Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson has confessed that he believes that the Barclays Premier League title race is going to be wide-open again this season with any of the top five teams having a real chance to lift the coveted trophy.
At United there is an expectation to win the league - not just finish inside the top four - which is something that they have not done since 1990/91 season.
However, as many critics and pundits will agree to, winning the Premier league this season will come down to a couple of things: injuries and luck - which sometimes go hand-in-hand rather than big money signings.
United's back-four last season was absolutely decimated by injuries during the toughest stretch of matches in November / December, which was one of the major factors to them losing out on securing the Premier League title for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season.
Another factor that clearly was not on their side either is luck, because it was then the controversial refereeing decisions would have went for them rather than against.
Chelsea nipped the title from United by a lonely point, but the two goals they outscored the Reds by ultimately led to six points. If the two matches ended in a draw, which they should have, then United would have theoretically finished on 87 points and Chelsea on 82.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and United all have a realistic chance to capture the title.
Competition
Arsenal did well to keep their captain, Cesc Fabregas, at the club for at least another season, but Arsene Wenger is still short on experience, which ultimately cost them in the run-in last season's race.
Wenger has bought Laurent Koscielny from French side Lorient to partner Thomas Vermaelen, and he also secured the signature of long-term target, Marouane Chamakh, on a free transfer.
Like United, Chelsea have not been very active in this summer's transfer window, but they are reportedly on the verge of signing Brazilian midfielder Ramires, which could be a deciding factor in the title race.
However, Chelsea have lost one of their staple figures in defense, which could leave them short of experience at the back. Ricardo Carvalho has recently traded Stamford Bridge for the Bernabéu with a chance to join his former manager, Jose Mourinho, at Real Madrid.
Liverpool, the only club with a chance at the title that changed their manager in the off-season, probably did the most to save their 2010/11 season by keeping both Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
The Anfield club replaced Rafael Benitez with Fulham boss Roy Hodgson and his capture not only kept their two superstars, but it also lured Joe Cole to sign on a Bosman from Chelsea.
City has clearly showed their ambition to be not only a contender for a place in the top four, but the title as well. They have nearly spent £200 million signing four top players - Jerome Boateng, Aleksandar Kolarov, David Silva and Yaya Touré.
The problem that Roberto Mancini faces is trimming his squad of superstars down to 25 players before the start of the season, which is a headache that most managers would love to have, but what the Italian needs to keep in mind is the new Premier League "homegrown" rules when doing so.
Of all the clubs mention above, though, Tottenham has the slimmest chance, because they have a pretty thin back-four and they do not have a reserve team to pull players from in case of an injury.
A lot of their young players are out on loan at another club rather than striking up a partnership with some of their fellow teammates in the reserves, which could be an absolute Achilles heel for them.
If Manchester United are to win their 12th Barclays Premier League title - 19th overall - they will need to be the most consistent - and lucky - team over the nine month, 38-game schedule.
Table Predictions
1 - Manchester United
2 - Chelsea
3 - Manchester City
4 - Arsenal
5 - Liverpool
6 - Tottenham Hotspur
7 - Everton
8 - Fulham FC
9 - Aston Villa
10 - Sunderland
11 - Birmingham City
12 - Newcastle United
13 - Blackburn Rovers
14 - Stoke City
15 - Bolton Wanderers
16 - West Ham United
17 - West Bromwich Albion
18 - Wolverhampton Wanderers
19 - Wigan Athletic
20 - Blackpool
Contributed by David Hammons / United View From Abroad
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