It may not feel like it right now, but Chelsea still have the best squad in the Premier League.
Injuries to Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and Alex mean things look less than rosy during pre-season, but there’s no need to worry.
Admittedly, a couple of new players are needed, most notably a striker and a centre back. Still, if you compare it to the situation at Liverpool, who do not have a left back in their senior squad, it becomes clear how far ahead of the chasing pack Chelsea are.
Other clubs are struggling too. Manchester United look unlikely to add more players before the season starts and will again rely heavily on Wayne Rooney who will find it hard to reproduce his form of last season.
Even more worrying for Sir Alex Ferguson and the Red Devils premier league betting prices is the fact Rio Ferdinand is taking so long to recover from injury. His is an aging squad, and it will be harder to paper over the cracks this season.
Arsenal have been a little more active during the transfer window, but then given the state of their squad last term they needed to be. It seems Arsene Wenger is merely plugging the gaps and unless he goes on an uncharacteristic spending spree before the transfer window closes his squad will not be much better than it was last season.
All this leaves Manchester City, the last of the Premier League’s big spenders. There’s a terrifying amount of talent available for selection at Eastlands and they should be challenging for silverware.
However, as Real Madrid have proved, splashing out on big name does not guarantee success. Roberto Mancini will have to work hard to forge them into a team, and he will come under intense pressure if things aren’t perfect on the pitch. He’s got the players, but it is far from certain that they will perform for him.
As it stands, the Premier League championship betting prices suggest that Chelsea look well positioned to defend their title and a few good signings should help ensure they remain ahead of the rest.
Blue is the colour
