Heavily reinforced Sunderland will be aiming to prove everyone they should no longer be considered candidates for the drop when they welcome Fulham to the Stadium of Light. Meanwhile, the Cottagers have also undergone some changes this summer, but having struggled in pre-season they need to show a massive improvement if they are to get anything from this game.

Di Canio effect

I have to admit I was one of many who doubted Paolo Di Canio’s credentials when he was elected as the man to replace Martin O’Neill, but the Italian quickly proved his motivational skills as a kick up the backside was just what the Black Cats needed to turn things around. Having witnessed an amazing comeback during the season finale, club chiefs were more than happy to allocate extra transfer funds in the summer window, which has seen them sign several high-profile players such as Emanuele Giaccherini, Jozy Altidore and Modibo Diakite. With Stephan Sessegnon, Adam Johnson and Steven Fletcher remaining, Sunderland should finally pose a real threat up front, while their back line doesn’t look too bad either, even if Simon Mignolet was sold to Liverpool. As a result, the Black Cats have produced some very good performances in pre-season, recording a 3-1 victory over Tottenham and narrowly losing to Manchester City, so I certainly expect them to enjoy a winning start against struggling Fulham. Seeing as how Jozy Altidore has just scored a hat-trick on international duty and given Emanuele Giaccherini’s impressive showings for Italy, the new signings are certainly tipped to make an impact early on.

David Vaughan and Craig Gardner are banned, whereas Steven Fletcher and Lee Cattermole are not yet ready to return.

Are Fulham back to being relegation strugglers?

Fulham have done well to transform themselves into genuine mid table side over the years, but it looks as though the process is set to be reversed. After Martin Jol utterly failed to get the maximum out of his heavily reinforced side, the Cottagers ended the league campaign on 43 points, which was way below their pre-season expectations. The boss’s numerous changes to the starting line-up last term prevented the team from realizing their full potential, and they ended up narrowly avoiding the relegation tussle. While Eyong Enoh and Urby Emanuelson returned to their parent clubs, Mark Schwarzer opted to join Chelsea, with Maarten Stekelenburg arriving from Roma. Meanwhile, Adel Taarabt, Derek Boateng and Fernando Amorebieta also joined, but they haven’t quite managed to improve the quality of the squad a great deal. Fulham experienced all sorts of problems in pre-season, losing to Werder away and Parma at home, while sharing spoils with Real Betis at Craven Cottage, and this is enough to suggest Martin Jol is still searching his best line-up. Seeing as how Dimitar Berbatov is struggling for form and John Aren Riise has expressed his desire to leave, the Cottagers don’t have much reason for optimism before the trip to the Stadium of Light.

New signing Adel Taarabt is unlikely to start having recently joined the club, while John Arne Riise looks set to miss out as well.

Verdict

Buoyed by some high-profile arrivals, Sunderland will be hoping for a bright start to the league campaign and they will be quite happy to face one of league’s worst travellers in their opening match. With Fulham also going through a rough patch at the moment, home win looks a banker here.

Top pick: Home win   2.30 (13/10) @ bet365

Alternative pick 1: Sunderland to score two or more   2.38 (11/8) @ Stan James

Alternative pick 2: Sunderland to win to nil   3.90 (29/10) @ Coral

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