Barclays Premier League 2011/2012

The fixtures were announced late last week, promting a rush of excitement and interest as to who will be crowed winners in it's lastest edition. That's in turn tempted TacticalBet to run an early rule over the main contenders, and answer the question of who we think will be the real deal. We will, of course, be going into much more detail nearer the time, but worth getting a bet in early doors!

Man Utd - 3
Chelsea 3.85
Man City 4.9
Arsenal 9
Liverpool 12
Tottenham 65

Manchester United are naturally favourites due to firstly their impressive form last campaign, and also the increasing transfer activity - having snapped up Phil Jones from Blackburn and rumoured to be in the market for Ashley Young, Wesley Sneijder, David de Gea and Luka Modric. Sir Alex Ferguson has theexperience along with this, meaning TacticalBet feels they are the strongest tip for the title. It's hard to look past such a strong history. TB's predo : 1st.

Chelsea have a new manager (see below) and also seem to be seeking to add a few more players to their squad. Falcao and Neymar being suggested, to name only two. However the squad is ageing, and Roman 'trigger happy' Abramovich is known for the odd rash choice, it is almost impossible to predict their season. We'll try however, TB's predo : 2nd.

Arsenal looked in superb form early last season, only to fall apart in the back end of the campaing, as we've seen all too often now from Arsene Wenger's men. Late goals, defensive mishaps, and downright stupidity all were contributing factors. When will Arsene learn? Possibly never. Hard to see them getting any joy in the league, and will do well to maintain a mere top 4 spot. TB's predo :4th.

Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish were a revolution late last season, but were often over estimated. The slipped up against sides like West Ham, hinting at weakness when the going gets tough. Will have to do much more than the purchase of Jordan Henderson to be competitive, he in particular had a very poor U21 Championships. However, Andy Carroll along with Suarez is a threat, and if they can get Gerrard fit and raring to go, they could have a good season. TB's predo : 5th.

Manchester City were brilliant last year, 3rd place and an FA Cup to boot, stunning. Vincent Kompany was exceptional, along with others, and we really think they'll be a force to be reckoned with. If they strengthen, which surely they will, could be a suprise package. Will need to try and keep hold of Tevez though. TB's predo : 3rd.

Tottenham did well to finish 5th last year, but will struggle to ever hit the top 4 again without heavy investment. If Modric goes, they'll need a replacement quickly, Parker maybe? Lacking a top class forward, Defoe only finding the net 3 times last season and Crouch similarly, they'll have to splash the cash to perform. Their best bet it to make a sustained run in the Europa League, and make sure of a top 6 finish next year. Anything higher would be optimistic, and a title challenge at 65/1 almost a sure-fire waste of money. TB's predo : 6th.

Next up we'll adress who we think it ripe for the drop, which teams are likely to go down and why. Keep an eye out for it, along with all the tranfer news. Thanks for reading!