CAN ANYONE DETHRONE CHELSEA?

Almost certainly not. The reigning champions have been surprisingly quiet in the transfer window so far, although their ongoing pursuit of Everton defender John Stones should eventually end in a successful bid of around £30m, but they were so far ahead of the chasing pack last term, they didn’t need radical improvement.

Manchester City haven’t addressed last season’s defensive failings, Arsenal look fragile in the usual areas despite the astute acquisition of Petr Cech and Manchester United continue to stockpile midfielders while their defence requires urgent surgery.

Things will almost certainly be tighter this time around, but as things stand, it would still be a huge surprise if Chelsea didn’t finish in top spot.

ARE MANCHESTER UNITED A RESURGENT FORCE?

The Northern Echo: Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal introduces three new signings (left to right): Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Matteo Darmian

They’re unquestionably a well-off one, but while Louis van Gaal’s spending spree has continued at a breakneck speed, it is hard to argue that the new-look Manchester United squad is any better balanced than the one that proved so infuriatingly inconsistent last season.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay will add some energy and creativity to the midfield, while the arrival of Matteo Darmian from Torino solves a long-standing problem at right-back.

There are question marks about the attack following the departure of Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie though, and the defence continues to look weak with the likes of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and even Jonny Evans set to play important roles once more.

IS RAHEEM STERLING WORTH £49m?

The Northern Echo:

Manchester City think he is, and ultimately that’s the only thing that matters, but having moved for such a hefty fee, and following such an acrimonious breakdown of his relationship with Liverpool, Sterling will find himself under intense scrutiny this season.

Is he good enough to cope? There are reasons to suggest he might be, with his pre-season displays for City catching the eye and his performances for both club and country last season marking him out as a truly special talent.

The biggest worry is that he might turn out to be an unnecessary purchase. City have spent £49m strengthening the area of the field where they were strongest anyway, and if Sterling is to start every game this season, it will mean the likes of Jesus Navas, Samir Nasri and potentially even David Silva missing out.

WILL ANY OF THE PROMOTED TEAMS SURVIVE?

The Northern Echo: AFC Bournemouth v Bolton Wanderers at  Goldsands Stadium. Promotion night.  Eddie Howe. .RC270415sAFCbolton -   PICTURE BY RICHARD CREASE. (27260014)

It looks difficult on paper, but history suggests it is unlikely for all three promoted teams to drop back into the Championship, and there are enough poor sides in the bottom half of the Premier League to provide hope for Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich.

Bournemouth should provide the best story, with their limited top-flight history and tiny ground, and Eddie Howe’s side could also prove the best equipped to survive. The footballing approach that swept them to the Championship title should translate well in the Premier League, and the experience of Sylvain Distin at the back could be useful.

Watford will score goals, but could pay a high price for being wide open at the other end, while Norwich boast plenty of top-flight experience. As a result, it is hard to see any of the three sides being no hopers.

WHICH TEAM WILL BE THE SURPRISE PACKAGE?

The Northern Echo:

As explained, Bournemouth should be much better than some people expect, although it is hard to see their squad being deep enough to sustain a push for mid-table.

Crystal Palace finished with a flourish last season under Alan Pardew, and the addition of Yohan Cabaye and Patrick Bamford should make them even more of an attacking threat. They should finish in the top half, and could even flirt with Europe.

Southampton can build on last season’s exploits to cement their position in the top eight, while I don’t expect Everton to be anything like as bad as they were last term. Provided they start strongly, they’ll return to the top ten.

AND WHO WILL BE THE UNEXPECTED FLOPS?

The Northern Echo: Brendan Rodgers was delighted his much-changed side were able to secure three points

Everything is relative, but I don’t see Liverpool challenging for the top four, so given their outlay this summer, that would have to count as a failure. Christian Benteke should do well, but Brendan Rodgers continues to compile a squad of squad players.

West Ham, with their collection of relatively unknown overseas players, look weak. They finished last season dreadfully, and for all that he boasts an emotional relationship with Upton Park, the appointment of Slaven Bilic has to be a gamble.

The same can be said of Leicester’s decision to appoint Claudio Ranieri, and after scrambling to survival last season, the Foxes will do well to escape again. Aston Villa also look set for another season of struggle.

WILL JURGEN KLOPP BE A PREMIER LEAGUE MANAGER BEFORE MAY?

The Northern Echo: Jurgen Klopp has been linked with a move to the Premier League

If I was Manuel Pellegrini or Brendan Rodgers at the moment, I’d be worried. Why? Because the minute something starts going wrong this season, the owners at Manchester City and Liverpool will know exactly where to turn.

Having left Borussia Dortmund at the end of last season, Klopp is officially ‘taking a sabbatical’, but he has long coveted a move to the Premier League and it surely won’t be long before he starts getting itchy feet.

Both Pellegrini and Rodgers were teetering on the brink at the end of last season. Start badly this time around, and they could quickly find themselves jettisoned.

HOW WILL THE TWO NORTH-EAST TEAMS FARE?

The Northern Echo:

The hope is that they will both be significantly better than they were last season. The fear, however, is that with signings seemingly drying up, their transfer business to date is insufficient to address the weaknesses that were apparent last term.

Georginio Wijnaldum should be a big hit on Tyneside, while Chancel Mbemba will add some much-needed bite to Newcastle’s back four. The defence continues to look weak though, and the squad will once again be stretched if injuries begin to bite.

Sunderland fans will enjoy watching Jeremain Lens, but the back four continues to be chronically short of pace and there remains a lack of creativity at the heart of midfield. Will that be rectified before September 1?

WHICH SUMMER SIGNING WILL HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT?

The Northern Echo:

If he plays like he did when he was at Newcastle, Cabaye will be a revelation at the heart of the Palace midfield and make his £10m price tag look ridiculous. Perhaps, though, age has caught up with him.

Cech should help Arsenal claim an extra five or six points that could be crucial in the final reckoning, while Schneiderlin is more than capable of eclipsing the higher-profile Schweinsteiger at the heart of the Manchester United midfield.

I’m going to go for more of a wildcard though. Falcao was a shadow of his former self at Manchester United last season, but with a full pre-season under his belt, it wouldn’t surprise me if he came up with some crucial goals in a Chelsea shirt.

ARE STOKE REALLY THE NEW BARCELONA?

The Northern Echo:

What do you think? Ibrahim Affelay might have become the fourth former Barcelona player to join the Potters when he completed a free transfer to the Britannia Stadium this week, but that doesn’t mean we should expect Mark Hughes to be extolling the virtues of tiki-taka.

That said, however, Hughes has made a decent job of taking Stoke in a different direction to the route-one path ploughed by Tony Pulis, and they should enjoy another successful season.

Bojan Krkic is always worth watching, and there is a chance Ukraine winger Andriy Yarmalenko could also arrive before the end of next month. Don’t expect Peter Crouch to be attempting multiple step-overs in the opposition box though.