Southampton
It is very difficult to predict which Southampton is going to turn up, the one which overwhelmed Aston Villa 4-1 at St Mary’s, or the one which limply surrendered the same scoreline at West Ham. Nigel Adkins has firepower at his disposal with the prolific Rickie Lambert and £12 million signing of Gaston Ramirez and there is no question that The Saints are going to score goals. But with 24 goals conceded at the other end, you get the feeling that there will be a dark cloud hanging over the south coast for the remainder of the season. Verdict: Dicing with the drop.
Stoke
Stoke City have cemented their place in England’s top division over the past few years and I expect them to do the same this season. If you look at the squad that Tony Pulis has assembled, it would be hard to argue that they are going to face a tough season. With Peter Crouch up front and a solid defence, including the increasingly impressive Ryan Shawcross, I don’t anticipate any problems for the Potters this term. Verdict: Comfortably mid-table.
Sunderland
Similarly to Stoke, Martin O’Neill’s Black Cats should have a relatively trouble-free season. The big money acquisitions of Steven Fletcher and Adam Johnson should give Sunderland a platform to push for the top half of the league. Whether they can convert that talent into points remains to be seen, but if they begin to pick up results at the Stadium of Light, there is no reason why they cannot push for the top half, and possibly a good cup run. Verdict: Comfortably mid-table.
Swansea
After an extremely impressive first season at the top level, it has been a summer of change at the Liberty Stadium. Michael Laudrup has come in and has subtly altered the way that the Swans play, without rocking the boat too much. A large Spanish contingent have bought flair to the side and on the basis of the 5-0 thumping of QPR on the opening day, they should be fine. But a slight wobble in recent weeks has shown that things aren’t always comfortable in the Premier League. I believe Swansea will be fine, but they are likely to looking down rather than up the table for much of the season. Verdict: Lower mid table.
West Ham
After victory at Wembley in May to secure an immediate return to the Premier League, Sam Allardyce has gone about building a team that can compete in the top division. After a very encouraging start to the season, Hammers fans’ expectations will be rising all the time, but with a difficult spell of fixtures coming up, those expectations may just be watered down slightly. With Andy Carroll up front and a wealth of good midfielders, West Ham should be good enough to secure a second season at the top level. Verdict: Lower mid table.
Wigan
The perennial relegation strugglers are going to be there or thereabouts again this season after somehow escaping once again last year. Despite a lack of investment, Roberto Martinez has worked wonders with his squad. A leaky defence has always proved troublesome for Wigan, and if Arouna Kone and Franco Di Santo fail to bang goals in at the other end, this could be the end of their stay in the league. It all depends on the quality of the sides around them as to whether they are going to have enough to stay up. Verdict: Dicing with the drop.
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