Premier League preview

Fear not those of you that have been waking up with cold sweats of late for the wait is over this weekend. The Premier League is back.

Tigers debut
Phil Brown's Tigers have endured somewhat of a mauling in pre-season with some abject friendly displays, but a passionate and partisan home crowd will likely make things uncomfortable for a Cottagers side that are perennially worse travellers than Dennis Bergkamp. Roy Hodgson has been one of the division's busiest managers though, and will be confident of a brighter campaign now he has recruited a goalscorer of Andy Johnson's pedigree, although the striker misses out this weekend.
Stoke City are the final new boys in action as they play Bolton, another side tipped to struggle, at The Reebok.
Tony Pulis has failed to bring in the calibre of new signings he would have liked at the Britannia Stadium, but a lacklustre summer of recruitment is unlikely to dampen a mood of genuine excitement, ahead of the club's first game in English football's top tier since 1985.
Everton are another club who have repeatedly been frustrated in their market moves over the summer; a situation hardly aided by the sudden and shock departure of chief executive Keith Wyness. Their own problems pale into insignificance when placed in comparison with Blackburn's though. Rovers have not only lost their manager, Mark Hughes to Manchester City, but star midfielder David Bentley to Tottenham amid speculation other top names are ready to quit Ewood Park.
Paul Ince's rise to Premier League management has been nothing short of meteoric and he will be desperate for his side to put on a good display at Goodison Park and silence murmurs of discontent that have hampered his pre-season preparations.

Ramos' revolution
Tottenham boss Juande Ramos has overseen a ruthless restructuring job at White Hart Lane which has seen both exits and arrivals in ample measures. Casualties of the Spaniard's cull include Robbie Keane, Paul Robinson, Teemu Tainio, Younes Kaboul, Pascal Chimbonda, Anthony Gardner and Steed Malbranque, while Bentley, Giovani dos Santos, Heurelho Gomes and Luka Modric could all make their Spurs debuts at Middlesbrough.
Boro kick-off their campaign at The Riverside without an experienced goalkeeper on their books but boss Gareth Southgate insists either Ross Turnbull or Brad Jones are more than capable of repelling the best in-form Darren Bent and co will throw at them.
Wigan boss Steve Bruce believes he has improved his squad significantly since last season and will be confident of a decent result at West Ham, who have somewhat stagnated since finishing in tenth place last term.
The Hammers faithful will have been encouraged by Dean Ashton's rampant form in the close-season but less enamoured by the sight of Craig Bellamy succumbing to yet another injury that rules him out of the opening month of the campaign.
Saturday's evening kick-off sees Liverpool travel to the North East to take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Much has been made of Rafa Benitez's capture of Keane but it was at the other end of the field his side had real problems at Standard Liege on Wednesday.
The Reds looked out-of-sorts at the back and Benitez will have been working hard on the training ground to ensure there will be no repeat performance against a Sunderland outfit strong at home, and buoyed by a raft of new signings.
Sunday's action offers the first glimpse of Luiz Felipe Scolari's Chelsea as they welcome Portsmouth to Stamford Bridge.

Scolari bow
The early signs look bright for the Brazilian tactician in West London. He's settled well into his new role, made a favourable impression on the media and convinced Frank Lampard to rebuff former mentor Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan to sign a lucrative five-year deal at Chelsea.
Harry Redknapp's ever improving Portsmouth will start the game far from being cannon fodder though, with all eyes on little and large combo Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch. The England hopefuls will line up alongside each for the first time in the Premier League, while Chelsea will likely hand debuts to Portuguese duo Deco and Jose Boswinga.
Mark Hughes has endured a baptism of fire since swapping Ewood Park for Eastlands, with the future of Thaksin Shinawatra, the man who brought him Manchester City, the subject of considerable conjecture.
The Welshman insists off-field problems have not affected his preparations but he will nonetheless be desperate for a morale boosting victory against an Aston Villa side that have experienced difficulties of their own.
The Gareth Barry transfer saga has weighed heavy on the mind of boss Martin O'Neill but after a slow start to his recruitment campaign, the Ulsterman has significantly bolstered his ranks with the acquisitions of Brad Friedel, Steve Sidwell, Nicky Shorey, Luke Young and Carlos Cuellar.
The last of the action pits the two Uniteds as Kevin Keegan takes his Newcastle side to face the champions at Old Trafford,.

Uniteds clash
Sir Alex Ferguson is quietly confident of adding a new face to his dressing room before the close of the transfer window but when you already have Europe's best squad at your disposal, there is less need to worry than most.
While Ferguson remains a model of calm and optimism ahead of the new campaign there is a nervous energy in the Toon air amid talk of takeovers and a dwindling interest shown by owner Mike Ashley.
Keegan has made no secret of his desire for more new signings but on Sunday he'll have to appease himself by handing out debuts to Fabricio Coloccini and the exciting winger Jonas Gutierrez.