Sunderland Betting

Sunderland survived

Roy Keane achieved a huge success in his first two seasons and confirmed the speculations that after a fantastic playing career he will do great in coaching as well. After his debutant season saw him bring Sunderland from the bottom to the top of Championship, he also managed to survive in the first season in elite which is not easy to do. Last summer Keane bought bunch of players intending to at least have the choice when he can't have the quality. Obvious lack of scouting network, he opted for bringing former Manchester United players whose quality he knew, which brought results. A lot of money has been invested in the club but a midtable place and surviving made the invested money paid off and now they expect their second season in the elite with higher ambitions.

Stronger than last season

Keane, himself admitted that last year that he had a lot of problems in bringing the players to Sunderland. He even accused some of his transfer targets of their wives managing their career, and in the end he made a clear point that he wasn't too satisfied with the most of the players he brought. Still, it seems that Keane is doing his job very wisely and taking one step at a time to create the team capable of surviving in the elite without problems. Sunderland boss decided to use the change of system in Tottenham and pick the players that are more than good and have experience in the Premier League. Chimbonda, who only three years ago was the best right wing in the league, Tainio and Malbranque (over 200 matches in Premier League for Tottenham and Fulham and 38 goals) arrived from the Spurs, and Diouf from Bolton; these four definitely make Sunderland much stronger than last year. A problem for Keane is injury of the best scorer in the team, the players who simply exploded last year, Kenwyne Jones who will miss this season.

In

Tainio, Chimbonda, Malbranque (Tottenham), Diouf (Bolton), Meyler (Cork City), Colgan (Ipswich Town)

Out

Evans (Manchester United – loan return), Cole (Nottingham Forest), Halford (Sheffield United - loan), Ross Wallace (Preston North End - loan), Ian Harte, Stephen Wright

Midtable

A place in the midtable and more importantly absence of relegation battle is Sunderland's aim for this season. With the back-ups they brought and experience team gained last season, it should be a realistic aim for the Black Cats. Keane is a great motivator, and this year's transfers are very interesting because they brought players that can do much more than they have shown in the last few seasons. If Keane manages to get the best out of them, Sunderland could be the most pleasant surprise this season. The rumour has it that Keane hasn't done the work on the market yet and that he is very interested in Saha from United (Berbatov's arrival would make this transfer pretty realistic) and Chiellini from Juventus, so if he gets them, Sunderland fans shouldn't fear the outcome of the season.

Our tip: Sunderland to finish in top half
Odds 3.50
Bookmaker: Bet365