Premier League 2018-19: What tactical surprises will we see and who will under and overachieve?

And this season promises to be just as good, with English football still on a high after the near-miraculous World Cup expedition to Russia that saw the nation fall back in love with the beautiful game, as well as a certain bloke named Gareth Southgate.

International football aside, the domestic season is what's coming home to our screens this weekend, and Oli Gent explores what we can expect from the 2018/19 Premier League season, analysing the tactics new and old, as well as pointing out sides that could "do a Burnley" or "do a Stoke".

Tactically, the past two seasons have revolutionised the English game.

Two years ago a man by the name of Pep Guardiola arrived at Manchester City, Antonio Conte bounded his way onto the Stamford Bridge sideline, and Jose Mourinho rocked up at Manchester United to rival former foe Guardiola.

Tiki-tika was ingested into the Manchester City blueprint, while a back three found its way into Chelsea folklore, leading the Blues to the title in Conte's first season.

But last season was all about two teams in particular. Guardiola wasn't able to assert the dominance on the English top-flight he was used to at Barcelona in his first term, but come the turn of the campaign he was more than ready to launch a title assault.

Two losses, 100 points, and 106 goals later, and City were champions - 19 points ahead of their noisy neighbours and nearest competitors Manchester United.

The other season-defining side was Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, as the German finally deployed the "rock-and-roll" style of attacking play he had been promising.

Executed to perfection by the fab three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and marvellous magician Mohamed Salah, the Reds tore apart the Premier League but ultimately underperformed in the end, finishing 4th as their attentions turned to their second Champions League final since that infamous comeback in Istanbul in 2005.

The ridiculous pace of the front three, combined with the fluidity that Klopp allowed them to attack with, seemed almost unstoppable at times, with star Egyptian Salah ultimately going on to be crowned Player of the Year for a fantastic goalscoring return of 32 league goals in his comeback year in England.

The 2017-18 season was also the first proper introduction of the high-intensity pressing game that had been seen all across Europe.

But then, it was England's turn to see true hassling and hustling at its very best, shown by the success and terror that both Liverpool and City's front threes put on opposition defences when they would go hunting the ball deep in enemy lines.

This season will be no different tactically. We will see Guardiola's Citizens dominate ball possession and try and crack down rigid 4-5-1 and 5-4-1 defensive walls, and we will see Klopp's Liverpool attack and press at the frightening speeds that we saw last term.

In terms of the other sides, Manchester United fans will be hoping for a radical change to their style of play after Paul Pogba's public complaints finally led to a formational switch-up, from 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-2-1 where the Frenchman was more liberated to affect the game in the final third.

The shackles need to come off United. They were too cautious last season when it came to the business end of games, and that ultimately cost them points and most importantly ground on City in the title race.

Mourinho needs to shake things up and look to be more attacking in his approach, but Red Devils supporters are worried that this season could be an even-worse repeat of the last in terms of style of play.

Should the Portuguese allow United to push forward more, it would mean that Chilean superstar Alexis Sanchez would be afforded more space to operate, as well as Paul Pogba the license to roam forward with his powerful and direct runs that we finally saw for United in his match-winning performance at the Etihad back in April.

In London, the situation looks promising. Chelsea will revert to a back four under Maurizio Sarri and will be more expressive and exciting in their new 4-3-3 approach, getting the best out of Eden Hazard and Willian out wide as well as giving N'Golo Kante the freedom on the side of the midfield trio to press high and win the ball back quickly. Hazard will be encouraged to drift inside even more from his left flank to affect the game more as a floating number 10, which is what we saw in Russia where the Belgian captain's stupendous performances, alongside those of Kevin de Bruyne, saw Belgium reach the semi-finals.

In north London, the Arsene Wenger era is over and fresh-faced Unai Emery takes the hotseat after a mixed tenure at Paris Saint-Germain.

The Spaniard will probably rotate between a 4-2-3-1 formation and a 4-3-2-1 set-up, where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette will be moved out onto the left flank to squeeze both goalscorers into the side.

Mesut Ozil will continue to operate as the number 10 behind the main man up front, but would be moved to the right in the 4-3-2-1 where the German can cut in and work on his stronger left foot.

Emery will want his side to aggressively press off the ball, something which the Gunners will take some time to get used to after Wenger's stubbornness when asked to change his approach.

At Tottenham, the same system could be adopted by Mauricio Pochettino: a 4-2-3-1 that could slip into 4-3-2-1 to liberate Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen more to support Harry Kane in and around the box.

Don't be surprised, though, if the Argentine adopts a back three to accommodate Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen into the same side, as well as placing Kieran Trippier, a standout performer in Russia, into the position where he excelled with England at right wing-back.

There will also be a high press element to Spurs' game, lead ably from the front by that lethal quartet of Kane, Alli, Eriksen and Heung-Min Son.

But, moving away from the big-hitting six, who could cause a ripple in the Premier League waters and disrupt normal service from being resumed?

Big-spending Wolves and Fulham might have something to say about that, with both promoted clubs having put their money where their mouth is. The two have spent a combined approximate of £135m between them, with Fulham doing most of the splashing after big-money moves for Andre-Frank Anguissa from Marseille as well as Jean-Michael Seri for £30m and Aleksander Mitrovic for £20m.

Wolves, though, utilising Jorge Mendes' extensive contacts, have lured some star names to the East Midlands, namely Joao Moutinho from Monaco for a £5m steal, former Arsenal transfer target Leander Dendoncker on an initial loan that turns permanent next year, and Adama Traore from Middlesbrough, one of the standout players in the Championship.

It would be hard to look past both the Wanderers and the Cottagers to push for more than just mid-table safety, but they will be battled hard by Everton, who could claim to have 'won' transfer deadline day with three astonishing deals at the 11th hour.

Barcelona pair Andre Gomes and Yerry Mina rocked up at Goodison Park, alongside much-courted Brazilian wide man Bernard, who arrived on a free from Shakthar Donetsk.

The double deal for Mina and Gomes seems a brilliant bit of business by Marco Silva, especially as both men were reportedly offered as part of the foiled Barca bid for Manchester United World Cup winner Paul Pogba.

West Ham cannot be counted out either after their resurgence under Manuel Pellegrini (a former Premier League-winning manager, remember) commenced with big spending on big names such as Issa Diop, Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko, as well as shrewd captures like Jack Wilshere and Ryan Fredericks as freebies.

Under Pellegrini's supervision, the good times could finally return to east London, and the London Stadium could become the happy hunting ground that the club's owners had dreamt it would be.

But who could fall through the trap door and seriously underperform?

Watford look to be endangered after fairly poor and low-key dealings from Javi Gracia, who stands as second favourite to be sacked first after United boss Jose Mourinho.

They lack goals in the final third and will sorely miss the directness and power of the battling and bullish Brazilian Richarlison, who has headed north for a Goodison reunion with Marco Silva.

Troy Deeney and Andre Gray will surely struggle with a huge goalscoring onus to keep the Hornets up.

Also threatened by the drop could be Brighton, with the Seagulls' business also questionable. They may have stolen former Barcelona full-back Martin Montoya from Fulham at the last second, but up front their options are lacking.

Jurgen Locadia hasn't had the desired impact since his arrival from PSV in January, Florin Andone only scored six goals all season for Deportivo la Coruna last tern and cannot be solely relied upon to take the goalscoring burden off Glenn Murray and Pascal Gross' shoulders.

Also in trouble are Cardiff, as their recruitment might go down well in the Championship with the likes of Bobby Reid, Josh Murphy and Alex Smithies arriving, but there is no real star quality in the side when looked at on paper.

Loan signings Harry Arter and Victor Camarasa will be good box-to-box options to have in midfield, but there still remains a Championship-looking core to the squad instead of the top-flight ones that Fulham and Wolves have built.

It could be a long and difficult season for Neil Warnock's men, but they pulled off a major shock when they landed a top two finish last season and they'll be looking to startle even more with their long-ball approach and their brute physicality as Burnley and Huddersfield did last term.

There's much to look forward to.