A year on from their Russian Revolution, Chelsea are about to discover the outcome of their Portuguese putsch.

Roman Abramovich brought the glamour back to Stamford Bridge when he arrived on the King's Road last summer, but his multi-million pound investment failed to end the London club's 49-year wait for a title success.

The Russian billionaire's response was to fire boss Claudio Ranieri and replace him with the equally enigmatic Jose Mourinho, the most sought-after manager in Europe after guiding Porto to UEFA Cup and Champions League glory in successive seasons.

More Thinkerman than Tinkerman, Mourinho admits to being obsessed by preparation and detail and has already instigated a new regime characterised by 8am alarm calls and 90-minute early-morning training sessions.

"Give me four years and I promise we will win the title," said Mourinho, after being appointed at Stamford Bridge. With Abramovich around he is likely to get four months if he is lucky.

The Chelsea chairman expects instant success after investing another £90m of his own money into the club this summer and, after finishing second in the league last season, that means winning either the Premiership or the Champions League.

To that end, Mourinho has put his faith in two of the defenders who served him so well last season.

Centre-half Ricardo Carvalho and right-back Paolo Ferreira followed the Chelsea boss out of the Dragao Stadium to bolster a defence that will once again be marshalled by the imperious John Terry.

Midfielder Tiago has moved to Chelsea from Benfica, while Mourinho's most expensive summer outlay was the £24m that it took to prise striker Didier Drogba from Marseille.

Newcastle fans know all about Drogba after his goals dumped the Magpies out of last season's UEFA Cup and, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Hernan Crespo having left Stamford Bridge this summer, Chelsea's frontline should have a more settled look about it over the next nine months.

There has been very little settled about Arsenal this summer, with the champions having to fend off repeated speculation linking skipper Patrick Vieira with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Arsene Wenger would have considered his own future had Vieira left for the Bernabeu but, with the dynamic midfielder still on board, Arsenal have retained all of the key players from last year's record-breaking unbeaten run.

Premiership defences found Thierry Henry too hot to handle last season and, while English football's Player of the Year flattered to deceive in Portugal this summer, keeping him fit will be crucial to Arsenal's hopes of winning back to back league titles for the first time since 1935.

Robin van Persie has joined from Feyenoord, but the Dutch winger is seen primarily as the long-term successor to Dennis Bergkamp and it will be a case of more of the same from the Gunners this season.

Manchester United have added former Leeds striker Alan Smith and Argentinian defender Gabriel Heinze to their ranks, but Sir Alex Ferguson will feel like he has signed a third new player on September 20.

That is the date when Rio Ferdinand's ban for missing a drugs test expires and, conveniently, it co-incides with one of the club's biggest games of the season - a home game against Liverpool.

Ferguson's side fell to pieces after Ferdinand was sidelined and, after dropping into third place by the end of the campaign, this season has assumed something of a make or break nature for the Red Devils.

Selling replica shirts in America and the Far East is all well and good, but another season without silverware would leave Manchester United in their worst position for more than a decade.

Liverpool know that success doesn't last forever and, after finally forcing Gerard Houllier through the exit door earlier this summer, the Reds are desperately hoping that new boss Rafael Benitez is the man to bring the good times back to Anfield.

Benitez arrives with an impeccable pedigree after guiding Valencia to the Spanish title last season, but overshadowing Real Madrid and Barcelona is something of a walk in the park compared to restoring Liverpool to former glories.

At least the Spaniard has been able to hold onto Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard and, in Djibril Cisse, he has inherited one of the most exciting prospects in the English game.

Fourth place is a minimum requirement for this season, but Benitez will have to improve a defence that lost its way for much of last term.

Outside the expected top four, Newcastle and Middlesbrough have both made high-profile additions that should enable them to make their mark on the cup competitions, both at home and abroad.

Sir Bobby Robson will hope that Patrick Kluivert and Nicky Butt help him end his Newcastle career on a high, while Steve McClaren's new strike pairing of Mark Viduka and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink should provide the firepower that Boro have lacked in the past.

Birmingham are gunning for Europe after attracting Emile Heskey and Jesper Gronkjaer to St Andrews, and signing Mikael Forssell on another one-year loan, while Bolton will hope that experience counts for everything after securing 30-somethings Gary Speed and Fernando Hierro.

Tottenham should finally start moving forward under new boss Jacques Santini and Manchester City can surely not be as wretched again with the impressive Shaun Wright-Phillips in their ranks.

At the wrong end of the table, all three promoted sides face a fight to hold onto their cherished Premiership status.

Crystal Palace fans are still pinching themselves after their side was 20th in the First Division at Christmas but, while the Eagles have landed in the top-flight, they are likely to be home to roost in the Coca-Cola Championship by May.

West Brom are likely to join them there after Darren Purse and Jonathan Greening topped their list of summer signings, but Norwich could strike a blow for the lower leagues by surviving longer than one season.

Nigel Worthington's side play the best football of all three promoted sides and, in former AC Milan defender Thomas Helveg and ex-Arsenal prodigy David Bentley, have recruited an interesting blend of youth and experience.

There is normally one big side that suffers, and this season's Leeds United could well be Everton.

The Goodison Park club have been in turmoil all summer with directors quitting left, right and centre and manager David Moyes repeatedly expressing his frustration at being unable to sign the new players he needs.

Wayne Rooney has opted to remain with his boyhood heroes but, if he leaves in January, Everton's Premiership status could disappear shortly after.