3. ENGLAND: Chelsea aims for three straight

• by Soccer America , Aug 18, 2006

American midfielder Claudio Reyna starts his 12th season in Europe and his sixth in the English Premier league in what will be one of the most watched games of the EPL's opening weekend.

Reyna travels with Manchester City to Chelsea (Sunday, 11 am ET on Fox Soccer Channel), the team aiming for a third straight English Premier League title after a preseason of unsatisfactory results that included a 1-0 loss to the MLS All-Stars and a 2-1 Community Shield loss to Liverpool.

Only four times has a team won three straight English league titles: Huddersfield Town (1924-26), Arsenal (33-35), Liverpool (82-84) and Manchester United (99-01). Alex Ferguson, who's still at the Man U helm, is the only man who was coach for all three wins, a feat Chelsea's Jose Mourinho is keen to match.

Manchester United, aiming for its first title since 2003, hosts Fulham, which includes the American duo of Carlos Bocanegra and Brian McBride. (TV: Sunday, 8:30 am on Setanta Sports, channel 615 DirectTV).

Liverpool hasn't won the crown since 1990 and Arsenal, the third team considered to have a chance of knocking off Chelsea this season, lifted its last title in 2003.

English Premier League Champions
1993 Manchester United
1994 Manchester United
1995 Blackburn Rovers
1996 Manchester United
1997 Manchester United
1998 Arsenal
1999 Manchester United
2000 Manchester United
2001 Manchester United
2002 Arsenal
2003 Manchester United
2004 Arsenal
2005 Chelsea
2006 Chelsea

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE on U.S. TV: Fox Soccer Channel, Setanta Sports USA.