The Premier League Favourites

Manchester United players celebrate winning their 19th league title.

The new Premier League season kicks off on the 14^th August and millions of fans all around the world are looking forward to the new season with much optimism and anticipation. The start of the world’s most expensive league had been in the doubt following days of riots in London. However the police seem to have nipped any trouble in the bud, and the new football season can now get underway.

The curtain raiser (Community Shield) produced an enthralling match as Manchester United defeated Manchester City 3-2, in an all out attacking display that has become synonymous with the Premier League over the years.

Sir Alex Ferguson demonstrated he is still the master of comebacks (with United coming back from two goals down to score three unanswered goals in the second half), but City once again declared their intentions to challenge for major honours this season. They scored two goals even without the controversial but talented Carlos Tevez, and new marquee signing Sergio Aguero. Both teams alongside Chelsea are widely expected to be in the thick of the battle for the Premier League this season.

Here is a look at the favourites to win this season's Premier League and those expected to finish in the top four.


Manchester United (The Defending Champions)

The current champions Manchester United are considered as favourites in many quarters and justifiably so. They have won an astonishing four Premier League titles in the last five years, and they look a sure bet to win another title.

Sir Alex Ferguson takes a bow after yet another successful season

Sir Alex Ferguson has embarked on a summer rebuilding campaign, following the retirement of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Edwin Van Der Saar, which culminated in the signing of Phil Joes, Ashley Young and David De Gea.

There is now tremendous strength and depth at Manchester United, and judging by their second half demolition of Man City, one can only admire at the brilliance of the young players (Cleverly, Welbeck, Smalling, Jones & Evans among others).

New signings L-R: Phil Jones, David De Gea and Ashley Young

Fergie has once again found adequate replacements for his ageing stars, and United seem to have the right mixture of youth and experience at Old Trafford. It will take a brave individual to bet against them retaining their title and being crowned English champions for the 20th time. They are the favourites, but anything can happen in football.

Predicted League Position: 1st. They are expected to retain the title.

Chelsea

The arrival of Roman Abramovich heralded a new era at Chelsea and the club has experienced the most successful period in its history. In addition they have been the closest challengers to Manchester United over the last seven seasons, winning three Premier League titles.

Abramovich has invested vast sums of money and transformed the fortunes of a club that had only one English league title prior to his arrival. However, the fact that Chelsea only won one Premier League title in the last five seasons tells its own story.

They finished last season as the closet challengers to Manchester United, and Abramovich wielded the axe as Carlo Ancelotti (a coach who won the Premier League and FA Cup double in his debut season) was replaced by the young and relatively inexperienced Andre Villas-Boas.

New Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is the Premier League's youngest manager at 33

Villas-Boas' first major signing is the teenage Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, and talks to sign Luka Modric appeared to have stalled, but Chelsea have maintained their interest in Modric and attempts are being made to push through the transfer.  There is an ageing squad at Chelsea with eight players being 30 years or older. The players in question includes; Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Yossi Benayoun, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, Paolo Ferreira, John Terry and Nicolas Anelka. 

Surely one would have expected Villas-Boas to bring in  more players with emphasis on youth in a bid reduce the average age of the squad. He is under pressure as Abramovich has shown his ruthlessness in the past by sacking Mourinho, Grant, Scolari and Ancelotti. Fernando Torres will also be under pressure to finally start scoring and justify his £50 million transfer fee.

Torres had a torrid time at Chelsea last season

Winning the Premier League will be a difficult task for such an ageing squad especially with the absence of a winter break in England. It remains to be seen whether the current Chelsea squad can mount a challenge on four fronts (Premier League. FA Cup, Carling Cup & Champions League) this season. They could nonetheless finish yet again as runners up to Manchester United.

Predicted Position: 2nd. They might finish as runners up yet again.

Manchester City

Sir Alex Ferguson described Man City as "the noisy neighbours", and judging by their performances last season (finishing third and winning the FA, knocking out Man United in the process), these noisy neighbours intend to be around for a very long time.

Armed with the riches of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, City are now being regarded as genuine title contenders. They have assembled a hugely talented squad, and some of their unwanted stars (such as Adebayor and Bellamy) could make the starting team of most Premier League clubs.

The arrival of Sergio Aguero reduces the goal-scoring burden of the controversial Carlos Tevez. Aguero is widely considered as a direct replacement for Tevez who was one the verge of joining Brazilian outfit Corinthians before they ran out of time, as the South American transfer window shut. 

New signing Sergio Aguero is expected to replace Carlos Tevez

Italian giants Inter Milan have also been credited with having an interest in signing Tevez, and with the transfer window still open, he could yet make the move to the San Siro.

Mancini is under immense pressure to challenge for the Premier League title. The expectations at the City of Manchester Stadium have almost reached crescendo, and the long suffering fans can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is under immense pressure to challenge for honours this season

Despite of their massive spending power, the City fans still had to watch as Manchester United won a record 19^th League title and progressed to the Champions League final, losing 3-1 to Barcelona at Wembley. They are widely expected to mount a serious title challenge, although winning the league might just elude them this season.

Predicted Position: 3rd

Arsenal

These are turbulent times at the Emirates as the Arsenal have now gone six successive seasons without winning a trophy. Their troubles were further compounded as they conspired to lose the Carling Cup final to Birmingham, following some uncharacteristic errors and an apparent lack of communication between Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczęsny.

Arsene Wenger was feeling the stress last season

The decisions of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasry to leave the Emirates further increases the anxiety of the Arsenal fans, and some of them are not only criticising Wenger, but surprisingly calling for his resignation.

Wenger is without doubt Arsenal’s most successful manager. Since his appointment in 1997, he has won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, four FA Community Shields and lead Arsenal to both the UEFA Cup and Champions League finals. 

Wenger’s resume is quite impressive, but his failure to win a trophy in the last 6 seasons, coupled with his stubborn insistence on continuing a failed youth policy has tested even the most ardent and loyal Arsenal fans. The usually popular phrases such as “Arsene Knows” and “In Arsene We Trust” now rank hollow as some Arsenal fans now view Wenger with repugnant indignation.

Do the Arsenal fans still trust Wenger?

There is no doubting the fact that the current Arsenal squad is in dire need of some new signings.  A well established centre-back, a holding/defensive midfielder and a striker could assist in creating balance and offering some much needed competition for places.

Arsenal fans have had to watch Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool all strengthen their squads this summer, while they have to make do with Gervinho (a talented Ivorian signed for £11 million), and two teenagers; Carl Jenkinson (signed for £1million) and  Alex Chamberlain (signed for £15 million). 

New Arsenal signing Gervinho

Arsenal are being linked with a host of talented players, with the imminent departure of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. Andrew Ayew, Jadson, Willian, Gary Cahill, Christopher Samba, Phil Jagielka, Juan Mata, and Eden Hazard among others.

Whether or not these transfers materialise remains to be seen, but it is imperative that the Gunners bring out the chequebook if they are to challenge for the title or even maintain their position in the top four.

Predicted position: 4th. They will face a huge fight to finish in the top four unless they make the requisite signings.

Whatever the outcome at the end of the season, it is bound to be another exciting and action-packed season.

Replacing The "Irreplaceable" Paul Scholes

Sir Alex Ferguson faces the unenviable task of replacing Paul Scholes. The Manchester United legend  ended an immaculate career on a less than fruitful note following the 3-1 defeat to Barcelona at Wembley.

Paul Scholes

United struggled for large parts of the game and the absence of a genuine attacking midfielder was evident as Xavi and Iniesta ran rings around the United midfield, while Carrick and Giggs struggled to maintain the little possession they could muster.

Therefore Fergie made finding a replacement for Scholes his number one priority this summer. However, the fact that three signings  (Phil Jones, Ashley Young and David De Gea) have already been made for a combined £50 million, with none of them an attacking midfielder, has left the fans wondering whether an attacking midfielder was really Fergie's summer transfer priority.

Paul Scholes was such an important player to Manchester United that Fergie declared that he is "Irreplaceable ." While one acknowledges that replacing a player with such extraordinary talent, vision and elegance can be an extremely difficulty task, it is not entirely impossible. Here is an insight into possible replacements for Scholes:

Wesley Sneijder

Wesley Sneijder

Fergie could go for a stellar signing and Wesley Sneijder perfectly fits the bill. He was instrumental in Jose Mourinho's incredibly successful Inter Milan team, and he replicated his outstanding form for the Netherlands at the 2010 world cup in South Africa scoring 5 goals.


He is energetic, possesses good range of passing and phenomenal shooting ability. Furthermore he has a very good record in big games and could just be the man to replace Scholes.


However, he is believed to be on an astonishing "£250,000 a week contract" and any deal will require intense negotiations, as Sneijder will cost upwards of £30 million. His age could also be a hindrance  as he has little or no re-sale value at 27. The chances of Fergie signing him appear to be dwindling every day.

Javier Pastore

Javier Pastore

In the event of any deal for Sneijder failing to materialise, Fergie could turn to Javier Pastore. The young Argentine had a brilliant season for Palermo finishing last season as the club's leading scorer in Serie A with 11 goals.


Pastore possess good range of passing, can dribble and score goals as a result of his usually well-timed runs into the opponents box.


Interestingly, Palermo's club president Maurizio Zamparini has emphatically stated that Pastore will only leave Palermo for £45 million, although at 22years old, he does have re-sale value unlike Sneijder.



Marek Hamsik

Marek Hamsik

Napoli's talented attacking midfielder could yet be another option for Fergie. 


He was instrumental for Napoli last season and his passing and vision made him a target for some of Europe's great clubs such as Milan, Inter and Juventus.


Napoli's president Aurelio De Laurentiis is adamant that any potential bidder for Hamsik will have to meet his £85 million valuation. In spite of Hamsik being only 23, Fergie will most certainly be reluctant to meet De Lautentis' valuation.

Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard
Fergie could also turn to the outstanding Eden Hazard. He is  reportedly being monitored by Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Arsenal. Hazard had a brilliant season playing a crucial role for Lille as they won both the French League and French Cup in a remarkable season. Furthermore he was named as League 1 player of the year 2011, and he was also awarded the young player of the year in 2009 and 2010.

Hazard possesses good dribbling ability, good range of passing and excellent vision. He is a player of enormous potential and the fact that he is only 20, means he could be an outstanding signing. Fergie could face huge competition should he decide to go for Hazard.

Yoann Gourcuff

Yoann Gourcuff
Gourcuff was such a highly rated player when he first burst unto the scene that he was being compared with the legendary Zinedine Zidane.

Milan hurriedly snapped him up, although he spent most of his time on the bench due to the brilliance of Kaka. 


He then moved to Bordeaux where he rejuvenated his career and helped them win the French League, and French cup. He is experienced and is very adept at dead ball situations. 

Paulo Henrique Ganso

Paulo Henrique Ganso
The Santos attacking midfielder is highly rated in Brazil and speculation is rife that he could be on his way to Old Trafford for a reported £25 million.

He is widely regarded as the best attacking midfielder in Brazil and is expected to play a crucial role for the Selecao when they host the 2014 world cup. 

Bastian Schweinsteiger

Bastian Schweinsteiger
Fergie could also opt for the mercurial Bastian Schweinsteiger. He has been known to be an admirer of this phenomenal German midfielder. A proven winner at Bayern, Schweinsteiger could prove to be another stellar signing and most importantly, he will be more affordable than Sneijder. 


Alternatively Fergie could look inwards and promote some of his young guns. This could be an opportunity for the likes of Tom Cleverly (back from his loan spell at Wigan) or the promising Ravel Morrison. 


While one cannot deny the importance of the legendary Paul Scholes to Manchester United, it can be argued that there are other capable alternatives as stated above. The signing of an attacking midfielder is vital, as failure to adequately replace Paul Scholes could result in another "deja vu" should United come up against Barca next season.