Chelsea begin their bid to become only the fifth team in 119 years to win a third successive English league title this weekend with coach Jose Mourinho seeking a place in an even more exclusive club.

Only Huddersfield Town (1924-26), Arsenal [Images] (33-35), Liverpool (82-84) and Manchester United [Images] (99-01) have strung together a hat-trick while United boss Alex Ferguson is the only manager to have been in charge for all three of his side's wins.

It will be the sort of record Mourinho would like to have a piece of and as he won two successive Portuguese titles with Porto before moving to London [Images] he is also in line for his fifth successive league championship.

It will be a long, hard season, however, before any such accolades come his way and the Portuguese coach has predicted a difficult start to his third year in charge.

The World Cup and Wednesday's international friendlies left him with "two Portuguese and two goalkeepers" to work with in training this week as he prepares for Sunday's home game against Manchester City.

That is followed by trips to Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers, games for which he says his squad will be badly undercooked.

Last season, Chelsea won their first nine games while the year before they began with six wins and two draws before suffering what was to be their only defeat of the campaign.

After last weekend's 2-1 defeat by Liverpool in the Community Shield, when his makeshift side looked disjointed and sluggish, Mourinho said he would not be surprised to drop some points in the opening few games.

However, he said that such a scenario would be "no drama" and remained fully confident that over the season the class of his squad would tell and the title would remain at Stamford Bridge.

New signing Michael Ballack [Images] is unlikely to feature after suffering a hip injury in the Shield but Andriy Shevchenko, who capped an encouraging display with a sublime goal, should make his competitive debut.

Liverpool get the new season underway with a Saturday lunchtime kickoff at promoted Sheffield United.

With a Champions League qualifier and the Community Shield under their belt already, Rafael Benitez's side should hit the ground running.

SERIOUS BID

Vastly improved in attack by the addition of speedsters Craig Bellamy, Jermaine Pennant and Mark Gonzalez, it is just the sort of awkward fixture Liverpool must win if they are to launch a serious bid for their first title since 1990.

Manchester United start their campaign at home to Fulham on Sunday, though new 17 million pound ($32 million) signing Michael Carrick will probably have to wait for his first start as he is injured.

Fulham managed only one away win all last season and that 2-1 success at Manchester City was secured by a last-minute goal a week from the end. Arsenal, the only other team with any realistic hopes of challenging Chelsea, start at home to an Aston Villa side revitalised by the arrival of new manager Martin O'Neill.

Reading, in the top flight for the first time in their history, start at home to Middlesbrough while the third promoted team, Watford, are away to Everton.

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