Ed Chamberlin's Premier League predictions: 'Adam Lallana will prove his worth for Liverpool – and England'
The Sky Sports presenter turns pundit for the day, picks Chelsea for the champions – and wonders what Gary Neville will make of Louis van Gaal's busy summer with Manchester United
Ed's Premier League champions
Graeme Souness and Gary Neville always talk about how difficult it is to retain the title, but I think Chelsea are different. Hunger and desire are never going to be a problem with a Chelsea side under Jose Mourinho.
Chelsea were the best team by a distance last season. After Christmas they got over the line without being brilliant, or brilliantly entertaining, but you forget how good they were before Christmas. Jose is amazing, a serial winner, and it’s up to the rest to catch him up.
The chasing pack
Arsenal are big runners; previous summers have always been about who is going to leave. This summer it seems almost tranquil at the Emirates. They’re confident, they’ve had a great pre-season. The only thing I was surprised at was that they didn’t go for Morgan Schneiderlin (who was bought by Manchester United for £24m), because he seemed exactly what they needed.
Louis van Gaal at Man Utd is dynamite for us, but I can’t for the life of me work out whether they are genuine contenders or not. I love that they have signed Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger, and it will be fascinating how van Gaal fits them into his midfield.
Gary Neville was adamant that Man Utd would win the title within three years, and he doesn’t seem to be changing his opinion on that.
Ed's England hope
The first one that would jump out at me would be Adam Lallana. He got injuries at bad times last year, but he’s looked good preseason. This is a big year for him; he has to establish himself at Liverpool, and stake his claim with England. I think he’ll do it – he’s a talent.
Manager under pressure
Brendan Rodgers is the obvious one, particularly after what happened on the final day of last season. The last fixture he will want to kick things off this time round is Stoke away.
You knew exactly what you were going to get with West Ham under Sam Allardyce, but a year out from moving to the Olympic Stadium they have taken quite a risk with Slaven Bilic. Add to that the fact that their Europa League season has already started. Who knows what will happen?
Ed Chamberlin is presenter for Sky Sports Super Sunday and Monday Night Football
Premier League opening weekend
Saturday: Man Utd v Tottenham Hotspur, kick-off 12.45pm BT Sport 1
Chelsea v Swansea City, kick-off 5.30pm SS1
Sunday: Arsenal v West Ham, kick-off 1.30pm SS1
Stoke City v Liverpool, kick-off 4pm SS1
Monday: West Brom v Manchester City, kick-off 8pm SS1
See highlights of all the weekend's matches, including Bournemouth v Aston Villa, Everton v Watford, Leicester City v Sunderland and Norwich v Crystal Palace on Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2
