! Who will emerge as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Previews and Predictions"","block_context":{"text":"Previews and Predictions","link":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/category\/previews-and-predictions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Icons-memorabilia-3","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Icons-memorabilia-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Icons-memorabilia-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Icons-memorabilia-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":80,"url":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2014\/08\/14\/the-icons-com-2014-15-season-predictions\/","url_meta":{"origin":20,"position":1},"title":"We Predict… The 2014-15 Season","author":"Icons.com","date":"August 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It's that time again. Who is going to win the Premier League? Who is going to score for fun? Will there be surprises and disappointments?\u00a0Here are the Icons team's expectations for the new season. Edward Freedman, Chairman Premier League top 4: Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United Premier League top\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Previews and Predictions"","block_context":{"text":"Previews and Predictions","link":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/category\/previews-and-predictions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Icons-Predictions","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Icons-Predictions.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Icons-Predictions.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Icons-Predictions.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":844,"url":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2016\/08\/12\/we-predict-the-2016-17-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":20,"position":2},"title":"We Predict… The 2016-17 Season","author":"Icons.com","date":"August 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Such is the nature of Leicester City's 5,000\/1 title triumph last season that it would seem\u00a0ridiculous to suggest\u00a0we're at the starting blocks of the most unpredictable season ever. And yet, with the addition of even\u00a0more superstars\u00a0to the most competitive major\u00a0league in Europe, there are sure to be a whole host\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Previews and Predictions"","block_context":{"text":"Previews and Predictions","link":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/category\/previews-and-predictions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Leicester City v Everton - Premier League","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/GettyImages-529569656-1024x681.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/GettyImages-529569656-1024x681.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/GettyImages-529569656-1024x681.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2164,"url":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2020\/09\/11\/we-predict-the-2020-21-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":20,"position":3},"title":"We Predict… The 2020-21 Season","author":"Icons.com","date":"September 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Usually when we write the intro to our predictions blog we try to make an impassioned case for why the upcoming football season will be the very best and most exhilarating to date. 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The possibilities for your team are endless and unbound, the hype surrounding your big summer signing reaches its intoxicating peak and with each empty league table sprawled out like a blank canvas you may\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Previews and Predictions"","block_context":{"text":"Previews and Predictions","link":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/category\/previews-and-predictions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1398904086.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1398904086.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1398904086.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1398904086.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1398904086.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/icons.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1398904086.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1306,"url":"https:\/\/www.icons.com\/news\/2017\/08\/10\/we-predict-the-2017-18-season\/","url_meta":{"origin":20,"position":5},"title":"We Predict… The 2017-18 Season","author":"Icons.com","date":"August 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"So, here we are again. 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