Kick Off!

The Premiership season kicks off again this Saturday (August 13th) and it promises to be an entertaining season. With Man U and Arsenal the only other teams with realistic chances of toppling Chelsea from the top of the table, it looks like a three horse race to the title with Chelsea way ahead of the other two.

Man U have the squad and the players to prove they are still the Man U which won the treble a couple of years ago. Upfront they have the prolific van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Smith and Saha - though he hasn't been as effective. Moreover there are stories linking ManU with Owen, and if that materialises, it could be one of the best attacks in the permiership. After the Rio-saga, they look solid at the back as well, but only time will tell whether van der Sar can fill in Schemichel's boots. Another worrying part is the midfield marshaled by the aging Keane. They need a couple of good signings and the rumours about Ballack would be welcome! He would instantly command a place in the team.

Every team would like to test Arsenal now - the Gunners without Veira. Will they be able to cope up without Veira? That seems to be the million dollar question. They do have very good youngsters like Fabregas and Flamini and the signing of Hleb does seem promising. And with Henry up front with Bergkamp, Reyes or van Persie they can penetrate any defence.

On the other hand, Chelsea do not have to worry about replacing players as they have ample resource waiting in the wings. With 2 players fighting for each position they keep up the tempo and their game plan very nicely indeed. Wright-Phillips gives more depth to the midfield which in turn covers up for their lack of a striker like Henry or van Nistelrooy. Though they were linked with a host of players like Ronaldinho, Baptista, Robinho and including Shevchenko, they failed to bring even one of then to Stamford Bridge. If somehow they manage to lose the title, complacency could have played a very big part!