Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has backed Chelsea's claims on the Barclays Premier League title this season.

The 48-year-old will do his best to dent the Blues' start to the new season at the Stadium of Light tonight, but is confident Carlo Ancelotti's men will run his former club Manchester United close this time around.

He said: "If anybody finishes above Chelsea, in my opinion, they will win the league.

"That's what I strongly believe. They are the ones to beat, as normal, they are the big threat to the champions now.

"Of course, we see Liverpool and we will see the emergence of Manchester City, probably, but in my opinion still when I look at them - and I have just watched the video for the third time - they have still got that air of a great team, and they are the ones to beat."

That video was of Chelsea's last-gasp 2-1 opening day win over Hull on Saturday, a game in which they were pushed all the way by Phil Brown's side.

Indeed, it took an injury-time strike from Didier Drogba to snatch all three points as the Tigers were denied tangible reward for a committed display.

However, Bruce insists that came as no surprise to anyone.

He said: "It took them until the last minute to beat Hull, but I have just seen the stats there - they had 26 attempts on goal.

"You know when you are playing Chelsea or you are playing Manchester United or the top teams, that they have got people who can hurt you and they go right to the wire.

"Chelsea always go to the wire - it's something they have maintained over the last few years that makes them a great team.

"They have got the quality to do that in Drogba and [Frank] Lampard and [Nicolas] Anelka. They can all do that and that's why they are top players, that's why they play for Chelsea.

"That's inbred in them, the top players go to the wire. Chelsea have got individuals who can hurt you because of the quality they have in their squad."

Bruce has worked all summer on improving the quality of his squad, and was rewarded with excellent competitive debuts from newcomers Lee Cattermole, Lorik Cana and match-winner Darren Bent at Bolton on Saturday.

His search for defensive recruits is ongoing - he hopes to sign Lyon's John Mensah on a season's loan and has inquired about West Ham's Lucas Neill among others.

However, he could hardly be more pleased with his investment to date.

Bruce said: "For me to spend £20million on three players is nose-bleed stuff. I don't think I have spent £20million in 10 years.

"It's enabled me to buy players for whom I would never have been in the market to be able to do that.

"However, you have still got to be a bit prudent and anybody who witnessed the game on Saturday would say that's money well-spent."