Odds on championship: 6-4. Odds on relegation: 2,500-1
Manager: Jose Mourinho (since June 2004). Odds on first out the job: 20-1
Last season: 2nd, 83 points; Champions League semi-finalists; FA Cup winners; Carling Cup winners
In: Florent Malouda (Lyon, £13.5m); Alex (PSV, free); Steve Sidwell (Reading, free); Tal Ben Haim (Bolton, free); Claudio Pizarro (Bayern Munich, free)
Out: Geremi (Newcastle, free); Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla, loan); Michael Mancienne, Ben Sahar (both QPR, loan); Yves Makaba-Makalamby (Hibs, undisc); Jimmy Smith (Norwich, loan)
"Wednesday, Man United; Thursday, Chelsea," I kept thinking when planning these previews. Because Chelsea are champions and champions go last. The notion passed the second I thought of it but it is still odd to think that the double champions plus Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack turned out to be a losing combination.
It's odd, too, to think that Jose Mourinho survived the failure to retain the Premiership or, just as important, win the Champions League. A year ago it seemed that Roman had set his heart on the big.....
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