Now we’ve got that pesky international interlude behind us (it’ll all end in tears, you know it will) we can get back to the serious business of predicting the scores in the Premier League.

Remember how it works: We, at Reuters Soccer Blog, publish our individual predictions for the weekend Premier League matches here on a Friday. You, laughing snidely at our pathetic efforts, send in yours in the comments section below the post.

As the weekend goes by, we get embarrassed and you get to poke fun. You get a point for predicting the right result, and make that a whopping five points if you get the exact score. Simples.

And if you’re thinking of joining in for the first time now … go ahead. The scoring has been so low that with a couple of correct scores you’ll catch up in no time. Really, we don’t seem to be very good at this here at RSB.

Even better, The Contest is operated on the honour system, in the great tradition of Seinfeld, so feel free to keep your own score. I do sometimes award bonus points, though, so keep checking back to the home page at Reuters Soccer Blog to see how you’re doing.

The Reuters scores so far: Paul Radford 31, Justin Palmer 28, Patrick Johnston 25, Simon Evans 25, Miles Evans 24, Kevin Fylan 23, Mitch Phillips 16, Mike Collett 14, Neil Maidment 11, Asia Sports Desk 5, Mark Meadows 5 (last three on debut)

The Rest of the World: Insert your score here (or in the comments).

So, without further ado, here are this weekend’s matches, and the predictions we have so far. I’ll update the post as we get more.

Blackburn v Wolves: Patrick Johnston: 1-0; Mike Collett: 0-1; Asian Sports Desk: 1-0; Kevin Fylan: 2-0; Miles Evans: 1-1; Justin Palmer: ; Simon Evans: 0-1; Neil Maidment: 1-1; Mark Meadows: 1-1; Paul Radford: 2-1; Mitch Phillips: 1-1; Julien Pretot: 1-1

Liverpool v Burnley: Patrick Johnston: 4-1; Mike Collett: 4-2; Asian Sports Desk: 4-1; Kevin Fylan: 0-1; Miles Evans: 3-0; Justin Palmer: ; Simon Evans: 1-1; Neil Maidment: 2-0; Mark Meadows: 2-0; Paul Radford: 3-0; Mitch Phillips: 2-0; Julien Pretot: 4-0

Manchester City v Arsenal: Patrick Johnston: 1-2; Mike Collett: 1-0; Asian Sports Desk: 1-1; Kevin Fylan: 0-2; Miles Evans: 1-0; Justin Palmer: ; Simon Evans: 1-2; Neil Maidment: 1-2; Mark Meadows: 2-2; Paul Radford: 1-0; Mitch Phillips: 1-1; Julien Pretot: 1-1

Portsmouth v Bolton: Patrick Johnston: 1-0; Mike Collett: 0-1; Asian Sports Desk: 0-0; Kevin Fylan: 0-0; Miles Evans: 2-2; Justin Palmer: ; Simon Evans: 0-0; Neil Maidment: 1-0; Mark Meadows: 0-0; Paul Radford: 3-1; Mitch Phillips: 0-1; Julien Pretot: 1-2

Stoke v Chelsea: Patrick Johnston: 1-1; Mike Collett: 2-1; Asian Sports Desk: 0-0; Kevin Fylan: 1-2; Miles Evans: 3-1; Justin Palmer: ; Simon Evans: 0-3; Neil Maidment: 0-0; Mark Meadows: 0-2; Paul Radford: 1-1; Mitch Phillips: 0-0; Julien Pretot: 0-3

Sunderland v Hull City: Patrick Johnston: 3-0; Mike Collett: 2-3; Asian Sports Desk: 2-0; Kevin Fylan: 0-0; Miles Evans: 1-2; Justin Palmer: ; Simon Evans: 1-0; Neil Maidment: 2-1; Mark Meadows: 1-0; Paul Radford: 2-0; Mitch Phillips: 2-0; Julien Pretot: 3-1

Wigan v West Ham: Patrick Johnston: 1-1; Mike Collett: 0-2; Asian Sports Desk: 2-2; Kevin Fylan: 1-0; Miles Evans: 0-1; Justin Palmer: ; Simon Evans: 1-1; Neil Maidment: 0-1; Mark Meadows: 0-1; Paul Radford: 1-1; Mitch Phillips: 1-1; Julien Pretot: 0-2

Spurs v Manchester United: Patrick Johnston: 1-2; Mike Collett: 3-1; Asian Sports Desk: 1-1; Kevin Fylan: 1-4; Miles Evans: 1-3; Justin Palmer: ; Simon Evans: 2-1; Neil Maidment: 2-1; Mark Meadows: 1-1; Paul Radford: 2-1; Mitch Phillips: 1-3; Julien Pretot: 2-2

Birmingham City v Aston Villa: Patrick Johnston: 1-1; Mike Collett: 2-0; Asian Sports Desk:2-0 ; Kevin Fylan: 2-2; Miles Evans: 2-0; Justin Palmer: ; Simon Evans: 1-1; Neil Maidment: 1-3; Mark Meadows: 2-2; Paul Radford: 1-1; Mitch Phillips: 1-1; Julien Pretot: 2-0

Fulham v Everton: Patrick Johnston: 2-1; Mike Collett: 2-0; Asian Sports Desk: 2-0; Kevin Fylan: 1-2; Miles Evans: 0-0; Justin Palmer: ; Simon Evans: 2-1; Neil Maidment: 2-2; Mark Meadows: 1-0; Paul Radford: 0-1; Mitch Phillips: 1-0; Julien Pretot: 1-0

PHOTO: Germany’s Miroslav Klose scores against Azerbaijan in their World Cup qualifier in Hanover September 9, 2009. REUTERS/Christian Charisius

UEFA’s decision to hand Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva a two-match ban for diving has infuriated the Croatian media, many fans and national team coach Slaven Bilic.

“It is a shameful decision, especially in view of the fact that Eduardo personifies everything that’s decent in professional sport,” Bilic told Zagreb daily Vecernji List after learning the verdict.

Fans and media have gone to even greater length in defending the Brazilian-born Croatia striker, who has won the hearts and sympathy of his adopted country after recovering from a horrific leg break he suffered in Arsenal’s Premier League match at Birmingham in February 2008.

The sense of injustice in Croatia wasn’t helped by last weekend’s injury suffered by Tottenham playmaker Luka Modric, who faces up to six weeks on the sidelines after breaking his leg in a league match with Birmingham (again).

Croatia’s leading sports website, www.sportnet.hr, had harsh words.

“Eduardo has been punished in a most detestable manner, supposedly so that justice is done, while justice was deaf, dumb and blind only 18 months earlier when he was in bed with his ankle shattered and his career hanging by a thread,” the website said.

Is Eduardo a victim of double standards, or simply his own ill-judged decision to go down rather easily after minimum or no contact with the goalkeeper?

PHOTO: Croatia manager Slaven Bilic speaks with Luka Modric (L) and Eduardo Da Silva (R) during a training session at Poljud stadium in Split, February 5, 2008. Reuters stringer photo.

Do you feel you’ve been sitting on the bench too long this season? Are you itching for a chance to get out there and show what you can do? Confident you can show all those pundits how little they know about the game?

Well, my friends. Now. Is. Your. Chance.

Scores have been so low in our modest little predictions slot that one good week — one! — could see you overtake the vast majority of the Reuters Soccer Blog panel.

With one point for a correct result but a whopping five for a correct score — and untold bonus points on offer for predicting the apparently unpredictable — you could find yourself top of the league in no time.

And considering that The Contest is run on the honour system, you could even award yourself points for style.

The bar being so low here among the Reuters Soccer Blog panel has prompted a few new entries from our bloggers this week, including a combined effort from our Asian Sports Desk, fronted by Ossian Shine. Good luck, newbies.

Right, here are our predictions. Please enter yours in the comments below and keep us posted on how you’re doing score-wise.

Saturday:

Chelsea v Burnley: Two great wins for Burnley in their last two outings. Never two without three, they say in Spain, but this is England and it’s got to be Chelsea. Patrick Johnston: 3-1; Mike Collett: 3-1; Asian Sports Desk: 2-0; Kevin Fylan: 3-1; Miles Evans: 2-1; Justin Palmer: 3-0; Simon Evans: 0-0; Neil Maidment: 2-0; Mark Meadows: 2-1; Paul Radford: 2-0

Blackburn Rovers v West Ham United: I thought West Ham were a bit unlucky against Spurs last weekend and a lot of people seem to fancy an away win on this. Patrick Johnston: 1-1; Mike Collett: 0-1; Asian Sports Desk: 1-1; Kevin Fylan: 1-2; Miles Evans: 1-3; Justin Palmer: 1-3; Simon Evans: 1-2; Neil Maidment: 2-2; Mark Meadows: 0-1; Paul Radford: 2-1

Bolton Wanderers v Liverpool: Two defeats for Liverpool already and this is a fixture that has caused them problems when they’ve come in looking short of form. Patrick Johnston: 0-3; Mike Collett: 0-2; Asian Sports Desk: 0-0; Kevin Fylan: 2-1; Miles Evans: 0-1; Justin Palmer: 0-1; Simon Evans: 1-3; Neil Maidment: 1-2; Mark Meadows: 0-2; Paul Radford: 0-1

Stoke City v Sunderland: Stoke had a pretty formidable home record last season and only one member of the panel, newbie Neil, has been brave enough to predict a Sunderland win. Patrick Johnston: 0-0; Mike Collett: 1-1; Asian Sports Desk: 3-1; Kevin Fylan: 2-0; Miles Evans: 1-1; Justin Palmer: 2-2; Simon Evans: 1-1; Neil Maidment: 1-2; Mark Meadows: 1-1; Paul Radford: 1-1

Tottenham Hotspur v Birmingham City: Three out of three for Spurs and this looks a winnable game as well (except from the point of view of the Asian Sports Desk…) Patrick Johnston: 4-0; Mike Collett: 3-1; Asian Sports Desk: 1-3; Kevin Fylan: 3-1; Miles Evans: 3-0; Justin Palmer: 2-0; Simon Evans: 2-0; Neil Maidment: 3-0; Mark Meadows: 3-0; Paul Radford: 3-0

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Hull City: 14th plays 15th, and Justin Palmer has gone for 4-0 to 15th. Bizarre, eh? Patrick Johnston: 2-1; Mike Collett: 2-1; Asian Sports Desk: 2-2; Kevin Fylan: 1-0; Miles Evans: 2-0; Justin Palmer: 0-4; Simon Evans: 2-1; Neil Maidment: 0-0; Mark Meadows: 1-0; Paul Radford: 1-0

Manchester United v Arsenal: This is what I had in mind with the predicting the unpredictable headline. United got their mojo back with a 5-0 win over Wigan but even then they had to wait a long time for the first. Arsenal have had the pundits weeping with joy but they haven’t played anyone of United’s calibre yet. Patrick Johnston: 1-4; Mike Collett: 1-2; Asian Sports Desk: 0-2; Kevin Fylan: 2-1; Miles Evans: 0-0; Justin Palmer: 1-0; Simon Evans: 2-2; Neil Maidment: 0-2; Mark Meadows: 0-0; Paul Radford: 1-2

Sunday:

Portsmouth v Manchester City: City have just signed “the best centre-back in the Premier League” so this is a foregone conclusion, no? Patrick Johnston: 0-2; Mike Collett: 0-2; Asian Sports Desk: 0-3; Kevin Fylan: 1-1; Miles Evans: 0-0; Justin Palmer: 2-3; Simon Evans: 0-1; Neil Maidment: 0-2; Mark Meadows: 0-2; Paul Radford: 0-2

Everton v Wigan Athletic: Everton are rock bottom but they’ve only played a couple of games, remember. Can Wigan recover from that caning by United and pile on the agony at Goodison? Patrick Johnston: 1-2; Mike Collett: 3-1; Asian Sports Desk: 1-1; Kevin Fylan: 2-0; Miles Evans: 2-2; Justin Palmer: 2-1; Simon Evans: 2-1; Neil Maidment: 2-1; Mark Meadows: 3-1; Paul Radford: 3-2

Aston Villa v Fulham: Villa helped themselves to the three points at Anfield but then suffered a rude awakening in the Europa League play-off, making this another very tricky one to call. Good luck, sports fans! Patrick Johnston: 0-1; Mike Collett: 1-1; Asian Sports Desk: 2-2; Kevin Fylan: 1-0; Miles Evans: 2-1; Justin Palmer: 3-1; Simon Evans: 4-0; Neil Maidment: 1-1; Mark Meadows: 1-1; Paul Radford: 2-1

So there we have it, please give us your predictions and thoughts in the comments and keep checking back.

PHOTO: A football is rests on the pitch during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Everton in Burnley August 23, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium gleamed in the sunshine on Saturday as the north London side produced an exhilarating display to beat Portsmouth 4-1 in the Premier League.

The impressive structure, wedged into a densely populated part of the capital, is one of England’s finest club grounds but many of the 60,000 fans sat on their comfy plastic seats would have pined for the old Highbury ground just across the road.

Highbury, like Goodison Park, White Hart Lane, Anfield and the old Maine Road, was born in an era when football was the traditional “working class” escape from a hard week’s labour.

Just being at the ground, watching your favourite players, was enough reason to raise the voice and wave the scarf. Things were spontaneous, sons followed fathers as the terrace folklore was passed down from one generation to the next.

Old-school football fans are watching the Saturday afternoon traditions die.

So it is that the image gurus at Arsenal are busy devising ways to re-create what the march of money, live TV, expensive tickets and millionaire players has eroded.

“Arsenalisation” they are calling it. The club is promising a number of measures to try and link the concrete and plastic bowl that the Emirates is to Arsenal’s rich history.

On Saturday this involved the placing of a free red and white scarve on every seat.

Page 12 of the glossy matchday programme instructs fans to place the scarf above their heads when the players come out and to remember to bring them to the next game.

True, it looked good, but have football fans become so pampered that they now have to be given instructions on scarf-waving? Arsene Wenger said he was a big fan of the initiative, eluding to the fact that “soul and love” appeared to be missing at the new edifice.

Once upon a time, taking a scarf, a rosette, bobble hat or banner was just instictive behaviour…new songs would float down from the terraces on a weekly basis.

Arsenal just pump up the volume on the Elvis Presley classic The Wonder of You which for reasons not quite clear has been adopted as their theme tune.

This is by no means a dig at Arsenal. The fact they have identified a problem is to their credit.

Other stadiums also appear to have to initiate the atmosphere. At nearby Tottenham the Tannoy blares a medley of some of the club’s anthems before kick-off while at Wembley Stadium, fans are blasted with a selection of the winning club’s favourite tunes, as if they need a helping hand to celebrate.

With the old Victorian stadium gradually disappearing (White Hart Lane, Anfield and Goodison Park may all soon be gone) clubs will increasingly have to come up with gimmicks in a bid to maintain their identity.

And another thing, since when do self-respecting football fans need to be reminded of the score at halftime and fulltime. It’s another iritating trend that appears designed for the corporate hospitality brigade who might have missed something while tucking into their canapes.

PHOTO: A young Arsenal fan holds up his scarf before their English Premier League soccer match against Portsmouth at the Emirates Stadium in London August 22, 2009. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

UPDATE: Have added the panel predictions that were emailed to me on Friday night/Saturday before kick-offs. (Mike Collett loses 10 points for shamelessly trying to predict Saturday’s scores on Sunday morning … and getting them all spot on.)

- - - -

So come on, be honest, who was expecting Burnley to beat Manchester United in the Premier League on Wednesday?

That shocker on the midweek programme really threw our panel, as did Wigan Athletic’s home defeat… See here for our original predictions.

Read em and weep. I know I did.

So, with one point for the right result and five for the exact score, plus the odd bonus point added pretty much arbitrarily, here are our scores after two (or one-and-a-half) rounds of matches:

Miles Evans - 17 points, Owen Wyatt 14, Patrick Johnston 10, Mitch Phillips 9 (including one bonus point for being the only person not to put Man Utd down for a win), Kevin Fylan 8, Paul Radford and Simon Evans 7, Mike Collett 6.

Shamefacedly, I must admit that I got no points at all this week. Are you keeping up your own score at home (or, let’s face it, at the office)? If you had Burnley beating Man Utd, award yourself an extra five points for being so clever.

Chipking, showing us up badly in the comments, gets at least one bonus point, and possibly five or six, for tipping Spurs to beat Hull 4-0 with a Jermain Defoe hat-trick. It was actually 5-1 but with Defoe indeed bagging three that was a spectacular effort.

Maid also did well, getting the right score on Birmingham-Pompey, and getting pretty close with Liverpool-Stoke as well.

Anyway, looking to the future, here are the weekend’s fixtures, with the laughable predictions of our panel at the end… or at least they will be, when they get round to filling them in:

Saturday:

Arsenal v Portsmouth: Awesome Arsenal against the early season crisis club… A no-brainer, no? Mitch Phillips:1-0 ; Owen Wyatt: 3-1; Patrick Johnston: 3-1; Mike Collett: ; Paul Radford: 2-0; Kevin Fylan: 4-0; Miles Evans: 2-0; Martyn Herman: ; Justin Palmer: 5-0; Simon Evans: 3-0.

Birmingham City v Stoke City: Stoke were mauled by Liverpool at Anfield. Birmingham picked up a first win. Could this be the first draw of the season? Mitch Phillips: 1-0; Owen Wyatt: 0-0; Patrick Johnston: 0-1; Mike Collett: ; Paul Radford: 0-0; Kevin Fylan: 2-1; Miles Evans: 2-1; Martyn Herman: ; Justin Palmer: 0-0; Simon Evans: 2-1.

Hull City v Bolton Wanderers: Hull are just about everyone’s tip for the drop this season. Watch them prove people wrong here… Mitch Phillips: 0-1; Owen Wyatt: 1-1; Patrick Johnston: 2-2; Mike Collett: ; Paul Radford: 1-0; Kevin Fylan: 0-0; Miles Evans: 0-1; Martyn Herman: ; Justin Palmer: 0-1; Simon Evans: 1-1.

Manchester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers: City beat Barcelona 1-0 in a friendly in midweek. Things really are looking up. Mitch Phillips: 1-1; Owen Wyatt: 2-0; Patrick Johnston: 3-2; Mike Collett: ; Paul Radford: 3-1; Kevin Fylan: 3-1; Miles Evans: 1-1; Martyn Herman: ; Justin Palmer: 3-2; Simon Evans: 4-2.

Sunderland v Blackburn Rovers: Sunderland had a bad second half against Chelsea but this should be a much more comfortable outing, shouldn’t it? Mitch Phillips: 1-0; Owen Wyatt: 0-2; Patrick Johnston: 2-0; Mike Collett: ; Paul Radford: 1-1; Kevin Fylan: 1-0; Miles Evans: 0-0; Martyn Herman: ; Justin Palmer: 1-1; Simon Evans: 0-0.

Wigan Athletic v Manchester United: United need to show a bit of character after that Burnley defeat. Surely they won’t produce another Lancashire hodge-podge of a performance… Mitch Phillips: 1-1; Owen Wyatt: 1-4; Patrick Johnston: 0-1; Mike Collett: ; Paul Radford: 1-1; Kevin Fylan: 0-2; Miles Evans: 0-2; Martyn Herman: ; Justin Palmer: 1-2; Simon Evans: 1-2.

Playing on Sunday:

West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs are the leaders after two games. How long before the bubble bursts? Mitch Phillips: 1-0; Owen Wyatt: 2-1; Patrick Johnston: 1-3; Mike Collett: 1-3; Paul Radford: 1-2; Kevin Fylan: 1-1; Miles Evans: 3-1; Martyn Herman: ; Justin Palmer: 2-1; Simon Evans: 1-1.

Burnley v Everton: Burnley performed heroics in midweek, while Everton atoned for their opening day shocker with a good European League display. Tricky one to call. Mitch Phillips: 1-0; Owen Wyatt: 1-2; Patrick Johnston: 0-0; Mike Collett: 2-1; Paul Radford: 1-2; Kevin Fylan: 0-1; Miles Evans: 0-2; Martyn Herman: ; Justin Palmer: 1-3; Simon Evans: 2-1.

Fulham v Chelsea: 100 percent Chelsea to maintain their advantage over United and Liverpool? Mitch Phillips: 1-1; Owen Wyatt: 0-2; Patrick Johnston: 0-2; Mike Collett: 0-3; Paul Radford: 1-3; Kevin Fylan: 1-2; Miles Evans: 0-3; Martyn Herman: ; Justin Palmer: 0-2; Simon Evans: 0-1.

Playing on Monday:

Liverpool v Aston Villa: Liverpool found some form to beat Stoke handily in midweek and with Villa starting poorly this looks like another home win, doesn’t it? Mitch Phillips: 1-1; Owen Wyatt: 2-0; Patrick Johnston: 4-0; Mike Collett: 4-0; Paul Radford: 3-0; Kevin Fylan: 0-0; Miles Evans: 2-0; Martyn Herman: ; Justin Palmer: 1-0; Simon Evans: 2-1.

That’s as far as we’ve got so far … give us your predictions in the comments section, and feel free to lord it over us on Monday.

PHOTO: The Burnley mascot poses with a photographer’s camera ahead of their English Premier League soccer match against Manchester United in Burnley, August 19, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

How did you get on? I expect it was better than most of us… As a look back to Friday lunchtime’s post will attest, our efforts at predicting the score on the opening weekend of the Premier League covered few of us in any glory.

A lot of people overestimated Chelsea and underestimated Arsenal, but the general feeling that Liverpool would come unstuck at Spurs proved well founded.

As a general guide, I’ve given one point for a correct result — except for those who had Chelsea or Man Utd winning by a hatful — and five points for a correct score. There were precious few of those. I’ve totted it all up very roughly, but the score so far looks more or less as follows…

Owen Wyatt, Miles Evans – 10 points (FROM A POSSIBLE 50!!), Patrick Johnston 9, Kevin Fylan 8, Simon Evans 7, Paul Radford 4, Mike Collett and Mitch Phillips 2.

That includes a bonus point for me as the only person to predict a goal for Hull City. Fair? Well, maybe. Anyway, appeals welcome, as every time I add it up it seems to come to something different. The problems of an arbitrary scoring system…

Let us know if you did much better/worse… and Tune in later for more predictions…

Kevin Fylan, Canary Wharf

PHOTO: Arsenal’s Eduardo (R) celebrates his goal against Everton during their English Premier League soccer match at Goodison Park in Liverpool August 15, 2009. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

UPDATE: Now with added rollcall of shame! Click here for full details of just how badly our panel did…

The new Premier League season is upon us and this year we at the Reuters Soccer Blog have decided to stick our necks out as never before.

Instead of the usual season previews, picking one of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool to win the league and the new arrivals to struggle, we’re doing this the hard way and giving our predictions on a match by match basis.

So without further ado, here are the predictions from a random group of Reuters bloggers. Couldn’t agree more? Couldn’t agree less? Give us your predictions too and see if you can do better than our own modest efforts. We may even keep a running score…

Chelsea v Hull City: Hull escaped relegation despite a disastrous run in the second-half of last season. That was down to their great start but surely they’re not going to come up with another shock here, are they? Worryingly for Hull, Chelsea looked in tune with Carlo Ancelotti’s diamond formation in the Community Shield win over Manchester United.

Predictions: Paul Radford: 3-0; Miles Evans: 4-0; Mike Collett: 3-0; Mitch Phillips: 2-0; Patrick Johnston: 3-0; Owen Wyatt: 2-0; Simon Evans: 2-0; Kevin Fylan: 4-1

Aston Villa v Wigan Athletic: Two sides that have suffered in the close-season. Villa lost captain Gareth Barry to Man City and defender Martin Laursen to retirement; Wigan lost their manager Steve Bruce and midfielder Lee Cattermole to Sunderland and winger Antonio Valencia to Manchester United and there are fears for their survival this year. New manager Roberto Martinez has a big job on his hands.

Predictions: Paul Radford: 1-0; Miles Evans: 1-1; Mike Collett: 1-0; Mitch Phillips: 2-1; Patrick Johnston: 2-0; Owen Wyatt: 1-1; Simon Evans: 2-0; Kevin Fylan: 0-0

Blackburn Rovers v Manchester City: All eyes will be on Ewood Park to see how Man City, the Galacticos Lite, do in their opening fixture. Sam Allardyce made Blackburn a tough nut to crack in the second half of last season. Robinho, Tevez, Adebayor, Wright-Phillips and co must fancy their chances, but their pre-season form wasn’t great, was it?

Predictions: Paul Radford: 1-2; Miles Evans: 1-1; Mike Collett: 2-3; Mitch Phillips 0-0; Patrick Johnston: 1-2; Owen Wyatt: 1-0; Simon Evans: 0-2; Kevin Fylan: 3-3 (humdinger)

Bolton Wanderers v Sunderland: A new manager and a record signing add up to high hopes at Sunderland but this is a fiddly fixture to begin their campaign. Bolton never make life comfortable for visiting teams.

Predictions: Paul Radford: 1-2; Miles Evans: 1-1; Mike Collett: 1-0; Mitch Phillips: 1-0; Patrick Johnston: 1-1; Owen Wyatt: 0-0; Simon Evans: 1-1; Kevin Fylan: 0-1

Portsmouth v Fulham: Portsmouth fans were overjoyed at the prospect of a mega-bucks new owner but with players leaving and few new faces it could be easy pickings for Fulham on the opening day.

Predictions: Paul Radford: 1-3; Miles Evans: 0-2; Mike Collett: 0-2; Mitch Phillips: 0-0; Patrick Johnston: 0-2; Owen Wyatt: 1-3; Simon Evans: 2-0; Kevin Fylan: 0-4

Stoke City v Burnley: Stoke offered Burnley the blueprint of how to survive last season but beginning your first top-flight campaign in 33 years without three first choice defenders through injuries is a bit unfortunate. James Beattie, who made an instant impact after joining Stoke in the January transfer window, must be looking forward to the opening day.

Predictions: Paul Radford: 1-1; Miles Evans: 3-1; Mike Collett: 1-1; Mitch Phillips: 0-0; Patrick Johnston: 3-0; Owen Wyatt: 1-0; Simon Evans: 1-1; Kevin Fylan: 2-3

Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United: Wolves are back but how long will the yo-yo club survive this time? Mick McCarthy has a good track record of getting teams into the Premier League but surviving is another matter.  Gianfranco Zola managed a ninth place finish with West Ham last year despite money problems but can they push on?

Predictions: Paul Radford: 3-2; Miles Evans: 1-3; Mike Collett: 1-1; Mitch Phillips: 1-0; Patrick Johnston: 2-2; Owen Wyatt: 0-2; Simon Evans: 1-2; Kevin Fylan: 1-2

Everton v Arsenal: This is a tough ask first up for an Arsenal side without a big name signing but they do have a proud opening day record under Arsene Wenger and were leading scorers away from home last year. And Everton are struggling with injuries in attack and defence…

Predictions: Paul Radford: 0-1; Miles Evans: 0-1; Mike Collett: 2-1; Mitch Phillips: 1-1; Patrick Johnston: 0-2; Owen Wyatt: 0-3; Simon Evans: 0-0; Kevin Fylan: 1-1

Sunday:

Manchester United v Birmingham City: Cristiano Ronaldo is gone, so has Carlos Tevez, but United still looked pretty dangerous in the Community Shield last weekend. Birmingham’s promotion to the Premier League was built on a solid defence - but they didn’t have to face Rooney, Berbatov and Owen last year.

Predictions: Paul Radford:1-1; Miles Evans: 2-0; Mike Collett: 4-0; Mitch Phillips: 3-0; Patrick Johnston: 4-0; Owen Wyatt: 2-0; Simon Evans: 3-0; Kevin Fylan: 3-0

Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool: Liverpool begin life without Xabi Alonso, and with an injury crisis affecting their defence this could be an uncomfortable start. They lost at Spurs 2-1 last season, in Harry Redknapp’s first game, and you can bet Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane will be looking to prove a point.

Predictions: Paul Radford: 2-2; Miles Evans: 2-1; Mike Collett: 1-2; Mitch Phillips: 1-1; Patrick Johnston: 2-1; Owen Wyatt: 1-1; Simon Evans: 1-0; Kevin Fylan: 2-2

So go on then … give us your predictions.

(Mini-previews by Patrick Johnston)

PHOTO: Michael Ballack wins friends at the Community Shield, Wembley Stadium, August 9, 2009. REUTERS/Darren Staples

The draw for the Champions League final qualifying round raises the question whether Michel Platini and UEFA have done the right thing by giving teams from Europe’s less heralded leagues a better chance of reaching the money-spinning group stage.

On one hand, restructuring the qualifying campaign has opened the group stage doors to Latvian champions Venstpils, Cypriots APOEL Nicosia, Hungarian title holders Debrecen and Moldovans Sheriff Tiraspol.

On the other, it has pitted former European Cup winners Celtic against 2006 finalists Arsenal, with the loser confined to taking part in the Europa Liga, the continent’s second tier competition.

The new formula means the Champions League lucrative group stage will now have more champions from obscure countries on Europe’s soccer map at the expense of third and fourth-placed teams from the top leagues.

It gives unfancied teams a chance to boost their finances and close the gap on wealthier rivals, but it also runs the risk of depriving Europe’s premier club competition of some of its glamour.

Would you rather watch both Celtic and Arsenal in the Champions league proper or draw pleasure from seeing a pack of underdogs take centre stage instead?

And crucially, will the new qualifying format last long enough for the new arrivals to establish themselves as regular campaigners?

Give us your thoughts.

PHOTO: UEFA President Michel Platini gestures during a news conference at the end of the organisation’s executive committee meeting in Bucharest May 13, 2009. REUTERS/Bogdan Cristel

Liverpool’s Rafa Benitez may feel he got a good price for Xabi Alonso but he is in no danger of dislodging Arsene Wenger as the Premier League manager with the Midas touch.

Wenger has received criticism of late for not ‘spending big’ on replacements for departing first-teamers. He should be receiving credit for earning a huge pile of cash for players no longer in his plans. Does anyone in football generate as much money from transfers as Wenger?

The wily Frenchman has built a career on signing young prospects for small fees and selling them for gigantic ones when he feels the time is right.

Most recently Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure moved to Premier League rich boys Manchester City for a reported combined fee of 39 million pounds after being brought to Arsenal for much less.

They follow the likes of Nicolas Anelka, Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira in enjoying great success and form under Wenger before moving on to pastures new to the benefit of the Arsenal bank balance.

Success-starved Arsenal fans, frustrated by the absence of a trophy since the FA Cup in 2005, may look upon the departures of such players as a defeatist approach but Wenger has a bunch of hungry youngsters waiting to come in and yearning for success.

Between them they should be able to replace Toure, Adebayor and, if Everton get their wish, the Swiss defender Senderos, shouldn’t they?

LUCRATIVE SALE: Marc Overmars signs for Barcelona in July 2000, for a fee of more than $40 million. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino

The new Premier League season kicks off on August 15 and the first real eye-catching fixture is at Old Trafford a fortnight later when Arsenal visit champions Manchester United for the first twist in the title race.

United manager Alex Ferguson will clash with new Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge on November 7, two weeks after visiting rivals Liverpool at Anfield.

After the all-important Christmas period, the pick of the reverse fixtures see United visiting Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on January 30 and then hosting last season’s Premier League runners-up Liverpool on March 20.

United’s last match against one of the other members of the leading quartet comes when Chelsea visit Old Trafford* on April 3.

Other dates for the diary:

Oct. 3/May 1: Chelsea v Liverpool

Dec. 12/Feb. 9: Liverpool v Arsenal

Nov. 28/Feb. 6: Arsenal v Chelsea

Nov. 28/Feb. 6: Everton v Liverpool

Oct. 31/Apr. 10: Arsenal v Tottenham

PHOTO: Alex Ferguson lifts the Premier League trophy at Old Trafford. May 16, 2009. REUTERS/Phil Noble

* corrected (see comments below)