Blue is the color

With Manchester United and Arsenal having problems of a different nature as the new season gets underway, Chelsea will not have a better chance of lifting the Premiership title for the first time.

Although the Blues have issues of their own with many new players from the continent to mould into an effective unit, the question marks over their rivals may have a greater effect.

At Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson goes into the new season missing a number of star names, with Cristiano Ronaldo and new signing Gabriel Heinze unavailable due to their involvement at the Olympics in Athens.

Both players finished 2003/04 late, with Ronaldo reaching the final of Euro 2004 and Heinze in action until July 25 at the Copa America with Argentina. Althought they will return to United by the end of the month, both will need to rest before being ready for Premiership football.

United also have injury problems to worry about, not to mention the absence of Rio Ferdinand until the middle of next month. The loss of Ruud van Nistelrooy for the opening month will hit them hard and the loss of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the whole of the campaign is a huge blow.

United's pre-season campaign has been disappointing, with performances in America nothing to write home about. And in Sunday's Community Shield they looked some way behind Arsenal in their preparation. Supporters are rightly worried about the defence and at times they were at sixes and sevens in Cardiff.

Although the season will obviously not be decided in the opening months, there are plenty of question marks over the strength of the United squad compared to previous campaigns. If they are to really have a chance of winning back their crown, then the likes of Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djemba are going to have to make a far greater contribution in their second seasons - especially with Roy Keane in the twilight of his career.

Alan Smith does look like a good signing, but he will find it hard to fill the boots of Van Nistelrooy.

Meanwhile, everyone at Arsenal has been praying that Patrick Vieira will decide to stay at the club. And it is this one factor that could decide whether or not the Gunners can retain the title for the first time.

It's now looking as though Vieira will definitely be heading for Real Madrid, after years of speculation, leaving a gaping hole in the centre of midfield. Portuguese star Maniche is expected to fill the void, but it will surely be too much to ask for the FC Porto star to slot into English football with the same commanding performances as Vieira.

While Arsenal may not miss Vieira initially, they will come to notice his absence over the course of a season - just as Manchester United did with David Beckham last term.

Jose Antionio Reyes has shown in pre-season that he is finally getting to grips with the English game, being named Man of the Match in the Community Shield, and he will be expected to carry that form into the Premiership in support of Theirry Henry - who Arsenal sometimes rely on too heavily for goals.

The Highbury outfit will, along with United, challenge strongly but may be found out by the loss of their inspirational skipper.

Step forward Jose Mourninho and Chelsea to become only the fourth side to win the Premiership title. While there is no doubt that there is a lot of work for the former Porto boss to do before this set of players becomes a team, there is everything to suggest he has what it takes.

If we thought we'd seen everything that 'mind games' have to offer from Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, Mourinho will show those old dogs a few new tricks. Mourninho has already shown during the Champions League campaign that he can wind up the United manager.

Although Chelsea may have overspent in the summer - with many clubs finding it all too easy to take advantage of Roman Abramovich's endless millions - for the most part they have bought quality.

Ricardo Carvalho was arguably the best central defender at Euro 2004 while Arjen Robben also starred with Holland and will provide extra strength on the flanks, either on the left or right. Mateja Kezman appears to be an absolute bargain at £5million and Petr Cech will finally give Carlo Cudicini some competition for the goalkeeper's jersey.

Although there are doubts about Didier Drogba's pedigree at the highest level, he has looked outstanding in his early appearances in the blue of Chelsea.

It all points to a very strong challenge from the Stamford Bridge outfit, and the troubles which their main challengers face just give them the edge in the race for the Premiership crown.

Liverpool can be expected to finish fourth again, and they may well close the gap to the top three from the 15 points of last term. Rafael Benitez has made a good impression since arriving from Valencia to replace Gerard Houllier in the summer, although he has only ventured into the transfer market for defender Josemi.

Djibril Cisse, a £14million Houllier signing from Auxerre, should also suit the English game. If Benitez can get Liverpool playing football again he could, given time, make them a Premiership force once more.

But this may be one season too many for Sir Bobby Robson. Although Nicky Butt is an able replacement for Gary Speed, Patrick Kluivert is a huge gamble considering he's been on the decline for a couple of seasons now.

Newcastle must qualify for the Champions League next season. The Magpies had one of the worst away records in the division last season, coupled with a poor defensive record, and if Jonathan Woodgate's injury woes continue it's hard to see an improvement.

And that could let in Middlesbrough for fifth place. Steve McClaren has bought very well over the summer, snapping up Mark Viduka and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in a bid to solve their goalscoring issues.

There are doubts about their compatibility, but both are proven goalscorers and should easily net enough between them to have Boro in the shake-up in the top half. Michael Reiziger provides international quality at the back and Ray Parlour brings championship experience from Arsenal. There appears to be exciting times ahead at the Riverside.

After that it becomes much of a muchness, although both Aston Villa and Birmingham should occupy a berth in the top half of the table. There is little to separate Fulham, Tottenham, Bolton, Charlton, Blackburn and Man City.

But it does not look promising for Southampton. Eyebrows were raised when former Plymouth boss Paul Sturrock replaced Gordon Strachan earlier this year and if reports are to be believed he has only six games to prove his worth.

The Saints do have too much quality to be a serious candidate for the drop, but the uncertainty off the pitch and continuing speculation over the long-term future of James Beattie may result in a bottom-half finish.

Near neighbours Portsmouth also look to have a hard job on their hands. Harry Redknapp does not seem to have strengthened anywhere near enough and they may come close to the drop.

But if anyone on the Premiership's old guard looks in danger it's Everton. Their squad is threadbare, they are in financial meltdown and the boardroom is reportedly split over the future of manager David Moyes.

Meanwhile, their only two quality players, Wayne Rooney and Thomas Gravesen, are reluctant to pledge their futures to the Merseyside outfit. And David Unsworth and Tomasz Radzinksi, both consistent performers over the last two seasons, have departed without being replaced.

And with Everton facing both Arsenal and Manchester United this month they will have to get results against newly promoted Crystal Palace and West Brom if they are not to be in a dogfight when the season has barely begun.

If Everton do end their long stay in the top flight, then Norwich City look best placed to stay up. The Canaries have made quality signings in Denmark skipper Thomas Helveg and Sweden winger Mattias Jonson - while Arsenal youngster David Bentley should prove an astute loan capture.

Nigel Worthington is a respected young manager and has a real chance of extending a run which has seen every First Division champion since Nottingham Forest in 1998/99 avoid relegation.

West Bromwich Albion will learn from their mistakes of last time. They have already shown far greater imagination in the transfer market but, despite the signing for Nwankwo Kanu from Arsenal, they again look short of goals and may fail again.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, look bereft of Premiership quality and will find it tough to stay in touch. Iain Dowie is a hugely impressive manager - and keeping Palace up would be an even bigger achievement than that of dragging the club into the top flight.