Phil your boots!

Andy Gray previews the new Premier League season - and tips Scolari's Chelsea to pip Man Utd to the title.

Gray hopes to see more teams challenging for top four spots

Like every football supporter, I'm full of optimism going into the new Premier League season. I hope we get a season as good as the last one - and I think we could because so many talented players have come into the league, while we haven't lost too many big names. Arsenal have lost Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb, but Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have kept their big players and brought in more talent. The Premier League should improve as a result. Experienced players like Deco and Jose Bosingwa will come in, along with youngsters like Luka Modric, Samir Nasri and Aaron Ramsey, who are all fantastically exciting footballers. But it's not just been the big clubs. Everybody has been doing business to try to make their teams better.

Title chasers

The big four, if that's what you want to call them, are still a little bit ahead of everybody else. Like last year, people are saying Arsenal could get found out this season, but I don't agree. They've lost Hleb and Flamini but I don't think that's terminal. Flamini was a good player, but he wasn't a matchwinner and is one that could be replaced, while if you look at Hleb's record, he only scored one Premier League goal last season. I think they can absorb the loss of those two and move on because Arsene Wenger's young players are a year older and have another season of experience behind them. For the first time in many years I feel Liverpool have a genuine opportunity to go very close and to remain in the title race past January. The signing of Robbie Keane is an inspired one. He and Fernando Torres could be a match made in heaven and it will allow Steven Gerrard to go back to a position where I think he's better suited to playing - in the middle of midfield. Rafa Benitez has also brought in squad players like Andrea Dossena, Diego Cavalieri and Philipp Degen, who might just keep them in the hunt throughout the season. As with last year, my only worry is when Benitez leaves people out and tinkers with his formation. If he gets that right, then Liverpool could go close to the title for the first time in many years. However, I still think that Manchester United and Chelsea will be the teams to beat. This time last year I said United would win the league, but I'm not so sure at this moment in time. If I was betting today I would go for Chelsea. They haven't got the biggest squad, but they've got a host of quality footballers and they have excellent back-up players; Wayne Bridge can come in for Ashley Cole, Nicolas Anelka or Claudio Pizarro could come in for Didier Drogba and they have a clutch of midfielders. There are options all over the pitch. They don't lose many games at Stamford Bridge and they won more away games than anyone last year. I just think they'll be determined to go a little bit closer - and they don't have much of a gap to make up. I think the Luiz Felipe Scolari will be excellent at handling big players and big egos and I can't believe they'll have as many big injuries to big players as they had last year. If they avoid injuries they'll be right there and they'd be my tip right now. That's not to say that Manchester United can't win it again. Their talent is there for all to see, but it will be interesting to see if the Cristiano Ronaldo factor affects them. I tend to think it won't and if they get Dimitar Berbatov then they will have a fantastic chance of retaining their title. If not, then they may lack a physical presence up front and they won't have as many options if things aren't going for them in certain games.

Top four challengers

I'm not going to say that it won't be the same four teams challenging for the title, but I think a few teams have given themselves a chance of breaking into that group. The one thing I would love to see happen is for some of the other teams to ruffle the feathers of the big four. Tottenham could break into the top four if they start well, but a lot will depend on whether they keep hold of Berbatov. Aston Villa have revamped their back four with a new goalkeeper, two new full-backs and a centre-back and Gareth Barry hasn't left yet so Martin O'Neill will be looking to improve on what he achieved last year. And of course Harry Redknapp and Portsmouth will be looking to improve their league form and move forward from that fantastic FA Cup win last year. Mark Hughes will also be looking to take Manchester City a little bit further than Sven Goran Eriksson did last year, when they started well and faded away. If any of those four teams get a good start and get up in the mix then they might stay there and ask a few questions of the top four. That would be really nice and would make the league much more competitive.

New boys

Every season, the teams that come up tend to find it difficult. Hull have got a massive squad, probably bigger than anyone else in the Premier League, but quantity without quality is not the answer. It will be interesting to see how they get on because Phil Brown has signed a few players with Premier League experience. That should help them. West Brom have lost their top goalscorer and a couple of other players who would have been really, really important to them. It will be interesting to see if they can absorb that. Tony Pulis has done a really good job at Stoke and he'll have his team up and ready, but it's all about getting enough goals to stay in this league. If Dave Kitson and Ricardo Fuller can strike up a partnership and get a few goals then Stoke might surprise everybody, but I just think this is a tough, tough year for the three coming up. They are going to have to do really well to still be in the league at the end of the season.

Relegation battlers

Of course, the three promoted sides will be everybody's favourites to be relegated, but there are other teams that need to start well to avoid being dragged down into the mix. Fulham made a great escape last year and Roy Hodgson has made more changes than most managers over the summer. But will his new-look squad provide a positive change? Bolton will have to start well, as will Wigan and all of the other teams that were in the vicinity of the relegation zone last year. Sunderland are another side with a really big squad and Roy Keane will be hoping he's got more quality than last year. It's a blow that Kenwyne Jones will miss the kick-off because he looked a threat in front of goal and they could miss his presence. Newcastle and Middlesbrough also need to pick up some points early on because they won't want to be playing catch up after four or five games. That's not easy. I don't think anyone in the north east can look at the beginning of the season and say they're going to have a great campaign. There's work to be done and a lot of reputations to be played to. The three north-east clubs need to prove to their supporters that they are capable of producing the goods.

Middle of the road?

I know Blackburn have lost David Bentley and Brad Friedel, but I still think they've got an awful lot of good players. As we speak, Roque Santa Cruz and Benni McCarthy are still there and will get goals, there's talent in midfield and they're decent at the back. It depends how Paul Ince manages the squad and how he can motivate them. If they don't start well then maybe his inexperience at this level will be a factor, but I would be surprised if Blackburn end up in the bottom five or six. I worry about Everton a little bit because of their lack of movement in the transfer market. They've lost the steadying influence of Lee Carsley, Andrew Johnson has gone and Victor Anichebe will start the season away at the Olympics. They haven't brought anyone in and a couple of injuries to key players like Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta could make things really difficult for them. The thing in their favour is that they're very good defensively and they're very tough to beat, but they need to start well and build confidence with some good early results. As for West Ham, I fear for Alan Curbishley because he's the manager who's most under pressure and we haven't even kicked a ball yet - I think that's staggering. Amazingly, as an ex-Hammer, he doesn't seem to have won the supporters over, which seems strange to me. He loves the club, he's worked really hard and he's got rid of the players that he believes are the wrong sort for the club. They didn't have a great season with injuries to key players last year, so they'll be hoping for better luck this time - but Craig Bellamy has already picked up a knock so I worry for Alan. This time last year they lost at home to Man City on the opening day, so they'll be hoping for a vastly different scoreline against Wigan this time. Like all the clubs, the beauty of the opening day is that the fans are full of optimism. Everybody starts top of the league and everybody thinks they can win the league. I can't wait for it all to begin.