Premiership Sunderland v Tottenham

Posted on | August 11, 2007 | No Comments

The Stadium of Light, Sunderland, is the unlikely venue for the first game of the 2007/08 season, and sees new boss Roy Keane taking on Martin Jol in his first game in the Premiership as a manager.  Sunderland took the Championship by storm last year, and after new Chairman Niall Quinn took charge, they have shelled out some serious money to ensure they retain their position at the top table.

While few players have left, Keane has brought in the likes of Kieran Richardson (from Manchester United), Russell Anderson (from Aberdeen), Michael Chopra (Cardiff City, ex-Newcastle United) and broke the English transfer record for a goal keeper by bringing in Ex-Hearts keeper Craig Gordon. 

Sunderland have been up and down between the top two divisions fairly frequently over the last few years, but they seem to have a better mix this time around.  Gordon is a great keeper, and has the potential to shore up what was a once leaky Sunderland defence.  Attacking options in both midfield and up front also give the Wearsiders hope against a Tottenham team who surprised many last year.

Martin Jol begins the season with hope and expectation although pre-season injuries have not gone in their favour with new signing Gareth Bale struggling to make the line up and Ledley King, Aaron Lennon, Young-Pyo Lee and Benoit Assou-Ekotto all set to miss the first game of the season.

Tottenham have been fairly busy in the transfer market bringing in Darren Bent from Charlton for a club record £16.5 million, as well as young starlet Gareth Bale who shone so brightly at Southampton last season. While the club have increased squad numbers and quality in some areas, they still have the likes of Robinson, Gardner, Jenas, Berbatove, Keane and Defoe as the spine of what could turn out to be a very successful team.

The match at Sunderland will not be easy with the Wearsiders unlikely to give away easy goals.  The arrival of Roy Keane last season saw a run from near the bottom of the table to that of Champions with an undefeated stretch of  over 20 games.  If Keane is able to instil as much passion into his players as he showed as a player then there is every chance that they will survive that crucial first season in the Premiership.

While there is unlikely to be many goals in this tense opener, the clever money seems to be on a Tottenham win with Sunderland possibly a little weak in fire power, and it may take a while for them to adjust to the big step up in class from the Championship.

Forecast : Away Win

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2. Sunderland vs Tottenham Hotspur preview
3. Premiership Sunderland v Liverpool
4. Crystal Palace vs Sunderland
5. Premiership Wigan v Sunderland

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