EPL: Who will claim the crown at Tuesday’s PFA Awards?

The stage is set for one of the most anticipated nights in football as the Professional Footballers’ Association Awards take centre stage, celebrating the elite of the Premier League.

Among the top contenders is Phil Foden, the dynamic playmaker who, fresh off his 2023/24 EA SPORTS Player of the Season triumph, now eyes the ultimate honour — PFA Player of the Year.

With the football world watching, the question looms: Who will rise to claim the crown of the best in the game?

A Monday release on the EPL website titled “What’s Coming Up This Week in the Premier League?” disclosed this.

The EPL highlighted the series of events slated to take place during the week, with the awards ceremony occurring on Tuesday.

Championship category

Here is a full list of male nominees:

Men’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year Nominees:

Phil Foden (Manchester City), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Rodri (Manchester City), and Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa). (Image featured).

Men’s PFA Young Players’ Player of the Year Nominees:

Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Michael Olise (Crystal Palace), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), and João Pedro (Brighton & Hove Albion).

Here are the nominations for the two female categories in images from the PFA X account.

Women category

Young women category

Here is the order of events for the week, as culled from the EPL website:

Monday

Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur, the last two top-flight teams to begin their campaign, meet at King Power Stadium at 20:00 BST. The match marks a return to Premier League action for last season’s Championship winners Leicester, while club-record signing Dominic Solanke could make his Spurs debut following his move from AFC Bournemouth.

After a busy weekend of Premier League 2 (PL2) fixtures, the final few teams start their 2024/25 season, with Middlesbrough hosting Reading, Wolverhampton Wanderers making the short trip to Nottingham Forest, and a spicy local derby between Newcastle United and Sunderland. All matches kick off at 19:00 BST.

Tuesday

The Professional Footballers’ Association Awards ceremony will celebrate last season’s leading Premier League players.

Three months after he was voted 2023/24 EA SPORTS Player of the Season, Phil Foden is among those on the six-man shortlist for PFA Player of the Year.

Cole Palmer, who was previously named Hublot Young Player of the Season, is also up for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

The winners of both awards will be announced at 22:00 BST.

Wednesday

Head coach Enzo Maresca will be speaking to the media ahead of Chelsea’s UEFA Conference League match at home to Swiss side Servette.

Thursday

Chelsea are the first Premier League club to return to European action as they face Servette in the opening tie of their two-leg Conference League playoff match at 20:00 BST.

The Swiss club dropped into the competition following defeat in UEFA Europa League qualification to Portuguese side Braga, and now take on Maresca’s team for a spot in the 36-team league stage. The second leg takes place in Switzerland a week later.

Ahead of the weekend’s Premier League matches, several managers will hold their press conferences to provide injury updates and the latest news on any potential late-summer transfer dealings.

Friday

The remaining Premier League managers will speak to the media to preview their teams’ weekend fixtures.
Elsewhere, PL2 action resumes, with eight matches beginning the weekend’s fare, starting with Crystal Palace’s trip to Blackburn Rovers at 13:00 BST.

Saturday

The Fantasy Premier League deadline for Gameweek 2 is at 11:00 BST.

A bumper day of seven Premier League matches begins at 12:30 BST with Manchester United’s visit to Brighton & Hove Albion, who triumphed 3-0 at Everton on the opening day of the season. United also earned a 1-0 win over Fulham.

Having hosted Liverpool in their first match, promoted side Ipswich Town face a daunting trip to reigning champions Manchester City in one of five matches kicking off at 15:00 BST, including a London derby between Palace and West Ham United.

The day’s late match sees the season’s first meeting between clubs who finished in the top four last campaign as Aston Villa welcome Arsenal at 17:30 BST.

Sunday

Three days after kicking off their European campaign, Chelsea will hope to register their first Premier League win of the season, looking to bounce back from defeat against Manchester City when they travel to Wolves at 14:00 BST.

Bournemouth also host Newcastle at the same time.

The final Matchweek 2 fixture sees Arne Slot’s Liverpool host Brentford at 16:30 BST, with both sides hoping to build on victories in their opening fixtures. Striker Ivan Toney was left out of that Brentford win amid uncertainty over his future at the club.