So the Premier League is set to kick off and after possibly the most boring pre-season for years its that time of year when Leisure Leagues – the home of 6 a side football - makes its predictions as to the winners and losers come May.

In a summer where Managers have largely been cagey with the cash, Manchester City have been the big spenders in the title race and a lot of people are backing them to break into the top four this term. They might do that, but the question is: will that be enough for the billionaire owners.

Liverpool have got rid of Benitez, replaced him with Hodgson and made perhaps the shrewdest signing of the summer in Joe Cole. But if they are to mount a challenge they will need Torres to stay fit and – perhaps even more crucial – Steven Gerrard to recapture some of the form that deserted him for large parts of the last year. Liverpool should be tagged as dark horses, though and might just claim their first Premier League win.

In truth, though, it is hard to look past Chelsea – although they need to replace Cole, Carvalho and Ballack fast – and Manchester United for the silverware. Arsenal might, if they are in the mood, be the best team to watch, and keeping their talismanic captain is clearly a boost, but they are too reliant on Fabregas and Robin Van Persie for goals, so it looks as though a top four might be the best they can hope to achieve again.

Spurs surprised many last term when they sneaked fourth spot – and whilst they will certainly be up there again, it’s difficult to see their squad standing up to the rigours of a inaugural Champions League campaign and a Premier League challenge.

Which brings us to the others: Everton and Villa might be the best of the rest, but Martin O’Neil deciding five days before the season started was the best time to resign has rather plunged that part of Birmingham into crisis (especially as Mark Hughes surely the perfect man for the job, has just gone to Fulham) while The Toffeemen will again come up short.

The aforementioned Fulham will be ok, without being spectacular, while the same could be said of teams such as Blackburn, Bolton, Stoke, Birmingham and Sunderland. West Ham fall into that bracket too, as, with Avram Grant at the helm they will stay up – although hopefully this time around the owners will learn their lesson and let the players get on with it.

With no Pompey-esque disaster club and without Hull and Burnley, the relegation places are harder to call this season, but the three promoted sides are all set for a struggle. As much as we all want to see Blackpool and Ian Holloway survive, they are surely going to be lucky to beat Derby’s points total. WBA always are either relegated or just hanging on by the skin of their teeth and Newcastle will need their better players to fire if they are to avoid more Geordie tears.

Wolves too, are far from out of the woods, but having stayed up last time and spent £7m on Steven Fletcher – about the only impressive Burnley player last term - they will be hoping for a period of consolidation.

Wigan are a good outside bet to get sucked into the relegation battle next year (although really, any side outside the top six can struggle if things start badly and they get hit by injuries) but Roberto Martinez’s men weren’t great last time around, and they might lack firepower and experience this time.

All of this is probably going to be wrong, of course, but then, isn’t that really the point of a previews?!