Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Reigning champions Liverpool kick off the Premier League season on Friday with Europe’s richest league strengthened by a remarkable £2 billion ($2.7 billion) spending splurge.

Liverpool will include £100 million midfield signing Florian Wirtz and new forward Hugo Ekitike in their squad to face Bournemouth at Anfield, with several other new recruits also in contention to feature.

The Reds are favourites to retain their crown but the unknown factor is the potential effect of the tragic death of Portugal forward Diogo Jota in a car crash in Spain in July.

Arsenal, top-flight runners-up for the last three seasons, face an immediate test of their title credentials at revamped Manchester United on Sunday.

Newcastle will be without unsettled star Alexander Isak for a tough trip to Aston Villa as Liverpool try to sign the Sweden striker.

Here are several issues to watch on the opening weekend:

Big-spending Liverpool seek harmony

Liverpool have changed their careful shopping habits and suddenly outspent their rivals, overhauling a squad fresh from winning the league.

Only once since 2007, when Manchester City did it in 2019, have the Premier League champions been the biggest-spending English club in the market.

A spree that has already seen Liverpool’s US owners approve £260 million on Wirtz, Ekitike and defenders Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, is far from over with Isak and Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi linked with moves to Anfield.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez have been sold.

The transition has shown teething problems in pre-season with a slick attack let down by a porous defence.

Manager Arne Slot is confident his side are ready as they seek to retain the title for the first time since 1984.

“I think we’ve lost five to six players that played quite a lot of minutes for us last season and we brought in four new ones, so then it’s normal that there’s a little bit of adaptation,” said Slot.

“But we are definitely ready for the league to start.”

Sesko and Gyokeres seek scoring start

Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres are set to make their Premier League debuts for United and Arsenal respectively at Old Trafford after a summer that could have seen them line up the other way on Sunday.

Arsenal were linked with a move to Sesko for over a year before deciding to bet on Gyokeres as the man to fire them to a first Premier League title since 2004 for a fee that could rise to £66 million.

The Gunners have finished second for the past three seasons, lacking a clinical finisher to take that final step towards being champions

Gyokeres netted a remarkable 97 times in 102 games in two years at Sporting Lisbon, much of which came under United’s now-manager Ruben Amorim.

Instead of being reunited with the Swede, Amorim has overhauled his attack with the signings of Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha at a combined cost of over £200 million.

“I don’t need to tell Ben, ‘Ben, this is Manchester United, a lot of pressure. Every game is like do or die’,” Amorim said of Sesko.

“He is always thinking about football. He’s really obsessed about that.”

United, one of the world’s richest clubs, had to spend big after their worst season since being relegated in 1974.

Villa and Newcastle chase ‘big six’

As the Premier League’s traditional “big six” of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham have flexed their financial muscle in the transfer market, Villa and Newcastle have been squeezed out.

Constrained by the need to meet financial sustainability rules, Villa’s only major signing has been Ivorian striker Evann Guessand from Nice.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has had to field constant questions about Isak, who sat out pre-season preparations in a bid to force through a move to Liverpool.

Howe admitted on Friday that Isak controls his transfer destiny after confirming the 25-year-old will not feature in Saturday’s opener against Villa.

“As I sit here now, I don’t know that. Alex will control that,” he said when asked if the striker would play for Newcastle before the transfer window closes.