Why Manuel Pelligrini Will Become Jose Mourinho's No.1 Foe in the Premier League

"Come gather round people, wherever you roam and admit that the waters around you have grown."

To quote Bob Dylan, the times they are a-changin’. There is a new kid on the block—well kids plural, actually—and for those of you used to the Premier League's status quo, you best prepare for what's to come.

This summer has witnessed perhaps the biggest shake-up in English football since the Premier League's inception, with Sir Alex Ferguson leaving his post as Manchester United's boss, while the other two clubs making up 2012-13's top three also have new managers.

David Moyes has replaced Ferguson at Old Trafford, but while many will point to Sir Alex's exceptional record as to why the Scot will find his tenure a potential nightmare at the Theatre of Dreams, the presence of Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City is going to be of greater concern.

With Ferguson out of the picture, right now the Premier League is No Man's Land. For 20 years it was very much Sir Alex's to manipulate and mould at his will and in his absence there are very few who can take up the mantle.

Step forward Chelsea's Mourinho and new Manchester City boss Pellegrini who, sniffing vulnerability at Old Trafford, are going to become the Premier League's Box Office duo. And like two boxers going head-to-head, the pair will provide plenty of fireworks in their personal duel to become the Premier League's No.1.

Never before has a Premier League season had such uncertainty surrounding it. What Manchester United team will we see? Is Mourinho still the "Special One"? Will Pellegrini have what it takes to claim a first trophy as a manager in Europe?

Of all the answers we'll be given to those questions and more over the course of the season, you can bet your bottom dollar Mourinho will play a part. The Portuguese has arrived back in England at the perfect moment and with no Ferguson to contend with, he knows he can emulate his idol by becoming top dog—the Premier League's Godfather almost.

To get there, the Chelsea manager must overcome Pellegrini, though. Why? Well, he's the manager of a club who can realistically dominate the English game just as United have and like Chelsea hope to.

Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United—with the momentum behind the Blues and City, it’s difficult to see 2013-14 featuring any of those three in a prolonged title challenge with the Premier League’s nouveau riche. And for that reason, Pellegrini is going to be Public Enemy No.1 at Stamford Bridge.

The new City boss, dubbed "The Engineer" on account of the Chilean studying the subject in his homeland, is known more for his understated personality, but so long as he remains at the Etihad Stadium, Mourinho will be having none of it.

He will look to take him out of his comfort zone, using the media to assert a psychological advantage and make it difficult for Pellegrini to not react or rise to the bait.

Similar to Ferguson, Mourinho thrives on jousting with his rivals, goading them to get any sort of upper hand. He did it with Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez during his initial spell at Chelsea, took on much of Italy's footballing fraternity—including the media—while in charge of Inter Milan and at Real Madrid he openly teased Barcelona's Pep Guardiola and Tito Villanova.

Pellegrini’s Malaga were also rans in Spain—hardly a threat to Mourinho’s title hopes at Real at least. At City it will be a different story and Pellegrini is more than likely in Mourinho's sights already.

With the landscape like never before, there's so much more up for grabs than a league title in England this year and Mourinho knows it. For Pellegrini’s sake, we can only hope he does, too.