Manchester United Face Many Questions vs. Tough Premier League

With the Premier League season now rapidly approaching, I have decided to take a look at each of the 20 sides that will be playing at the top level of English football during this upcoming season.

To start off my countdown, I have decided to actually go in reverse order, with Wolverhampton starting off the list and Arsenal concluding it right before the start of the Premier League season.

In the ninth installment of this series, I will look at Manchester United, which finished second in the Premier League last season, as Wayne Rooney and company were unable to unseat Chelsea at the end of the season to claim a fourth consecutive Premier League title.

Review of Last Year

After the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez from Old Trafford, Manchester United was still able to have a great year by winning the Carling Cup and reaching the quarterfinals in the Champions League.

Man United was led by Wayne Rooney (who scored 26 times for the Red Devils) and the league's best defense (only conceding 28 times the entire year) but lost out on the title to Chelsea by one point.

Transfers:

Incoming Players:

Javier Hernandez (Guadalajara) and Chris Smalling (Fulham).

Departing Players:

Ben Foster (Birmingham City), Zoran Tosic (CSKA Moscow), Tom Heaton (Cardiff City), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96), Matthew James (Preston North End), David Gray (Preston North End) and Cameron Stewart (Yeovil Town).

Manchester United Fixture List

All times are GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

Major Questions Going into This Season:

1. Will Wayne Rooney have another incredible season?

Of course, Wayne Rooney had that fantastic year last year before getting injured and was a major factor in England's World Cup disappointment.

With the first month off to recuperate, Rooney will probably not score 34 goals again this season.

2. Is there enough firepower to get United the Premier League crown?

United will be without Wayne Rooney to start off the season (who of course was their leading goalscorer last year).

With that in mind, goalscoring opportunities will go to Dimitar Berbatov and the young kids that didn't play in the World Cup.

3. How big of an impact will the "substitutes" have to start off the year?

Those substitutes will have a huge impact to start off the year with many of the regulars resting after the World Cup in South Africa just over a month ago.

Will the substitutes help United get off to a great start or will the Red Devils find themselves in the middle of the table? That is a question that we'll find out at the beginning of the season.

4. Can United reclaim the Premier League trophy?

Without Rooney and company to start off the year, it will be hard to reclaim the Premier League trophy from Chelsea, but Manchester United has already proved to us that anything is possible as Sir Alex Ferguson looks to work his magic.

For a preview of Newcastle's Premier League season, please click here.

For a preview of Stoke City's Premier League season, please click here.