And, finally, some brief thoughts on the rest:

Aston Villa
Even duller than Liverpool last year, and McCann's not likely to change that. Matters aren't helped by the fact that they may very well soon lose Vassell. Still, they've got some decent young players, and if they can get the defence right and Alpay plays like he did in the World Cup, then Sorensen could keep a few clean sheets.

Birmingham
Steve Bruce has bought so many players that some are bound to start getting disgruntled and unsettle the squad - I hope so, because I fucking hate the bastards. Signing Figueroa, Dugarry and especially Dunn shows the extent of their ambitions, though - it'd be hilarious if they get relegated now.

Blackburn
Dunn and Duff will prove major losses, but Emerton was a snip at £2.25m - we were quoted £8m a year ago - and Steven Reid's a useful player. However, Cole and Yorke are past their best, and Amoruso will be a liability in central defence in the Premiership.

Bolton
Despite the heroics of Djorkaeff and Okocha, who rescued Bolton on their own last season, I'd started to think that this year their luck had to run out, primarily because they still hadn't got a proper striker - and then Allardyce goes out and captures Jardel on a free. So, a hugely talented foreigner could prove their lifeline again.

Charlton
How do they do it? Stay up, I mean. Theirs is a competent squad, but one without any star names - until the last few days, that is, when Di Canio joined to give them a bit of much-needed craft and guile up front. And for £750,000, Matt Holland was a bargain.

Everton
A team full of workhorses, and it should show this season - they overachieved last time out, and I can't see it happening again. Gravesen's a driving force in midfield, but they've got no invention or skill in that area, just donkeys like Pembridge and Gemmill. Rooney can't do it all on his own, you know.

Fulham
Underachievers who will struggle again this year. For a team who've spent a lot of money over the past few seasons, their squad seems incredibly thin. Marlet has yet to live up to his price tag (or his place in the French national team), but Malbranque deserves a mention for consistently performing well in a struggling and demoralised side.

Leeds
Another shambolic club. This summer they've haemorraged more of their best players and brought in one or two low-grade replacements (including one Didier Domi - not, in our experience, a player inclined to stick around when the going gets tough), but as long as they can hang on to Viduka, Smith, Robinson and Mills they should be safe.

Leicester
Dear oh dear. I just want to shake Micky Adams by the shoulders and shout "It's quality, not quantity" at him. For his sake I hope he proves me wrong, but as far as I can see he's signed a whole new team of Premiership also-rans (including three of our mid-90s nearlymen - Gillespie, Ferdinand and Howey) to "bolster" a squad that was already very short on genuine quality. Relegated by Christmas, anyone?

Man City
Always going to be fragile at the back, but if they can get off to a good start at their new stadium, and Robbie Fowler can rediscover his form and really click with Anelka, then they could surprise a few people. Sinclair will be a good addition to the side, although with the loss of Foe they look a little soft in the centre of midfield.

Middlesbrough
Frustration in the transfer market for Steve McClaren. He's missed out on Geremi, the club's best player last year, and has yet to decide which of his strikers he should start with (for what it's worth, I rate Malcolm Christie). From his point of view, at least Juninho's fit for the start of the season.

Portsmouth
Redknapp's made some decent signings (Sheringham, Berger, Zivkovic), but they'll still do very well to stay up. Losing Todorov for the whole season is a blow to their chances of survival, although to be fair he didn't exactly set the Premiership alight when he was with West Ham. If Matt Taylor starts the campaign well, he could be off to pastures new come the January transfer window.

Southampton
Along with the rest of the Mackem side, Phillips was appallingly bad last year, so it'll be interesting to see if he can improve with a better midfield behind him and a better striker alongside him (you couldn't have got much worse than Flo). To sound a pessimistic note: Beattie can't keep this form up forever and neither can the central defensive pairing of Lundekvam and Michael Svensson.

Tottenham
Hoddle's gone out and bought himself an entirely new complement of strikers to accompany Robbie Keane - Postiga in particular is an intriguing signing - but appears to have forgotten that his midfield was found woefully lacking last year. If he doesn't find a solid regular partner for Dean Richards he could be on his bike come November.

Wolves
Let's not pull any punches - they're going to struggle. Ince and Irwin are past it, and the squad is very small, Dave Jones having been more selective in his recruitments than Micky Adams. They do have quite a few strikers, though (the signing of Henri Camara may prove inspired) - all they need now is for a couple of them to start scoring as if their lives depend upon it.