The English Premier League is finally upon as.
After a three-month hiatus the world's most popular league returns with the promise of another cracker of a season.
There have been several changes in the summer, most importantly in the manager's department with four of the top six teams of last season set to begin the season with a new man at the helm.
Manchester United, under David Moyes, will be under pressure to repeat the success of last season, but with Chelsea and Manchester City looking strong and Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham also in with a shot this season promises to be one to remember.
The first weekend sees some intriguing matches, with champions United facing a tricky fixture at Swansea, while Arsenal begin their campaign against Aston Villa.
Chelsea host newcomers Hull City while Manuel Pellegrini and Manchester City will have to overcome Newcastle in their first encounter.
Here's a look at all the ten fixtures with team news and predictions.
Saturday: Liverpool vs Stoke at Anfield (12.45 PM GMT, 7.45 AM ET): Brendan Rodgers is confident his side can compete for a top four spot this season, but keeping Luis Suarez will be vital.
Stoke have a new boss in Mark Hughes, however, Liverpool should have enough firepower to pickup their first win of the season even without Suarez who is suspended.
Prediction: 1-0 to Liverpool
Arsenal vs Aston Villa at the Emirates (3.00 PM GMT, 10.00 AM ET): Arsene Wenger has been criticized for lack of signings again this season, despite having a considerable amount available to spend. The Gunners squad looks extremely thin at the moment and injuries to Nacho Monreal, Mikel Arteta and Thomas Vermaelen do not help matters one bit.
Aston Villa will look to improve from last season and with a certain Christian Benteke in their lineup they are capable of creating an upset on their day.
Prediction: 2-0 to Arsenal
Norwich vs Everton at Carrow Road (3.00 PM GMT, 10.00 AM ET): New Everton manager Roberto Martinez will be under pressure to fill the shoes of David Moyes and while the style of play will indeed considerably improve under the Spaniard it remains to be seen how effective it will be.
Norwich will be no pushovers this season, having made some astute buys this summer including forwards Gary Hooper and Ricky Van Wolfswinkel.
Chris Hughton will have to do without the suspended Leroy Fer, while Martinez will be missing the services of Tony Hibbert and Antolin Alcaraz.
Prediction: 2-2
Sunderland vs Fulham at the Stadium of Light (3.00 PM GMT, 10.00 AM ET): Paolo Di Canio is never boring that is for sure. And the enigmatic Italian will now look to make his new-look Sunderland side play some exciting football, starting with the opener against Fulham.
Martin Jol, though, will not give away easily and the Londoners, with a couple of decent buys of their own, will be keen to make an impression.
Di Canio has a few players missing with Craig Gardner, David Vaughan, Wes Brown, Phil Bardsley Steven Fletcher and Lee Cattermole all missing out.
Prediction: 2-1 to Sunderland
West Brom vs Southampton at the Hawthorns (3.00 PM GMT, 10.00 AM ET): Steve Clark will be under pressure to deliver again after West Brom's splendid season last year, while Southampton, with some heavy-duty signings will settle for nothing short of a top-ten place.
Prediction: 3-2 to West Brom
West Ham vs Cardiff at Upton Park (3.00 PM GMT, 10.00 AM ET): Sam Allardyce has brought some interesting players to the club this summer, but the most important one could be making the Andy Carroll deal permanent. Stewart Downing also looks like a decent buy and Carroll can be the beneficiary of some good crosses from the England wideman.
Cardiff will be desperate to make a good first impression, and if they perform anything like their fellow Welsh club Swansea, they have nothing much to worry about.
Prediction: 2-1 to West Ham
Swansea vs Manchester United at the Liberty Stadium (5.30 PM GMT, 12.30 PM ET): David Moyes will not want a win as much as on Saturday. After picking up a 2-0 victory over Wigan in the Community Shield, the new United manager will again pin his hopes on Robin Van Persie, while Wayne Rooney is likely to be names in the substitutes bench.
Swansea, though, are as capable as any side to beat the bigger teams and with Michael Laudrup strengthening his squad over the summer, they just might be one of the dark horses for a top six place this year.
United will be without right-back Rafael while Swansea will miss the services of Jonathan De Guzman.
Prediction: 2-1 to United
Sunday: Crystal Palace vs Tottenham at Selhurst Park (1.30 PM GMT, 8.30 AM ET): Will he or won't he? That has been the question on Gareth Bale all summer; but with the forward set to miss the first couple of weeks of the season through injury, Andre Villas-Boas will be concentrating on the job at hand, starting with newly-promoted Crystal Palace.
Prediction: 2-0 to Tottenham
Chelsea vs Hull City at Stamford Bridge (4.00 PM GMT, 11.00 AM ET): Jose Mourinho believes his side are definitely capable of winning the Premier League this year and some pundits have already installed the Blues as the favorites. While there have not been huge signings this summer, just having Mourinho back at the helm will be enough to spur Chelsea on to greater things.
Hull City could not have asked for a tougher opening fixture and Steve Bruce will be hoping to pull off a monumental upset. But if not at least leave the ground at the end of the game with their heads held high.
Prediction: 3-0 to Chelsea.
Monday: Manchester City vs Newcastle at the Etihad (8.00 PM GMT, 3.00 PM ET): Newcastle will definitely be a lot better than last season, but come Monday night, they will find it difficult to get any points against a re-jigged Manchester City side looking to play some fantastic football under Pellegrini.
Prediction: 2-0 to City
