With a new Premier League season on the horizon, football enthusiasts will be licking their lips at the chance to watch England’s top flight once again after a short hiatus. This season will certainly feel unique — fresh faces in the division, five substitutions per game, and the small matter of a World Cup forcing the first ever winter break which sees the action paused over November and December for international commitments.

Since so much football is being crammed into the initial three months of the season, a fast start is essential for teams to avoid giving themselves too much to do come the business end. Despite catching up on Manchester City last term, Liverpool simply ran out of time to get the better of Pep Guardiola, and inconsistency over Christmas provided decisive, the same as at Burnley, where a poor start under Sean Dyche left Mike Jackson fighting a losing battle in the Premier League dogfight.

With just over a week until the season gets started, managers from both ends of the table will be craving a bright start to the campaign. Read on, as we have a look at a few in the dugout that we think need it the most.

Jesse Marsch

Any football fan scouring the latest Premier League odds could all but tell you what would happen in Leeds United’s favour for most of last season — they were going to concede. The solid foundations laid by Marcelo Bielsa were swept away by a combination of injuries and fatigue which ultimately cost the Argentinian his job. Leeds were a victim of their own overachievement in 2020-21 and while they beat the drop last season under Jesse Marsch, the Elland Road faithful look as though they’ll be in for another long nine months this term.

Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips have both parted ways with the club, joining Barcelona and Man City respectively, and while three points on the opening day against Wolverhampton Wanderers would be an encouraging start, American coach Marsch will need real consistency in his results, some of which are more than winnable — a trip to St Mary’s against Southampton and then Brighton and Hove Albion and new boys Nottingham Forest between Chelsea at home.

Frank Lampard

Another side who were dragged into a relegation scrap last season, Everton have endured a tough couple of years. The false promises of Carlo Ancelotti, who it’s fair to say made a smart decision leaving Goodison Park to win another Champions League with Real Madrid in his second spell with the Spaniards, was followed by Rafael Benítez and now current boss Frank Lampard, undergoing something of an identity crisis on Merseyside.

Lampard can’t seem to figure out what his best side looks like, and since losing Richarlison to Tottenham Hotspur he will be reliant on injury-prone talisman Dominic Calvert-Lewin to create the bulk of the chances. Having had moves for Christian Eriksen and a reunion with Idrissa Gueye spurned, expect another lacklustre season across Stanley Park, unless the Toffees can make an encouraging start to the campaign. A tough first game against Chelsea is followed by more favourable opponents in Forest and Brentford, with Lampard hoping to finally prove his doubters wrong in his first full season in the Everton hotseat.

Erik ten Hag

Although pre-season results aren’t always an indication of a successful season, Manchester United have made a bright start to life under Erik ten Hag, with the Dutchman enforcing his high standards from minute one of their tour to Bangkok. A great start saw his side win 4-0 against a makeshift Liverpool side, but you could already see his possession-based philosophy intertwine with the car crash that was left by Ralf Rangnick towards the end of last season.

Unless a suitable buyer is found for Cristiano Ronaldo, he’ll stay put at Old Trafford for another year, and alongside new signings Eriksen and Lisandro Martínez, United could make light work of Brighton in their opening fixture, with the real test welcoming Liverpool at the end of August, where they can try and get redemption for the 5-0 drubbing they received under Ole Gunnar Solskjær.