Nine things we’re excited about to this season

European football is back and the 2024/25 season promises to be another campaign of compelling narrative.

As the action prepares to get underway, here are nine things we’re looking forward to in 2024/25.

Nine things we’re looking forward to this season:

Champions League new-boys

The Champions League will take on a new feel this season with a format change for UEFA’s flagship competition. The format will not be the only new look, however, after several surprise qualifiers booked their place in the tournament.

Aston Villa’s top-four finish in the Premier League means the club will compete on this stage for the first time in the Champions League era, with Villa Park sure to be raucous when the European nights roll around.

Elsewhere, Girona overachieved to finish third in La Liga and book their spot in the Champions League, while top-four finishes for France’s Brest and Italy’s Bologna earned them inclusion for the newly-introduced league phase.

Elsewhere, Sturm Graz and Stuttgart return after long absences to freshen things up in 2024/25.

The Galacticos – part three

It might not have been the extravagant spending on established superstars as the first two Galactico regimes, but Real Madrid have built another star-studded side. Kylian Mbappe’s arrival from Paris Saint-Germain supercharges the Spanish and European champions, as the French forward links up with Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior in a devastating forward line.

Mbappe marked his first appearance with a goal in the UEFA Super Cup win over Atalanta and will have his sights on elusive European success this season. He could hardly be in a better place to realise those ambitions.

It’s time to strap in for the ride.

Semi-automated offsides

VAR continues to frustrate football fans but there should be some improvement coming to the Premier League in 2024/25. The Premier League will use semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) for the first time for the new campaign, implementing technology previously used in the Champions League and major international tournaments.

Clubs unanimously agreed to introduce the technology in April and its implementation is expected to cut the average length of a VAR check for offside by 30 seconds.

“The technology will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters,” a league statement said.

Ipswich Town back in the big time

A generation of football fans have never seen Ipswich Town play Premier League football. Last a top-flight team in 2001/02, the Tractor Boys have been down to the third tier before a rapid rise under Kieran McKenna.

Consecutive promotions have propelled Ipswich back into the Premier League and their momentum means few would write them off when it comes to survival.

McKenna’s men are adventurous and bold, scoring 193 goals across successive promotion campaigns, while the summer additions of Kalvin Phillips, Sammie Szmodics, Jacob Greaves and former loanee Omari Hutchinson add real quality. A packed Portman Road will be a brilliant spectacle throughout the season, an old-fashioned venue ready to celebrate its return to the spotlight.

Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce

Jose Mourinho’s stock is not what it once was, but Europe’s elite’s discarding of The Special One has led us to this captivating chapter in his managerial career. Mourinho has pitched up at Fenerbahce, one of Turkey’s biggest clubs with a fanatical fanbase, in one of the most volatile footballing environments in the game.

It could be a cult classic. It could be a complete disaster. There’s a good chance it might even be both.

Turkish football is hardly known for its tranquil landscape, with last season seeing the league suspended when Ankaragucu’s president Faruk Koca punched a referee and Michy Batshuayi spinning-kick fans who invaded the pitch after a tie with Trabzonspor.

Batshuayi himself has lit the touch paper for the new season, after leaving Fenerbahce for arch-rivals Galatasaray on a free transfer this summer. The Istanbul titans each earned club-record points totals in 2023/24, with Gala pipping their cross-town nemesis to the Süper Lig crown by three points.

Enter, Mourinho.

League One’s Super Spenders

Birmingham and Wrexham are hardly the most glamorous clubs in the English game, but recent seasons have seen celebrities take centre stage. Wrexham’s transformation under Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has led to successive promotions and a hit Disney documentary, building the Welsh side a significant supporter base Stateside.

Next on Wrexham’s list of ambitions is League One, where Phil Parkinson’s team must compete with big-spending Birmingham. After dropping into the league from the Championship, the Blues – who have NFL legend Tom Brady on board – have spent an unprecedented third-tier sum in excess of £10m on new players.

Blues bid goodbye to Goodison

Everton will play their home fixtures at Goodison Park for the final time this season, ending their 132-year association with the famous old ground.

Modernisation is required for Everton to compete with the Premier League’s top teams and this is the farewell tour for Goodison before relocation to their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

Despite its creaking structure and questionable vantage points, Everton’s iconic home ground will be sorely missed. Last season, some terrific atmospheres from the Toffees pushed Sean Dyche’s side clear of trouble. Expect more of the same in 2024/25.

West Ham being fun again

West Ham’s relationship with David Moyes was perplexing from the outside looking in. The Hammers had their most consistent Premier League period under the Scot and won a first major trophy in 42 years with Conference League success, but a stale brand of football made Moyes unpopular with large hoards of supporters.

Moyes has moved on and Julen Lopetegui has arrived, with the Spaniard backed in the transfer market. Crysencio Summerville adds another dynamic forward player to the West Ham side, as the 22-year-old joins Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, and resident dribble king Mohammed Kudus. That group will support fellow recruit Niclas Fullkrug, the sort of old-fashioned number nine West Ham have needed for some time. The Irons could be fun to watch and tough to play against this season.

Thiago Motta’s makeover of Juventus

Bologna’s brilliant campaign ended in Champions League qualification last season but has seen I Rossoblù cherry-picked apart. Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori have headed to the Premier League, while head coach Thiago Motta was head-hunted to take charge at Juventus.

The former Barcelona and Inter Milan midfielder impressed with his revolution of Bologna and is now tasked with revitalising the Old Lady. Juventus have gone four seasons without the title since a nine-season spell of Serie A dominance and have struggled to make an impression in Europe.

Recruitment has been positive with Michele Di Gregorio – named Serie A’s Best Goalkeeper in 2023/24 – arriving as the new number one, alongside a midfield reboot that has brought Douglas Luiz and Khéphren Thuram to Turin. Teun Koopmeiners is expected to follow.follow.

Read – Premier League: Five young players to watch in 2024/25

See more – Eight talking points ahead of the Premier League weekend

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