The start of the 2026-27 Premier League season is three weeks away, with the first game, Arsenal v Coventry City, kicking off on Friday Aug 21. So how ready is your club for the season to come?We asked our experts to select two XIs. The first is the club’s strongest possible starting XI, regardless of current injuries or fatigue. The second is the team they would expect to start the first game of the season from the players currently available.For some clubs those two starting XIs may be identical, but for others they are quite different, especially for those whose players went deep in an expanded World Cup that asked more of participants than any previous tournament. Some are dealing with challenging injury issues. And others clearly still need to make some signings before the season begins…ArsenalArsenal’s strength in depth played a large part in the Premier League title win, and is still intact.Declan Rice — who was nursing an injury — is their only midfielder who played an extensive number of minutes at the World Cup.Arsenal should benefit from Martin Odegaard being eliminated at the quarter-finals, with Mikel Merino an impact substitute and Martin Zubimendi playing just 21 minutes. In Rice’s place, Myles Lewis-Skelly could build on the positive momentum he created in midfield late last season while Arsenal’s pursuit of Bruno Guimaraes could refresh their engine room.In defence, Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White being deputies for an injured William Saliba would satisfy most teams, but Arsenal entering the market for a central defender shows they believe they can add even more depth. Jurrien Timber travelled to Arsenal’s pre-season camp in Girona after recovering from a groin injury, but him “taking things slowly” may mean White starting at right-back on the opening day.With Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke reaching the final weekend of the World Cup, Mikel Arteta is in a privileged position to choose from either Ethan Nwaneri or Max Dowman to slot in. Nwaneri may play more centrally in pre-season.This pre-season could be a shootout for the centre-forward spot between Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz. Gyokeres improved as his debut campaign went on, but when fit, Arteta opted for Havertz during the biggest games of the run-in. That competition at the start of the season is something Arsenal did not have last year.On the left wing, Christos Tzolis is their only signing so far that could break into the starting XI. That could change if Arsenal move for Vinicius Junior, and Gabriel Martinelli is a more than capable option.Art de RochéAston Villa Predicting Aston Villa’s strongest team and the starting XI for their season opener down in Brighton is a thankless task. Villa are in a state of transition, with several players’ futures uncertain, even following the departures of Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers.So this could become quickly outdated, should Arsenal or another side match Villa’s valuation for Ezri Konsa, or Emiliano Martinez pushes further to leave. There is also interest in Ollie Watkins. I’ve gone for Lamare Bogarde to start in midfield, given Amadou Onana is injured and Boubacar Kamara is only just returning to fitness, but the young Dutchman has admirers from elsewhere.Regardless of the flux, Villa’s strongest XI shows they are currently without their best midfield pivot, though Joao Gomes and another (they have been in talks to take Joao Palhinha off Bayern Munich’s hands) may prove ample replacements.Villa do look light in attacking positions and while Alejandro Garnacho may force his way into both teams and Johan Manzambi is an exciting talent, they do require another wide player plus a general attacker to provide Unai Emery with greater options and variety going forward.Jacob TanswellBournemouth The futures of Alex Scott and Eli Junior Kroupi are uncertain but the club want to keep both beyond this summer. Kroupi has just undergone surgery for a foot injury sustained in training and with no public timeline yet for his return, Amine Adli could replace him in the opener away at Manchester City.Marcos Senesi is the major summer departure but James Hill’s form at the end of the season suggested he can take over and partner Bafode Diakite in central defence.Right-back remains a problem area. Captain Adam Smith, 35, started their 4-1 friendly win over St. Pauli last week but could Max Aarons, back from loan spells with Valencia and Rangers last season, win over Marco Rose? Aarons was a second-half substitute against St. Pauli.Scott and Tyler Adams as the holding midfielders with Kroupi ahead of them worked well under Andoni Iraola. Scott and Ryan Christie started last week but Adams, fresh off a solid World Cup campaign, should be ready for the opener.Bournemouth are well stocked higher up the pitch for their maiden campaign in Europe.Christie, Lewis Cook, Alex Toth and Justin Kluivert are solid rotation options in midfield. Ben Gannon-Doak and David Brooks provide depth on the wings, while new arrival Alvaro Rodriguez is an exciting Evanilson backup.Defensive depth is a concern, though there should be optimism about the future. Teenagers Veljko Milosavljevic and Matai Akinmboni, both 19, are the backup centre-backs, while Julio Soler, 21, and Julian Araujo, who struggled early last season before being loaned to Celtic in January, add depth at full-back.Anantaajith RaghuramanBrentford Brentford’s biggest issue over the last few years has been at left-back. Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey have struggled to return to peak form after suffering long-term knee and hamstring injuries respectively in the 2023-24 season. Keane Lewis-Potter prefers to play further forward but has deputised admirably at left-back and could start against Spurs on the opening weekend.Chelsea are working to sign Jordan Henderson, which means somebody else needs to partner Mikkel Damsgaard and Yehor Yarmoliuk in central midfield. Mathias Jensen would provide an extra dose of creativity but Brentford will be hoping Antoni Milambo can make the position his own after his debut season was wrecked by an ACL injury he suffered in October.Igor Thiago’s position as the first-choice striker is secure despite an underwhelming World Cup campaign with Brazil and the arrival of Callum Wilson. Dango Ouattara should retain his role on the right wing but Jaidon Anthony could nudge Kevin Schade out of the starting XI. Anthony and Schade both scored eight times in the Premier League last season but the latter’s form dropped off significantly, the Germany international only scoring twice in his last 18 appearancesrr. Head coach Keith Andrews might prefer to stick with Schade over Anthony, who only moved to west London from Burnley earlier this summer.Jay HarrisBrighton & Hove AlbionJust how fit is Kaoru Mitoma? The Japan international had his season cut short and World Cup hopes ended with a foot injury at the end of 2025-26, a frustrating finish to a term in which he suffered with hamstring problems.Anticipating that he is not rushed back in, Diego Gomez is Hurzeler’s preference on the left. He’s more of a No 10 than a winger, meaning a lot of running and width is required from 2025 player of the season Ferdi Kadioglu — the standout full-back on both sides, and part of the reason that right-back Costinha was signed from Olympiacos.The departure of Danny Welbeck is reasonable, allowing the 35-year-old to move to Chelsea as the club’s record Premier League scorer, though it truly underlines the lack of ready-made options at striker. Greek duo Stefanos Tzimas (who suffered an ACL injury last season) and Charampoulos Kostoulas have plenty of potential, though Hurzeler is in need of a first-choice No 9.It’s imperative for all involved that Carlos Baleba rediscovers his 2024-25 form. Veteran James Milner was preferred alongside Pascal Gross at the end of the season. He’s retired, so expect Gross to be paired with versatile midfielder Jack Hinshelwood — Hurzeler moved the academy graduate to No 10 last year with real success.There is reconfiguration needed at centre-back too. Jan Paul van Hecke’s departure to Tottenham Hotspur meant the loss of a quality passer and line breaker. Luka Vuskovic, who came the other way from north London, cost a club-record fee. He should provide box-defending quality alongside Dunk, meaning greater ball-playing demands will have to be shared among the defence.Liam TharmeChelseaSelecting an XI for Chelsea to begin the season is made more of a challenge by the uncertainty around what formation new manager Xabi Alonso will employ.His Bayer Leverkusen team predominantly lined up in a 3-4-2-1, which, given the prospect of new signing Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer playing together behind a striker and the acquisition of right wing-back Marco Palestra from Cagliari, would appeal. But that idea slightly falls down on the lack of left-sided options — though Palestra can play on that flank too, Chelsea have yet to replace Marc Cucurella after his move to Real Madrid. Jorrel Hato had a strong second half of last season but is more of a left-back/centre-back hybrid than a flying wing-back.