Last-minute shopping for EPL clubs

Manchester United start their title defence against Newcastle on Sunday with reports suggesting they are about to sign Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspurs to compensate for the absence of injured Cristiano Ronaldo, while Chelsea host Portsmouth the same day, still trying to buy Robinho from

Real Madrid.

Arsenal played their first competitive match Wed-nesday with a 2-0 win at FC Twente in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Manager Arsene Wenger said he expects to sign a new player after his side’s opening Premier League match against West Brom.

“We did not have (Abou) Diaby, (Cesc) Fabregas, (Tomas) Rosicky, (Samir) Nasri, Kolo Toure, Eduardo (Da Silva) and (Philippe) Senderos while (Alex) Song is at the Olympics. We missed seven or eight players so for me our squad looks big because the players who were here did well,” Wenger said.

Liverpool are at Sunderland hoping their new and expensively assembled forward line of Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane functions better than Wednesday’s 0-0 draw at Standard Liege.

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari takes charge of his first Premier League match buoyed by Frank Lampard having committed himself to the club with a new five-year contract.