With the English Premier League season kicking off on Saturday we look at the prospects of the 20 top-flight clubs. (Last season's position in brackets.)
ARSENAL (4th)
Four years without a trophy and with Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure departed to Manchester City, manager Arsene Wenger will need to weave his magic to keep the Gunners in the hunt for the title this season.
Then again, Russian Andrei Arshavin looked the real deal after joining in January and if Eduardo and Cesc Fabregas stay fit they could be a lot closer than last season when their title challenge was over by Christmas.
ASTON VILLA (6th)
Villa faded badly in the second half of last season after threatening to break the top-four monopoly and with midfielder Gareth Barry sold to Manchester City their squad looks short of depth.
Winger Stewart Downing, when he recovers from injury, will have to quickly justify the 12 million pounds ($20 million) Villa splashed out to take him from Middlesbrough if they are not to revert to mid-table.
BIRMINGHAM CITY (Promoted)
The yo-yo club are back for another crack at the Premier League and have spent the summer beefing up their squad with signings such as Ecuador striker Christian Benitez.
Former Scotland international midfielder Barry Ferguson has re-joined Alex McLeish who was his manager at Glasgow Rangers and with Scotland. Solid at home, Birmingham should have enough to avoid an instant return to the second tier.
BLACKBURN ROVERS (15th)
Sam Allardyce stabilised Rovers after Paul Ince was sacked last season but do not expect them to spend much of the season outside the bottom half. The loss of striker Roque Santa Cruz to Manchester City will hurt them while most of the new signings could probably walk through the town unrecognised.
BOLTON WANDERERS (13th)
Poor old Gary Megson. Having kept them up in 2007-8 and guided them into the relative safety of low mid-table last season, a significant proportion of fans still seem unhappy with his appointment as coach.
Zat Knight, signed from Aston Villa, will bolster a defence that also includes Gary Cahill, a rugged stopper tipped for an England call. Up front, the barrel-chested Kevin Davies will again leave his mark on opposing defenders.
BURNLEY (Promoted)
Back in the top flight for the first time since 1976, Burnley will have plenty of goodwill coming their way in the opening weeks of the season but victories might be harder to come by.
Highly-rated manager Owen Coyle, whose side played eye-catching football last season, will need to make the most of the feel-good factor and try and get as many points on the board as possible in the first half of the season when they will still be something of an unknown quantity.
CHELSEA (3rd)
Chelsea have been relatively frugal in the transfer market with Russian Yuri Zhirkov, a left-sided player who usually performs as an attacking midfielder but can also operate as a full-back, the only notable purchase. Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea's fifth manager in just under two years, will be relieved that captain John Terry and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba stayed put. He will need both of them at the top of their games if Chelsea are to break Manchester United's hold on the league title and finally land the Champions League.
EVERTON (5th)
David Moyes performed wonders with the Merseysiders last season, finishing as the best of the rest in the league and reaching the FA Cup final despite operating on limited funds.
Midfield artist Mikel Arteta's return from a ruptured cruciate ligament will be a huge boost while in Marouanne Fellaini and Tim Cahill Everton boast two of the Premier League's most consistent performers. Expect another challenge for a European place but not the top four.
FULHAM (7th)
The homely club on the banks of the River Thames were the surprise team of last season, culminating in a Europa League place. The extra demands of Europe will be hard for Roy Hodgson's side this season, however, and they will be hard-pressed to make the top half although they should stay clear of trouble.
HULL CITY (17th)
Hull began their first season in the top flight like an express train but ended it like a hot air balloon struggling to avoid ditching in the ocean. They managed it, just, despite winning just one of their last 22 games. Sun-tanned manager Phil Brown, whose eccentricities added a touch of the bizarre to last season's campaign, needs a good start if Hull are not to become relegation certainties.
LIVERPOOL (2nd)
Two decades on since they were last English champions, Liverpool finished just four points behind Manchester United last season after dropping too many points at home, with seven draws at Anfield proving costly.
Still, they lost only two league games all season and despite financial restraints, Rafa Benitez has a strong squad that will challenge United again.
MANCHESTER CITY (10th)
The arrivals of Roque Santa Cruz (18 million pounds), Carlos Tevez (25.5 million), Emmanuel Adebayor (25 million), Kolo Toure (16 million) and Gareth Barry (12 million) have raised expectations at City, who may now be the richest club in England with the advent of wealthy Arab owner Sheikh Masour bin Zayed al Nahyan but are still one of the biggest underachievers, having not won a major honour since 1976.
Manager Mark Hughes' task is straightforward but far from simple -- break into the top four. Anything else will probably be deemed a failure.