<B>Arsenal

Manager: Arsene Wenger

Last Year?s Finish: 3rd

Title Odds: 6/1</B>

■ Wenger?s young Gunners just got even younger. The high-profile departures of Hleb and Flamini coupled with loss of veterans Gilberto and Lehmann has made an Arsenal side who lacked experience last season a little bit more vulnerable. Adebayor, Rosicky and Van Persie need to stay fit this year though. Expect Arsenal to lose ground in the title race around March when older heads and thicker skins are needed.

<B>Prediction: 3rd

Aston Villa

Manager: Martin O?Neill

Last Year?s Finish: 6th

Title Odds: 150/1</B>

■ O?Neill has bought intelligently over the summer, which means Villa are undoubtedly stronger than last year. The defence is strengthened significantly by the arrival of Luke Young and the Yanks Friedel and Guzan. Despite the improvements, the teams above are just too strong. Expect a same placed finish.

<B>Prediction: 6th

Blackburn

Manager: Paul Ince

Last Year?s Finish: 7th

Title Odds: 1000/1</B>

■ The Guv?nor is back in the big time. Paul Ince has landed his first major managerial job and Rovers will need all his panache and fight to keep them on the straight and narrow. The gambles on England stopper Paul Robinson and the unknown Chilean, Villanueva will need to pay off otherwise Ince may well be out of a job and Blackburn may well end up in a relegation dogfight.

<B>Prediction: 15th

Bolton

Manager: Gary Megson

Last Year?s Finish: 16th

Title Odds: 3000/1</B>

■ The Ginger Mourinho, as Bolton fans have dubbed Gary Megson, performed miracles keeping Wanderers in the Premier League last season and he will need a similar magic act to save his side again.

Big-money signing Elmander will need to settle in straight away and score goals and Riga will need to ensure Diouf isn?t missed.

<B>Prediction: 17th

Chelsea

Manager: Luiz Felipe Scolari

Last Year?s Finish: 2nd

Title Odds: 13/8</B>

■ Scolari is a truly world-class coach but a coach who has not been in club football since 2001 and never managed in Europe. Chelsea unquestionably have the strongest squad in the league and that notion has been enhanced by the purchases of Deco and Bosingwa, who look good buys. Scolari will need to get to grips with the English game quickly if they are to end the season triumphant.

<B>Prediction: 2nd

Everton

Manager: David Moyes

Last Year?s Finish: 5th

Title Odds: 150/1</B>

■ No new arrivals equals pessimism and unrest amongst the Everton faithful and in the mind of David Moyes. The sale of Johnson was supposed to fund several signings, including Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho but nothing has happened. Don?t expect a repeat of last season?s lofty finish but a purchase or two should keep them in the top half.

<B>Prediction: 8th

Fulham

Manager: Roy Hodgson

Last Year?s Finish: 17th

Title Odds: 2500/1</B>

■ Not a single door in England could have had as much use as Fulham?s front door this summer. Ten new signings and 18 departures, many of them first teamers, has meant a busy summer for Roy Hodgson. Schwarzer looks a decent buy and Johnson and Zamora may well have the firepower to shoot the side to mid-table.

<B>Prediction: 13th

Hull City

Manager: Phil Brown

Last Year?s Finish: Play-off Winners, Championship

Title Odds: 7500/1</B>

■ The fairytale should not continue for too much longer. The fall and rise of Hull has been remarkable and never has a side felt so privileged to be playing top-flight football. Boateng in particular looks a neat acquisition but Hull have not replaced the goals of Frazier Campbell and 40-year-old Dean Windass is not the answer. It will need a miracle for Hull to stay up.

<B>Prediction: 19th

Liverpool

Manager: Rafa Benitez

Last Year?s Finish: 4th

Title Odds: 6/1</B>

■ Will this finally be Liverpool?s year? The league title is what the supporters truly crave after 18 years without a championship. On paper Benitez has strengthened his side again and Robbie Keane could well turn out to be the signing of the season but his other buys are again mediocre and Liverpool still lack the quality of their rivals. Match up that with the manager?s incessant habit of constantly tinkering with his side and it looks like Liverpool may well just fall short again.

<B>Prediction: 4th

Man City

Manager: Mark Hughes

Last Year?s Finish: 10th

Title Odds: 200/1</B>

■ Owner Thaksin Shinawatra is now a political refugee and has had £800million worth of assets frozen - that is the major problem facing City. It is a problem that is likely to overshadow any of the work that Mark Hughes will do as manager. They should finish in the top 10 but if the crisis worsens who knows what could happen.

<B>Prediction: 9th

Man Utd

MANCHESTER UNITED

Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson

Last Year?s Finish: 1st

Title Odds: 5/4</B>

■ The Premier League and European champions are still very much the team to beat. United will add a top quality centre forward before the transfer window closes, probably Dimitar Berbatov. Strangely United are still a team in development. If Ronaldo can be half as good as last year and Rooney have the season he?s promising, the title should remain at Old Trafford.

<B>Prediction: 1st

Middlesbrough

Manager: Gareth Southgate

Last Year?s Finish: 13th

Title Odds: 1000/1</B>

■ Mid-table mediocrity was a relief in the end for Boro last year. Southgate turned around his side?s fortunes in the second half of the season and has gone about his job quietly and efficiently since taking over from Steve McClaren. However he has lost some important players this summer (Schwarzer and Young). Expect them to get dragged in to the relegation fight.

<B>Prediction: 16th

Newcastle

Manager: Kevin Keegan

Last Year?s Finish: 12th

Title Odds: 350/1</B>

■ Keegan?s arrival last season was supposed to signal the return of the glory days at St. James? Park. A horrendous winless run at the start of King Kev?s tenure did not help matters but in the end he managed to improve the team?s fortunes towards the end of last year. Big things will be expected of Michael Owen but he can?t stop picking up injuries. Expect a mid-table finish.

<B>Prediction: 12th

Portsmouth

Manager: Harry Redknapp

Last Year?s Finish: 8th

Title Odds: 350/1</B>

■ What a success last season was for Portsmouth. An FA Cup win and an eight-place finish but Redknapp will be hoping and can expect much more this time round with Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe in front. The distraction of Europe could affect the Pompey squad but expect a repeat of Last Year?s Finish at the very least.

<B>Prediction: 7th

Stoke City

Manager: Tony Pullis

Last Year?s Finish: 2nd, Championship

Title Odds: 7500/1</B>

■ Stoke will go straight back down, it is as simple as that. Tony Pullis? squad is not good enough, it?s lacks genuine Premiership quality and his signings so far have been far too few and haven?t really addressed Stoke?s problems. Similarly to Hull, it will take an absolute miracle to keep Stoke up.

<B>Prediction: 20th

Sunderland

Manager: Roy Keane

Last Year?s Finish: 15th

Title Odds: 1500/1</B>

■ Another busy close season for Roy Keane and another year where Sunderland should improve. The transfers of the likes of Chimbonda, Diouf and Malbranque look excellent buys and they add a lot more quality to the squad. This is a season for the Black Cats to firmly establish themselves as a mid-table side and they will do that.

<B>Prediction: 11th

Tottenham

Manager: Sergio Ramos

Last Year?s Finish: 11th

Title Odds: 50/1</B>

■ This year should be a hell of a lot better than last year. Some top-quality players have arrived at White Hart Lane over the summer, which should bring about a much better finish. Darren Bent has been impressive in pre-season and replacements will be brought in for Keane and Berbatov, should he leave. If the defence can stay injury free, they could even push for a Champions League spot.

<B>Prediction: 5th

West Bromwich

Manager: Tony Mowbray

Last Year?s Finish: 1st, Championship

Title Odds: 3000/1</B>

■ The most likely of the promoted sides to stay up. West Brom played some lovely football in the Championship last year and scored goals for fun. But Mowbray now needs to replace Kevin Phillips and desperately needs to sure up a leaky rear-guard that Scott Carson and Abdoulaye Meite alone cannot save. Keep an eye on West Brom though, they may be a surprise.

<B>Prediction: 18th

West Ham

Manager: Alan Curbishley

Last Year?s Finish: 10th

Title Odds: 750/1</B>

■ After the controversy of the Tevez affair all the fans wanted last year was not a relegation fight. Instead Curbishley coped with an appalling injury list and managed to guide his side to a top-10 finish. But for some reason the fans don?t like him and he?s the favourite to be sacked first this season. Curbishley must hope another mid-table finish can save his job.

<B>Prediction: 10th

Wigan

Manager: Steve Bruce

Last Year?s Finish: 14th

Title Odds: 3000/1<B>

■ Another manager who did a splendid job keeping his side up last year. Steve Bruce consolidated Wigan and made them a difficult side to beat and now this summer he?s adding that extra bit of attacking flair Wigan need to take them forward. The Latics at times do look a little naïve in defence but they should aim to be comfortably safe at the very least.

<B>Prediction: 14th</B>

<B>Ian Irving (Manchester)</B> <I>for l?express</I>