Much has been made of the appointment of "Big Phil" Scolari and I think Chelsea will challenge for the title again under his leadership. However, his immediate attentions will be turned towards the visit of the FA Cup holders tomorrow.
Our record at Stamford Bridge is woeful having lost all five of our previous visits and it will be a sixth straight defeat if we play like we did against Manchester United at Wembley last week.
I expect Harry will go with 4-4-2 on the opening day with nothing to lose. Peter Crouch will make his competitive debut but Younes Kaboul will most likely start on the bench along with Jerome Thomas.
Other new signings Glen Little and Ben Sahar won't feature as the former is injured and the latter can't play against his parent club. Papa Bouba Diop is likely to play in the centre in place of the departed Pedro Mendes.
Pompey will be buoyed be the absense of Didier Drogba, Andriy Shevchenko and Salomon Kalou which means Nicholas Anelka is likely to spearhead the Chelsea attack.
Portuguese duo Deco and Jose Bosingwa will make their debuts for the home side and Shaun Wright-Phillips should also play against the club who tried (and may still try) to sign him in pre-season.
I think we will lose this one if I put my realistic hat on. People say we may catch Chelsea cold as Scolari needs time to settle in but we have looked very disjointed in pre-season and could take a lot of time to gel, especially the front two.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Chelsea
GK: Petr CECH
RB: Jose BOSINGWA
CB: Ricardo CARVALHO
CB: John TERRY
LB: Ashley COLE
CM: Michael ESSIEN
CM: DECO
CM: Frank LAMPARD
RWF: Shaun WRIGHT-PHILLIPS
LWF: Joe COLE
CF: Nicolas ANELKA
Pompey
GK: David JAMES
RB: Glen JOHNSON
CB: Sol CAMPBELL
CB: Sylvain DISTIN
LB: Hermann HREIDARSSON
RM: John UTAKA
CM: Lassana DIARRA
CM: Papa BOUBA DIOP
LM: Niko KRANJCAR
CF: Jermain DEFOE
CF: Peter CROUCH
Last Time: Chelsea 1 Pompey 0
A Frank Lampard long range shot squirmed under David James but Pompey came close to an equaliser as Ashley Cole had to clear off the line.
Pundit Watch
Lawro: Home Win (2-0)
Sky Sports: Home Win (2-1)
Soccernet: Home Win
Merson : Home Win (2-0)
My Prediction: I expect this game will be a bit like last season. A disjointed but stubborn Pompey side will prove hard to break down but a jammy goal will seal a winning start for Scolari.
Chelsea 1 Pompey 0