EPL: The Big Kickoff! Ahmed Musa leads Leicester’s title defence head start

As the EPL begins today at different centres, Nigerian forward and former CSKA Moscow, Ahmed Musa, will be leading the defending champions, Leicester City as it opens this season’s league with a trip to Hull.
And, indeed, the chasing pack, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, etal, would be out to hunt down Leicester City.
No doubt, this is going to make a compelling viewing in Africa and the world over.
New entrants, Middlesbrough will host Stock City, while Burnley will go up in arms against Swansea.
Aside the big names, all eyes will definitely be on reigning champions, Leicester.
Going by what had happened in the Summer market, there would definitely be pressure on Leicester to repeat its amazing exploits at the 2015-16 season and few are expecting it to.
Indeed, the team had arrived and grown in stature. For this season, Leicester’s title hope with bookmakers was of mixed feeling, or so it seemed.
They had pre season matches against Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona . And part of the warm-up for the new campaign was a trip to Wembley Stadium for the Community Shield against Manchester United, which Leicester lost 2-1.
Bookmakers and keen EPL watchers were asking the question if they can challenge for the title again. Taking into account the end of the 2014-15 season, when the team mounted a stunning escape from relegation under Nigel Pearson, Leicester won 30 of its last 47 Premier League games and lost only four. The team spirit is strong, the King Power stadium is a tough place to visit, and Leicester has the perfect tactics for winning away games.
With their mostly unheralded players and reliance on the counter-attack, the Foxes brought an element of surprise to last season and opponents underestimated them until it was too late. Even when opposition teams altered tactics and sat back more, Leicester still found a way to get results and finished the season with only three losses.
But would it be with the same cast? This is the big question as the big kickoff begins.
Indeed, Ranieri had lost his midfield dynamo, N’Golo Kante, to Chelsea for $40 million.
Another significant departure came off the field, with Steve Walsh, the head of recruitment with a record of unearthing unheralded players and making them stars, joining Everton.
Speculation had been swirling in the off season around the future of two more of last season’s key players, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez.
Vardy eventually signed a new deal but doubts remain about whether Mahrez would be at Leicester by the end of the transfer window on August 31, with the winger linked with Arsenal.
For this season, Leicester’s title odds with bookmakers ranged between 20-1 and 33-1.
Would it be a top-four finish? Maybe even retaining the trophy?
“Everything’s different now,’’ Ranieri was quoted to have said.
Continuing he said, “you imagine the big teams who didn’t win, who didn’t make the Champions League. They are going crazy now, they want to kill now.’’
Leicester would be operating at a completely new level this time around. The team would be competing in the Champions League for the first time.
But Ranieri could rely on a core group of players last season.That may return, given he must juggle domestic and European competition, and Ranieri had been busy strengthening the depth of his squad in the off season.
Nampalys Mendy was tasked with filling the void left by Kante in central midfield, Nigerian forward, Ahmed Musa joined from CSKA Moscow and has a similar profile to Vardy, while center back Luis Hernandez (from Sporting Gijon) and goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler (from Hannover) appeared able back-ups.
As for Hull City, Is there any hope after Bruce?
You immediately sense trouble at the Tigers after Steve Bruce’s shock departure due to a lack of transfer motivation from the club’s hierarchy.
A promoted club clearly needs to show some ambition and the veteran manager felt his club was not.
True, the club has stability with the likes of Tom Huddlestone, Jack Livermore and Abel Hernandez. But Allan McGregor and Michael Dawson will miss the start of the season and the club is clearly thin in the attacking ranks