Sorting through England's title contenders

Aug 9, 2007, 16:16 GMT

Manchester, England - The celebrations have just started to die down in Manchester after Sir Alex Ferguson's club claimed the Premiership title last season, but already a new season is upon us with a full slate of games this weekend.

The season kicks off on Saturday, but Sunday offers up three of the top four clubs in England, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all opening up their campaigns at home.

The Red Devils broke Chelsea's two-year hold on the title, and now will open up defense of its own crown at Old Trafford against Reading. United certainly did not rest on its success over the summer, bringing aboard four new players who will only enhance the squad.

The first signing was Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves. The England international will have a huge impact on the team as he is expected to settle into a defensive midfield role, something the club is in desperate need of. Hargreaves will free up offensive-minded midfielders Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick, and give Ferguson a strong defensive presence for opponents to deal with.

Carrick especially should benefit after an inconsistent first season at Old Trafford. He showed flashes of his brilliant offensive abilities, but was saddled with defensive responsibilities that seemed to take him out of his game.

With the Carlos Tevez saga finally over, United has added one of the top strikers in the Premiership to go along with Wayne Rooney. Depth up top was another sore spot for the Red Devils last season, as Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer both struggle with injuries.

Tevez offers an upgrade over both players and will give Rooney the opportunity to drop into the midfield and collect balls that will allow him freedom to create. Rooney will become even more dangerous this season with a reliable target like Tevez to work with.

The other two signings, Nani and Anderson, are both talented young players who will contribute this season but have even bigger futures down the road.

Reading will have its hands full on Sunday as the club tries to duplicate its surprising success in its first season in England's top-flight. Reading will be shorthanded as striker Leroy Lita will miss the Premiership opener due to a strange leg injury. The 22-year-old, who could be out up to a month, injured a muscle while stretching in bed.

The Royals will have to do so without one of their top players, Steve Sidwell, who moved on to Chelsea. Manager Steve Coppell's men will not be able to sneak up on anybody this season, and that will present them with a challenge.

United's biggest threat to the title this season will once again be Chelsea. The Blues battled United into the last month of the season, but came up short in their bid for a third EPL crown.

Chelsea did not go on another big spending spree as in summers past, but will have a few new additions that are sure to make their mark. In addition to Sidwell, the club brought aboard Bayern Munich striker Claudio Pizarro, Premiership veteran Tal Ben Haim and the top player in Ligue 1 last season for Lyon, midfielder Florent Malouda. The other player Jose Mourinho will have at his disposal is Brazilian defender Alex, who is coming off of a strong season with Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven and will see time at center back along with captain John Terry.

No huge superstars were brought to Stamford Bridge this summer, but a number of big-name players still reside their, making Chelsea a tough team to deal with.

A rash of injuries last season robbed the Blues of a number of star players, including keeper Petr Cech, defender John Terry and midfielder Michael Ballack.

Mourinho's men will once again enter the season as one of the favorites thanks to a potent attack that includes last season's top scorer in league play in Didier Drogba, former AC Milan standout Andriy Shevchenko and young Nigerian Salomon Kalou, who proved to be a huge weapon off the bench for Mourinho last season.

If this team can stay healthy, they have to be considered as favorites to reclaim the title they lost one year ago. The Blues will open up with newly- promoted side Birmingham, who could be in for a long day at Stamford Bridge.

Also playing on Sunday is Arsenal, which will host Fulham at The Emirates Stadium. The Gunners had a very quiet summer outside of the departure of their top player and former captain, Thierry Henry, who left for Barcelona.

Henry missed the second half of last season with injury, and Arsenal still won its share of games, but it remains to be seen how a young team will handle an entire season without the veteran guidance that Henry offered.

One player that manager Arsene Wenger will get back this season is Dutch striker Robin Van Persie, who scored 13 goals in 25 games before losing the end of his season with an injury.

If Van Persie can stay healthy, and fellow strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and newly-signed Eduardo da Silva pick up the slack, the Gunners may not miss Henry as much as initially thought.

Wenger returns a deep roster that is loaded with talent but short on experience. There is no denying that Arsenal has the ability to be a title contender, but they might just need another year to do so.

Saturday's big contest features a Liverpool team with title aspirations of its own hitting the road to meet Aston Villa.

After finishing third in the league standings last season and advancing to the finals of the Champions League, Rafael Benitez and his team are looking for even bigger things this season.

The club returns a strong back line that helped carry the team at times last season, and the team's solid midfield anchored by captain Steven Gerrard also returns mostly intact. However, Liverpool was in need of an overhaul up top, and Benitez did just that, bringing in three strikers who will give the Anfield club one of the deepest attacks in England.

In addition to holdovers Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt, Benitez was able to lure Atletico Madrid's Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel of Ajax and Andriy Voronin from Bayer Leverkusen.

Competition for playing time should be fierce as all five players have qualities that will make Liverpool a much more dangerous club up top. Torres was the big catch after scoring 11 goals in La Liga last season, with the 20- year-old Babel containing loads of potential and providing a nice target inside the box. Voronin will likely come off the bench but he has looked good in the preseason and will look good as a second-half substitute.

Expect Liverpool to be a bigger factor in the title race this season and maybe jump into the top two.

If there is one team that could break the stranglehold that the 'big four' clubs have on the top four places in the EPL it could be Tottenham. The Spurs open their campaign on the road at promoted side Sunderland.

Manager Martin Jol's team should push for a Champions League place if it can tighten up defensively a little more from last season, because goals should not be an issue for the squad this year.

Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe gave opposing back lines headaches as they combined to score 33 goals last season. The arrival of former Charlton striker Darren Bent only adds to the team's depth up top, giving Jol plenty of options.

Other games on Saturday include Bolton welcoming Newcastle to the Reebok Stadium in what should be a pretty competitive contest, Portsmouth traveling to newcomers Derby, Everton entertaining Wigan, Blackburn visiting The Riverside Stadium to tussle with Middlesbrough and West Ham, who narrowly avoided relegation on the season's final day, hosting Manchester City, coached by former England manager Sven Goran Erickson.

© 2007 The Sports Network