Which players at top-six clubs featured most during pre-season fixtures?
Thursday 16 April 2020 14:57, UK
We have calculated every player's pre-season minutes at the top-six clubs to see if any young stars could be set for first-team breakthroughs.
The Premier League kicks off on Friday, with Manchester United hosting Leicester City live on Sky Sports - but how have the top-six clubs prepared in pre-season and which youngsters could shine this term?
We looked at each club's pre-season stats to work out which youngsters were used most and which players were most clinical in front of goal...
City covered 10,181 miles on a round-trip tour to the USA, losing to Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool, beating Bayern Munich in Miami before defeating Chelsea at Wembley in the Community Shield.
Bernado Silva scored twice in the 3-2 win over Bayern and Sergio Aguero netted two in the Community Shield victory, while 19-year-old forward Lukas Nmecha and Leroy Sane also got on the scoresheet over the summer.
Pep Guardiola handed England prospect Phil Foden more minutes than any other player during the pre-season schedule with 324 minutes - playing in all four fixtures.
Former Barcelona graduate Eric Garcia started every game in the US at centre-back and the 17-year-old could be in Guardiola's plans for the season ahead.
Luke Bolton lasted 90 minutes against Dortmund but was used less as the tour progressed, while Cameron Humphreys-Grant made the starting line-up against Liverpool and Bayern.
United covered 14,821 miles on their tour around the USA, only winning one of their six games - albeit a 2-1 win against Real Madrid.
United managed to score only five goals on their travels, with Alexis Sanchez hitting two of those, Andreas Pereira, Ander Herrera and Juan Mata all scoring once.
Pereira could well be earmarked as a potential starter for Mourinho this term, having clocked a club-high 533 minutes during pre-season after returning from a successful loan spell with Valencia in La Liga last term.
Spurs travelled 12,305 miles during their pre-season tour in the USA, recording impressive wins against Roma and AC Milan. drawing 2-2 with Barcelona but losing 4-1 to Girona.
Former Paris Saint-Germain striker Lucas Moura will be boosted by Mauricio Pochettino's faith in him over the summer, clocking 252 minutes - having made only six league appearances after his January move earlier this year.
In fact, Moura was Spurs' top scorer on tour with three goals, followed by former Swansea target man Fernando Llorente and Georges-Kevin N'Koudou with two apiece.
Youngster Luke Amos could be set to make a first-team breakthrough, having clocked a club-high 345 minutes, while Oliver Skipp also received considerable game time.
Liverpool completed a mammoth pre-season schedule, cramming nine games into one month - but covered fewer miles than their main rivals with just 8,613.
Daniel Sturridge hit scintillating heights over the summer after returning from his loan spell at relegated West Brom, hitting six goals in 334 minutes - four more than any other player at the club.
Jurgen Klopp will be satisfied with form going into their opening game against West Ham, having beaten both Manchester clubs across the Atlantic and brushing aside seven of their opponents.
The German used new-signing Fabinho more than any other player, while home-grown 17-year-old midfielder Curtis Jones and 21-year-old defender Nathaniel Phillips were also among Klopp's favourites.
Chelsea clocked a league-high 18,792 miles on their pre-season tour, primarily from their opening game in Australia against Perth Glory.
Two of the Blues' International Champions Cup fixtures in the USA went to penalties - beating Inter but losing to Arsenal - but Maurizio Sarri's side only claimed one win in five games.
New-signing Jorginho was Sarri's most popular choice on tour with 334 minutes, although the Italian also appears to have had a close look at Ross Barkley after an injury-marred first season at Stamford Bridge.
Youngsters Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ethan Ampadu and 'keeper Marcin Bulka all received in excess of 200 minutes across the five fixtures
However, the Blues only mustered three goals in total - two from Pedro one one from Antonio Rudiger.
The Gunners mustered 15,636 air miles in just three weeks, flying from London to Singapore, travelling to Ireland and Sweden before returning to Stamford Bridge.
Unai Emery would be satisfied with the pre-season campaign, brushing Boreham Wood aside 8-0, suffering a shootout defeat against Atletico Madrid before beating Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Lazio.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette both scored a club-topping four goals over the summer, while youngsters Reiss Nelson and Edward Nketiah both netted twice.
In terms of youngsters used, only Hector Bellerin played more minutes than 19-year-old new signing Matteo Guendouzi, while Nelson could be set for more first-team opportunities under Emery with 197 minutes on tour.
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