It146;s back! Premiership 2004-05

Last season saw brilliant Arsenal waltz away with the title in a historic unbeaten run. They8217;ve already shown, in the Community Shiel...

Last season saw brilliant Arsenal waltz away with the title in a historic unbeaten run. They8217;ve already shown, in the Community Shield, that the fluidity is intact. But Chelsea, with a new manager and 130 million worth of new blood, are knocking on the door. And Man United have not lost the Premiership title two seasons in a row. Here8217;s a primer:

THE CLUBS
ARSENAL
Why they can win: Momentum of last season seems to have continued, boosted by new boy van Persie and old new boy Fabregas
How they can lose: Can Henry have a third straight brilliant season? And can Vieira keep his mind on the job and off Madrid?

CHELSEA
Why they can win: Any club that can field three teams of stars has quality and quantity. Mourinho8217;s burning ambition will be further fuelled by the fate of Ranieri
How they can lose: Ask Real Madrid and Carlos Quieroz

MANCHESTER UNITED
Why they can win: Amazing team spirit and reluctance to give in, Ferguson8217;s desire to go out on a high, and a very good squad when they all get together
How they can lose: By leaking goals, not scoring them, and losing midfield battles. In short, injuries to too many players; can they keep abreast of the others till they are at full strength?

THE NEW BOSSES
Jose Mourinho
Chelsea, from Porto The Ego has landed. Now can he deliver?
Rafael Benitez
Liverpool, from Valencia Merseyside ain8217;t no Sunny Spain, Kewell ain8217;t no
Aimar Jacques Santini
Spurs, from France From an overhyped team to an overhyped club. And overhyped Luis Figo may be on the way

THE TOP SIX MATCHES
AUG 15: Chelsea v Man United
OCT 24: Man United v Arsenal
DEC 12: Arsenal v Chelsea
FEB 1: Arsenal v Man United
APRIL 16: Man U v Chelsea
APRIL 20: Chelsea v Arsenal

THE ODDS
To win the title
Arsenal 5/4
Chelsea 7/4
Man United 5/2
Liverpool 14/1

Story continues below this ad

To be top scorer
Thierry Henry 3/1
Ruud van Nistelrooy 9/2
Didier Drogba 8/1
Source: ladbrokes.com

FIVE NEW FACES
Djibril Cisse
Liverpool, from Auxerre: Poor, poor Liverpool. Their revival plans were based on Cisse and Owen scoring a million goals; now the Frenchman doesn8217;t even have Heskey for company
Robbie van Persie
Arsenal, from Feyenoord: The new Bergkamp, they say. If he8217;s even half as good as that, he8217;ll be very good indeed
Didier Drogba
Chelsea, from Marseilles: The Goal Machine, the jewel in the Chelsea crown, has a heavy price tag 42 million to shoulder. That shouldn8217;t faze him, though.
Arjen Robben
Chelsea, from PSV: We all saw at Euro 2004 just what he could do. Playing opposite Duff, feeding Drogba and Gudjohnsen, is a mouthwatering prospect
Ricardo Carvalho
Chelsea, from Porto: The man who tamed Wayne Rooney. Should slot in alongside Paulo Ferreira in a watertight Chelsea defence