Their European campaign started in late July and in seven games in all competitions they have won five and drawn two, conceding just two goals.

With that low concession rate, six of those seven games have averaged under 2.5 goals and another tight game is likely tonight. Only one of the six Stoke-Liverpool meetings in the Premier League has gone over 2.5 goals, with the three at the Britannia ending 0-0, 1-1 and 2-0 to Stoke.

Liverpool have also started well and their performance at Stoke will be a measure of how much they have improved under Kenny Dalglish.

Last season's defeat at the Britannia came two months before Dalglish was appointed, so this is the first time he has tackled Stoke in this intimidating atmosphere.

In Dalglish's away games last season, Liverpool had up-and-down form - essentially they won one, lost one, and so on. They won at Chelsea, but two of the defeats were against relegated Blackpool and West Ham - the worst two home sides in the league. That means we can't be sure their 2-0 win at Arsenal in their opening away game this season was a sign of improvement, especially as that result was heavily influenced by Emmanuel Frimpong's sending off before a goal was scored.A Liverpool victory would be more convincing evidence that Dalglish's team can challenge at the top, but on past form Stoke on the handicap and under 2.5 goals look the best options.

Many people still need convincing that Chelsea can be revitalised by Andre Villas-Boas, but at least the Blues are on productive territory at Sunderland. Chelsea have won on their last six visits to the Stadium of Light (five of those wins have had over 2.5 goals) and their only failure to beat Sunderland in almost a decade was last season's calamitous 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge that first showed the cracks in their ageing side.

Sunderland were superb at Stamford Bridge last season but two of the goal scorers - Danny Welbeck and Nedum Onuoha - are no longer at the club and the third, Asamoah Gyan, is unsettled. It is difficult to know what to make of Steve Bruce's side after another summer of upheaval, but what we should not expect is a repeat of their performance at the Bridge.

Chelsea should win again and they are not badly priced. Failure to take three points would be a significant sign of weakness at a time when they need to hang in there under the new manager and make sure they are still in contention when winter arrives.

On current form Manchester United are tough to oppose at Bolton, although there remains the lingering doubt about their away form of last season when they conceded too many goals and won only five out of 19 on the road.

United won their opening away game at West Brom, but the winning goal did not come until nine minutes from the end and again they did not keep a clean sheet - raw goalkeeper David de Gea should have stopped Shane Long's tame shot but didn't.

United have won six of their last seven against Bolton but the failure to win was in the away fixture last season, when Bolton led twice before being pegged back to 2-2.

The problem with Bolton is that last season's early promise - the draw against United was in September - has faded away. From the start of last season to the end of the year, Owen Coyle's team lost only five out of 20 in the Premier League and averaged 1.45 points per game, but this year they have lost almost two-thirds of their league games and the points average has dropped to 0.95.

In other words, this is a team in relegation form at home to a rampant United, who should not fail this time. If they do, it will intensify the doubts about whether they can shake off last season's away problems.

The other games feature several teams trying to bed in new players, including Arsenal, who host sweet-passing but so far largely ineffective Swansea. The Gunners will be interesting to watch in their new guise but make no appeal as a bet.

QPR were one of the biggest spenders before the transfer window closed, following Tony Fernandes' takeover, but the new-look team face a tough baptism against Newcastle, who have started well but remain underrated.

Newcastle average 1.63 points a game against teams outside the big six under Alan Pardew, losing only four of 16 in that category, making them one of the most solid teams around.

Shortlist

Stoke, Fulham, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Schalke, Espanyol, Catania, Napoli.

TOP 5 BETS

1 Newcastle on handicap

Only two defeats in 11 in the league since April

2 Middlesbrough on handicap

Unbeaten in 11 since last visit to Burnley in April

3 Schalke on handicap

Have hit top scoring form since opening-day defeat

4 Espanyol home win

Won 11 out of 15 at home to teams outside the top four last season

5 Catania home win

Newcomers Siena start with a tough trip to the islanders