1st. Chelsea
Chelsea are many peoples tip to lift the Barclays Premier League this season and I would go along with that. A lot has been made of the top three from last season all changing their managers and I think the coverage of it has been slightly over-the-top. But the fact Jose Mourinho has managed in England before, managed Chelsea before and won the Premier League before will all count in Chelseas favour. Also, I really do believe Mourinhos main aim will be to win the Premier League in his first season back. Chelsea havent won the title in three years and theyve won the Champions League now so Im sure that will be a priority. Their squad is brilliant and I believe Manchester Citys just pips it. Their squad is also a lot younger now. Theyre a centre-back, holding midfielder and striker away from being near unstoppable. They might sign a striker this summer with
Wayne Rooney being their main target.
Mourinho has also said he is their only target so if they dont get him they wont get anyone. I dont think they will get Rooney so they might end up not signing a striker. Even so, I would still fancy them. Lukaku is exactly Mourinhos kind of striker; in the Drogba mould. Some people are questioning whether Lukaku is ready for the step up from West Brom to Chelsea. But I would say to that: its harder to score a goal for West Brom in the Premier League than it is for Chelsea. He scored 17 league goals for West Brom last season so just imagine how many he can score for Chelsea who will no doubt present him with more goal-scoring chances than West Brom could. Key player: Eden Hazard Transfers in so far:
Mark Schwarzer from Fulham on a free transfer.
Marco Van Ginkel from Vitesse Arnhem for £9 million.
Andre Schurrle from Bayer Leverkusen for £18 million.
Cristian Cuevas from OHiggins for £3 million.
Stipe Perica for NK Zadar for an undisclosed fee. Possible team to face Hull in their first fixture: GK: Ceck RB: Ivanovic CB: Cahill CB: Terry LB: Cole DM: Essien CM: Lampard RW: Schurrle AM: Mata LW: Hazard ST: Lukaku