The English Premier League season officially kicks off on Saturday, August 8, 2015. Also known as the Barclay's Premier League, this is one of the most popular football leagues anywhere in the world. The first rday also marks the start of  Chelsea's title defense. Here's a look at the first round match-ups and how the top-rated teams will be opening their seasons.

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Can anyone stop Jose Mourinho?

"The Special One" as Mourinho is often called, will be at the helm of Chelsea's title defense. He has already let go of veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech in favor of Thibault Courtois and it remains to be seen how much that will affect the team. The arrival of Radamel Falcao is also a transfer that carries a lot of expectations.

The Blues already lost the first trophy this season after bowing out to Arsenal at the 2015 Community Shield. However, Mourinho felt that the team played well and that they should have lifted the first silverware of the season.

Chelsea will be opening their title defense as the final kick-off in the opening day. On Saturday, Aug. 8, at 17:30, they will host Swansea at Stamford Bridge and it's not expected to be a complete walkover. Swansea finished the 1014/15 season at 6^th place, only just missing out on a Europa League spot.

Manuel Pellegrini seeks to keep his Manchester City seat.

City finished second last season but everyone expected manager Manuel Pallegrini to be sacked. Instead, the club kept him on, while speculations about the possible future arrival of Pep Guardiola abound. The Catalan manager is under contract with the German champions Bayern Munich until next summer and City is reportedly keen to snatch him up. In the meantime, Pellegrini has a whole season to prove his worth.

The team opens up their campaign with the last fixture of the opening round on Monday, August 10 at 22:00. City will be playing away against West Bromwich Albion. West Brom finished at the bottom half of the table last season and Manchester City are favorites to open their season with a win.

 Arsenal looks for revenge.

Up until the last few rounds of the previous season, Arsenal were chasing Chelsea. A late surge from Manchester City relegated them to third place, but Arsene Wenger and his team will be fired up following their Community Shield win.

A victory in last season's FA Cup qualified Arsenal to compete in the Community Shield and they could not have asked for a better curtain raiser. They defeated Premier League Champions Chelsea, in a game where Petr Cech manned the goal posts. Wenger finally won a match against Mourinho after 14 attempts. This year, he will be looking to bring the team their first League title since 2004. Arsenal will be opening their campaign against West Ham United on Sunday at 13:30.

Manchester United's return to glory?

After Sir Alex Ferguson left Manchester United, the team floundered under the guidance of "'The Chosen One" David Moyes. Now that Louis Van Gaal is in control, the team managed to finish 4^th  last season. That's nowhere near as good as they would like but the important thing is that they are back in European competition. The 4^th place team in the BPL qualifies for the UEFA Champions League play-offs.

Manchester United has the honor of opening the season with the first kick-off at 12:45 on Saturday. The Red Devils will go up against Tottenham Hotspur at home. Expectations run high due to the signing of FIFA World Cup winning player Bastian Schweinsteiger. Wayne Rooney is still leading the pack and they will be working hard to get their first League title in the post-Alex Ferguson era.

The full match schedule can be seen at the official Barclays Premier League website. All times announced here are local (GMT).

TagsManchester City, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Louis Van Gall, Barclay's Premier League