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In this week’s podcast, Ed Dove and Malek Shafei preview the season to come for Africa’s stars in the top flight
No sooner has one season ended that another begins, and the Premier League returns this weekend with a series of fascinating match-ups.
The returning top flight is the focus of this week’s African Football HQ podcast, as Malek Shafei and Ed Dove dive into the major storylines and talking points involving the continent’s biggest names and top stars in the Prem.
This week, we break down the coming campaign into several different categories, with the podcast pair giving their tips and predictions ahead of the 2020-21 season.
Perhaps more than ever before, there’s major African talent wherever you turn at the top of the table, with all of the would-be title contenders set to rely on the continent’s stars as they look to achieve their aims.
Dove and Shafei assess the title claims of Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez and Liverpool’s African quartet Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joel Matip and Naby Keita.
Will the Merseyside four be able to battle inevitable fatigue, evade burnout, and retain the Premier League crown, or will City bounce back following their testing 2019-20 campaign.
They also give their predictions for the Player of the Year and the Golden Boot; can Arsenal pair Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe end the campaign in contention for the major honours, or can Hakim Ziyech bring his consistent creativity to Chelsea from the off?
The Morocco international has registered 40 assists across the last three Eredivisie seasons while at Ajax, and Malek believes that—if he hits the ground running—he could be a contender for the Player of the Year.
Elsewhere, the pair also look at which of the new signings in the top flight could have the biggest impact on the new campaign, while they also assess which of the African players with a point to prove—namely Wilfried Zaha and Alex Iwobi—are under the most pressure heading into the new season.
The duo also disagree on Mbwana Samatta’s prospects ahead of the coming campaign.
Can the Tanzania superstar prove that his maiden half-season in English football was just a blip, and that he can be a threat in front of goal, or is this as good as it’s going to get for the East African at Aston Villa?
With Wesley set to return from injury, with Ollie Watkins arriving for an eye-watering fee, and with Keinan Davis preferred ahead of him by Dean Smith last term, the future looks murky for the former Tout Puissant Mazembe frontman…or does it?!
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