Once homeless and in liquidation, Coventry back in the Premier League after painful 25-year absence

Opening a Premier League season away to the defending champions and title favorites would be something to fear for most promoted teams.

For Coventry, it’s purely something to celebrate.

Over the past 15 years , the club from central England has had to deal with being placed into liquidation amid a long fight with hated owners, plunging into the fourth tier of the English game, and also losing its home — thereby necessitating a groundshare with three different teams located within 40 miles (64 kilometers).

Now Coventry is back in the top division after a 25-year absence.

The message to Arsenal on Friday: Bring it on.

“It was a great year for us and the celebrations were great — it went beyond football in this city,” Coventry manager Frank Lampard said of the team’s promotion to the Premier League. “It went to a place where the city and football club went through tough times so it heightened the feeling of what was achieved. I’m very excited to be here and get a club that’s been out of the Premier League for 25 years and get them back in. It is exciting at this moment but we want to challenge and do well.”

Arsenal vs. Coventry will be the first of 380 games in a season that is starting later than usual because of the elongated World Cup and is hard to predict because of the raft of managerial changes in the offseason – not least the departure of Pep Guardiola after 10 era-defining years at Manchester City.

There appears to be one constant: the new-found stability and belief at Arsenal, which flexed its muscles on Sunday by swatting aside City in the Community Shield .

It therefore promises to be a tough start for Coventry – if a joyful one at the same time.

The standout fixture might be Newcastle hosting Liverpool on Sunday. They are among the nine teams starting the Premier League season with a new coach.

Newcastle's progress will be interesting, given the Saudi-controlled team has lost three key players in Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali in the offseason — a year after selling Alexander Isak to Liverpool. Isak is expected to get a hot reception at St. James' Park.

It's also the start of a new era at Etihad Stadium when Man City hosts Bournemouth later Sunday. It's Enzo Maresca's first league match in charge of City as Guardiola's replacement, while City will have to get used to life without Rodri after the Spain star's move to Barcelona .

Premier League clubs' spending on new players is approaching $3 billion already in the summer transfer window so watch out for debuts by the most expensive of the recruits. Morgan Rogers ($156 million) in Chelsea's match at Fulham on Monday, Elliot Anderson ($155 million) for City against Bournemouth, and Tonali ($133 million) for Tottenham at Brentford.

An under-the-radar signing might be Greece winger Christos Tzolis, who joined Arsenal from Club Brugge. He has looked sharp in preseason, including picking up two assists in the Community Shield.

Certain to be missing for Arsenal's opening match of its title defense is France center back William Saliba , who is a long-term absentee because of a back injury.

Liverpool will not only be starting a season without Mohamed Salah for the first time in a decade, but is still missing striker Hugo Ekitike as he recovers from Achilles tendon damage.

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