9. Sunderland
The salvage job that Martin O'Neill did at Sunderland after replacing the floundering Steve Bruce was one of the more remarkable stories of last term. He managed to mastermind eight wins in his first twelve games hauling his side away from the relegation zone in a timely manner. However this season the pressure is on and there has been a frightening lack of activity for the Black Cats fans. Losing Nicklas Bendtner and Asamoah Gyan coupled with the fact that they only scored 45 league goals last season shows where the gaping hole lies. They may be chasing Steven Fletcher but as of yet Wolves have been unwilling to do a deal even with the Scotsman taking to twitter to try to force through a move. They have added Louis Saha but he is only going to help if he can stay fit and history dictates that won't be the case. If O'Neill can get the striker he wants then they could challenge for Europe if he doesn't then it could be another depressing slide down the table. First Three Games: Arsenal (A), Reading (H), Swansea (A)