The 2009-10 English Premier League Season gets underway on the 15th of August.The transfer window has already provided us with a hint about how competitive the season would be.All these years,we have been talking about the ‘Big Four’,but this season may just start the ’Big Five’ era,with Manchester City going on a spending spree in signing some world class performers.Mark Hughes will be under tremendous pressure to deliver this time.Here we will see some of the strengths and weaknesses of the major teams.

Arsenal

Arsenal have made no major signings so far(the transfer window closes only on the 30th of August) and have also lost two really important players,Adebayor and Kolo Toure to Manchester City.Last season,Arsenal spend much of th season chasing Aston Villa to cling on to the last champions league spot.Eventually Arsenal’s depth proved to be just enough to fend off Villa’s challenge.But will Arsenal’s position in the top four be threatened again?

With Adebayor going to Man City,Arsenal would be hoping that Van Persie scores a lot more goals than he normally does.Cesc Fabregas would again be the man to watch out for.Thomas Rosisky,if fit,is another player to watch out for.Both Fabregas and Rosisky will probably be sidelined for 1-3 weeks,so Arsenal would have to do really well to start the season well.Andrei Arshavin is tipped by many to be the main threat from Arsenal. Of course Arsene Wenger’s youngsters are always a treat to watch,but will they have the experience to give a real title challenge to the rivals?

Last Season: 4th
Strengths: Fast attacking football that can surprise any opponent
Weakness:Inexperience and a not so great defence especially wit Toure leaving.

Chelsea

Well,this season too,Chelsea starts under a new manager.This time it is the former AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti who will be in charge at the Stamford Bridge.The season has begun on a high note for Chelsea,with them beating Manchester United in Sunday’s Community Shield and the bright pre season match results.The arrival of Yuri Zhirkov strengthens the midfield.

Micheal Essien,Frank Lampard and Zhirkov are the players to watch out for.Chelsea will also be hoping for some real consistency from its forwards Drogba and Anelka.Most of the pundits are predicting that the title race would be between Chelsea and Manchester United.

Last Season: 3rd
Strengths: Creative Midfield and the huge experience of the players and manager.
Weakness:Inconsistent strikers.defence not so strong as it used to be.

Liverpool

Liverpool did give a tough fight to United last season.will they be able to go one better than last season? The departure of Xabi Alonso is a big blow to the title ambitions of Liverpool.The consistency Alonso provided will be hard to be replaced.Alberto Aquilani will be under
huge pressure to perform as comparisons with Alonso are bound to come.

Once again it will be Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres who will be the main players to watch out for.Yossi Benanyoun will be hoping for more starts this year and really looks promising.

Last Season: 2nd
Strengths: Deadly striker in Torres and strong wings.
Weakness:Alonso’s passing will be missed.Mascherano or Alberto Aquilani will do great if they can come anywhere close to Alonso’s range of passing.

Manchester City

Manchester city have been making the headlines for the past few months(of course Real Madrid is giving them good company).The spending spree has already resulted in the arrival of Tevez,Barry,Santa Cruz,Adebayor and Toure.

The strikeforce will be the major threat to any team. Tevez,Barry,Adebayor,Santa Cruz and Robinho make up the pool of forwards at City.I do think that Barry and Santa Cruz will do better than their more famous teammates.Ireland is another player to watch out for.

Last Season: 10th
Strengths:Strikeforce unmatched by no other team.
Weakness: Fragile defence and not so creative midfield.

Manchester United

Manchester United have lost Ronaldo and Tevez in the transfer window and those are huge boots to fill in.The replacements-Owen and Antonio Valencia.United have won the last three EPL titles and this season too are favourites to win but will face great challenge from Chelsea and Liverpool.

Wayne Ronney and Berbatov is a major threat to any team.The defence and the midfield also look strong enough.Nani will be hoping to get more starts this season and my guess is that Nani will be the player to watch out for.

Last Season:1st
Strengths:Good Strikers and great defence that is really difficult to break.
Weakness:Creativeness in the midfield with Owen Hargreaves injured.The fast runs and power of Ronaldo will surely be missed.

Well thats it.This does not mean thatother teams have no chance at all.I still think that Aston Villa or Everton will be giving a good challenge for the top four spots.As for the title challenge,i think it wll among the traditional ‘BiG Four’.

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2. EPL Super Sunday-Liverpool falls to Spurs
3. EPL January Transfer window opens-Viera makes a return to EPL
4. Premiership Midweek-United Shocked by Burnley
5. UEFA Champions League Group Stage Draw:Big Guns Get Easy Draws