I think the impact of Essien's injury will be much larger than people are currently projecting. Perennially it's a four-team race atop the standings...but the only one consistent team I see thus far has been ManU. As much as I hate to admit it, it will be tough getting past them. SAF pulled off quite the coup getting perennial sleeper Dimitar Berbatov (a player I rated up on here last season) from an imploding Tottenham club, to join an already celestial cast that includes Cronaldo, Rooney, Tevez and Nani. Behind them you have one of the most underrated players in England, Paul Scholes, the geriatric but still productive Ryan Giggs, the dynamic Ji Sung Park (or however you spell his name... is he a mid or forward??)... and of course the backline of Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Silvestre et al, topped off with Van Der Sar in goal. Tough club indeed and the odds on favorite to win it all again.

I see Arsenal having yet another mediocre (by their standards) season... they are young and inconsistent up front. Adebayor has to become more proactive in the attack instead of waiting alone up front (ala Kenwyne Jones @ Sunderland) for his opportunities. Cesc Fabregas is among the best in the English game...especially now that Essien has gone down I don't think there's a better midfielder in the EPL right now. Defensively I like them.

Chelsea had quite a bit of turnover since last season...enduring their second management change since opening day last autumn...there are questions about team dynamics (which certainly aren't to quiet down with Anelka's mercuric personality now in the mix). With stalwarts such as Terry, Makalele (and his ole ass, lol) and Joe Cole though, they'll continue to be in the thick of things... and they have a phenomenal coach in Big Phil... we'll see how well he adjusts to the English game.

Finally for the team you inquired about. I look for Torres to improve upon what he did last year, especially with Robbie Keane being in the mix now. Thus far it hasn't been smooth sailings for the pair, but if (when?) they do mesh Liverpool will be terrific... if Keane produces anything like what he did last season. In mid we have Captain Fantastic himself... Steven Gerrard... and our own version of the Energizer Bunny... Javier Mascherano. Xabi Alonso is a dog... hopefully he brings something to table this season, if not then we need to adjust our formation to spread the middle a little bit and give flank players like Pennant and Babel more run... although it would be hard to do so with Kuyt keeping Babel in particular on the bench.

Defensively we lost a nice defensive mid in Riise, but change is sometimes necessary I suppose. Jamie Carragher is extremely reliable if underrated, and Pepe Reina is solid in goal. I personally question the tactics of Raffa though, and unless we produce this year it may be time to look in another direction...which is like being caught between a rock and a hard place, b/c again... I really don't know anything short of a ManU. implosion that will stop them from winning it all this year.