There are unlikely to be any surprises among the top three finishers this year but fourth spot is up for grabs and cup competitions could see silverware on its way to Aston Villa, says Lawrence Gosling
I'll own up immediately, I'm a Chelsea supporter of 30 years standing and decades of my father and grandfather reminding me they were there the last time Chelsea won the title is finally about to be put to rest.
I think the arrival of Jose Mourinho and the acquisition of a new striker, Kezman, for a relatively modest £5m, will give Chelsea the edge to win their first championship in 50 years.
Of course, Chelsea have overpaid for a number of the other players they have bought this summer, and Mourinho is new to the Premiership, but the core of the team is the same as last season.
Arguably, the difference between Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United last season was consistency. Over the course of the season, in head to head games between the three clubs, honours were fairly even. Arsenal's amazing unbeaten run, albeit with a third of the games drawn, was the reason they ran away with the Premiership.
So what is the outlook for the rest of the Premiership?
Arsenal
The loss of Patrick Vieira could well be key to Arsenal but Wenger has proven himself adept at handling situations like this in the past. Arsenal will have a strong defence again, and as long as Henry scores they will be a tough team to beat.
But Wenger will again have to balance the demands of trying to win the Champions League in Europe and defending the Premiership title. My feeling is he wants to progress in the Champions League more than win the Premiership again. I see Arsenal finishing third and reaching the semi-final of the Champions League.
Manchester United
In pre-season, Sir Alex Ferguson has implied he sees regaining the Premiership as being more important than winning the Champions League again. Arguably, his obsession in the past few seasons to win the Champions League for a second time has affected the team's performances domestically, so Ferguson is looking to regain the team's domestic dominance.
Personally, this looks like a piece of classic mind games by the old pro. I see United finishing second to Chelsea and making it to the final of the Champions League, where they will face an Italian side.
Aston Villa
Now proudly sponsored by DWS, the Villa go into the season with high hopes as you will have read in last week's Investment Week. Much of their progress last season was based on unearthing a striker in Angel who could score on a regular basis.
With Angel out injured, this season would seem to hinge on whether or not they can land James Beattie from Southampton. The newspapers are reporting that Villa has offered £6m and Southampton want £8m. It seems likely Beattie will go, once the small issue of £2m is sorted out.
This will be good news for Villa supporters and gives the club every chance of repeating last year's league position, with the added bonus of better runs in the cups. I expect Villa to win the Carling Cup.
Newcastle United
In what is apparently Sir Bobby Robson's last season in charge, the romantic says it would be great to see the old man of English football go out with a trophy and Newcastle are best suited to winning the FA Cup.
In many ways, a club like Newcastle, with its great history in the tournament, would be a perfected winner and it would also see Alan Shearer finish his career with a medal he has not previously won. The side will never have the consistency to win the Premiership in its current shape but the FA Cup looks a good bet, combined with a top 6 league finish.
Middlesborough
For two seasons running, Arsene Wenger has pointed to Middlesborough as a side to watch. Some pundits laughed at him last season but Boro's decent league position, and landing the first trophy in its history by taking the Carling Cup, proved Wenger was probably right.
This season, Wenger has again identified Boro has a team to watch. Manager Steve McLaren has made some good signings and a bit more consistency means Boro could realistically challenge for a Champions League place.
Liverpool
With a new manager and new players, the level of expectation at Liverpool has been raised considerably. Benitez is undoubtably a good manager but it will take him more than a season to transform Liverpool, a club that has on the slide for a decade now, to be a realistic Premiership challenger.
Last season, the club finished 30 points behind eventual winners Arsenal. Whatever the outcome of the Michael Owen to Real Madrid saga, Benitez will not manage to do that. If Liverpool can have a decent run in the Champions League and repeat their Premiership performance of fourth, he will have achieved a lot.
Fulham
Fans of the club must hope the second season in charge for young manager Chris Coleman doesn't turn out to be like it was for West Ham's Glenn Roeder. In his first season at West Ham, Roeder took them to a very creditable position in the top half of the league, only for his second season to turn out to be a disaster and for him to take them down.
Coleman seems to have bought well in the summer and another mid-table finish seems to be within their grasp. Signing two decent strikers to supplement what was a weakened forward line was a good move, because clubs like Fulham always struggle due to a lack of goals. That shouldn't be their problem.
Tottenham Hotspur
As the season starts, the supporters face the same old story: starting a new season with much hope but probably without foundation. A new manager and, importantly, a new director of football, offers a lot but clubs like Spurs have fallen so far behind the real big clubs of the day it is going to take them more than a season or two to catch up.
Mid-table looks the best Spurs can hope for, with a run in one or both cups. After the poor performances of last season, most supporters would probably count that as a success.
Charlton Athletic
Charlton are now firmly established in the Premiership, and again they have bought quite well in the summer. Success will be a repeat of the league place from last season, which is well within their grasp, but the surprise could be making it to the final of the Carling Cup.
Southampton
The new manager, Paul Sturrock, is rumoured to have only six games to prove his worth, on the back of discontent in the dressing room. Such rumours usually turn out to be true but his previous success at Plymouth was achieved by upsetting people along the way. I think he will tough it out, once the future of Beattie is resolved, and a mid-table should be an achievable finish.
Relegation candidates
It is hard to break out of the usual collection of candidates for relegation. The newcomers - West Brom, Crystal Palace and Norwich - all have a lack of funds and a lack of good quality players with experience at Premiership level. Crucially, all three lack proven goalscorers who can guarantee their side 20 goals plus a season.
The only comfort for supporters of these clubs is that there are a number of other clubs in this boat. Manchester City may only be saved by Anelka's goals, assuming they can hang on to him past the transfer window in January. What about Anelka to Manchester United, now there's a transfer rumour you might see this season.
But unless City start well they could fall into the spiral that hit Leeds last season, added to the fact City have very little money to spend on new players.
The once mighty Everton are in the same boat as City. They lack money and players and have the added problem of Wayne Rooney and a board room battle to get through. Again, it's hard to see them doing anything other than struggling. David Moyes could earn himself the historic tag of being the first manager to take Everton down.
Portsmouth confounded their critics last season and it seems likely they will again this season. Harry Redknapp has bought well during the summer and is always good at making signings as the season goes on.
I think Portsmouth will comfortably survive this season and finish mid table. It will be a season without much trauma for Pompey fans, which will no doubt be welcome.
