Soccer: Fresh stars should edge Chelsea to the hat-trick

Chelsea will begin their quest for a hat-trick of Premier League titles next week looking almost invulnerable after striker Andriy Shevchenko and midfielder Michael Ballack joined the champions.

Bookmakers paid out on Chelsea's last title and they could well repeat the exercise after coach Jose Mourinho added the proven quality of Shevchenko and Ballack, plus the emerging talent of Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel.

Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, who came closest to upsetting the bookies last time face niggling worries.

Manchester United, have lost their out-of-favour but prolific striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, snapped up by Real Madrid, and there is no sign yet of a worthy replacement.

Equally worrying is the volatile temper of striker Wayne Rooney, sent off in England's World Cup quarter-final exit to Portugal and promptly red-carded with Paul Scholes in the pre-season friendly tournament in Amsterdam.

Rooney's dismissals are a concern after a season in which he restrained his aggressive style under the watchful eye of manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

After 20 years in charge, Ferguson faces one of his biggest challenges in closing the gap on Chelsea who have a first-rate coach and vast resources on the transfer market.

Liverpool, Champions League winners in 2005, showed a real improvement in their Premier League performances last term, winning 50 per cent more games than the previous season.

The man behind their recent success, Spanish coach Rafael Benitez, has made no secret of his ambitions for the coming season and the desire to be real title challengers.

"The ideal would be to be contenders," he said in Cardiff last May after his side lifted the FA Cup.

Captain Steven Gerrard, with his sharp tackling, great distribution and eye for goal, remains Liverpool's inspiration. Craig Bellamy, brought in from Blackburn Rovers, could be the man to provide the missing goals.

Arsenal start the season at their new 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium after bidding farewell to Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Sol Campbell but, crucially, after securing French talisman Thierry Henry on a new four-year contract.

Henry, the Premier League's top scorer in four of the last five seasons, will again be key to their hopes.

But the side need more reinforcements than Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky to mount a real title challenge, let alone hope to repeat their run to last season's Champions League final.

Outside the top four, the spotlight is likely to fall on Tottenham Hotspur, who let fourth place slip to arch-rivals Arsenal on the last day of the season, and an Aston Villa side now in the safe hands of Martin O'Neill.

Sheffield United's outspoken manager Neil Warnock should liven up the post-match interviews, but the talking point is still likely to be Mourinho, whatever his haircut.

- REUTERS