Premiership club-by-club guide

Mary Hanniganruns the rule over runners and riders ahead of this year's Premiership campaign.

Arsenal

Manager: Arsene Wenger.

Last season: 4th

Ins: Bacary Sagna (Auxerre, £7m), Lukasz Fabianski (Legia Warsaw, £2m), Eduardo da Silva (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed), Havard Nordtveit (FK Haugesund, undisclosed).

Outs: Jeremie Aliadiere (Middlesbrough, £2m), Fabrice Muamba (Birmingham, undisclosed), Mart Poom (Watford, free), Arturo Lupoli (Fiorentina, free), Thierry Henry (Barcelona. £16.1m), Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham, £3m), Jose Antonio Reyes (Atletico, £8m), Johan Djourou (Birmingham, loan).

Republic of Ireland players: None.

Reasons to be cheerful: Cesc Fabregas. Much to the gobsmackment of Real Madrid, the little treasure is still at Arsenal. And then there's Eduardo da Silva, who put the Va-Va Voom in Dinamo Zagreb last season by scoring 34 goals.

Reasons to be fearful: Adieu Thierry, the scorer and creator of 94.27 per cent (ish) of Arsenal's goals in recent times.

First five league fixtures: Tomorrow, v Fulham (h); Sat, Aug 18th, v Blackburn (a); Wed, Aug 25th v Man City (h); Sun, Sep 2nd, v Portsmouth (h); Sat, Sept 15th, v Tottenham (a).

Aston Villa

Manager: Martin O'Neill.

Last season: 11th

Ins: Nigel Reo-Coker (West Ham, £8.5m), Harry Forrester (Watford, undisclosed), Marlon Harewood (West Ham, £3m), Eric Lichaj (unattached, free).

Outs: Gavin McCann (Bolton, £1m), Jlloyd Samuel (Bolton, free), Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls, free), Stephen Henderson (Bristol City, free), Aaron Hughes (Fulham, £1m), Lee Hendrie (Sheffield United, free), Steven Davis (Fulham, £4m), Chris Sutton (retired), Liam Ridgewell (Birmingham, £2m), Eric Djemba-Djemba (released).

Republic of Ireland players: Stephen O'Halloran, David Bevan.

Reasons to be cheerful: Eric Djemba-Djemba has finally left the club.

Reasons to be fearful: After the American takeover Villa fans were led to believe O'Neill had buckets to spend, but he's having trouble spending it. All he's acquired so far are two refugees from West Ham's relegation battle of last season. Must do better.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Liverpool (h); Wed, Aug 15th, v Blackburn (a); Sat, Aug 18th, Newcastle (a); Sat, Aug 25th: v Fulham (h); Sun, Sept 2nd, v Chelsea (h).

Birmingham

Manager: Steve Bruce

Last season: Promoted (Championship 2nd).

Ins: Garry O'Connor (Lokomotiv Moscow, £2.7m), Stuart Parnaby (Middlesbrough, free), Fabrice Muamba (Arsenal, undisclosed), Olivier Kapo (Juventus, £3m), Daniel de Ridder (Celta Vigo, free), Richard Kingston (Antalyaspor, free), Rafael Schmitz (Lille, loan), Franck Queudrue (Fulham, £2.5m), Liam Ridgewell (Aston Villa, £2m), Johan Djourou (Arsenal, loan.)

Outs: Bruno N'Gotty (Leicester, free), Stephen Clemence (Leicester, £750,000), DJ Campbell (Leicester, £2.1m), Julian Gray (Crystal Palace, free).

Republic of Ireland players: Colin Doyle, Stephen Kelly.

Reasons to be cheerful: We're struggling here . . . Maybe Garry O'Connor. Although, we recall his girlfriend being homesick when he moved from Glasgow to Edinburgh, which accounts for her struggles in Moscow.

Reasons to be fearful: They're Birmingham, so it's difficult to see them having a comfy season.

First five league fixtures: Sun, Aug 12th: v Chelsea (a); Tue, Aug 14th, v Sunderland (h); Sat, Aug 18th, v West Ham (h); Sat Aug 25th, v Derby (a); Sat, Sept 1st, v Middlesbrough (a).

Blackburn

Manager: Mark Hughes.

Last season: 10th.

Ins: Gunnar Nielsen (BK Frem Copenhagen, undisclosed), Maceo Rigters (NAC Breda, undisclosed), Roque Santa Cruz (Bayern Munich, £3.5m).

Main outs: Andy Todd (Derby, undisclosed), Michael Gray (Wolves, free).

Republic of Ireland players: Steven Reid, Keith Treacy, Eddie Nolan, Tony Kane.

Reasons to be cheerful: Mark "Thunder Thighs" Hughes - think pig's ear and silk purse.

Reasons to be fearful: Maceo Rigters' transfer fee is undisclosed but, with a record of five goals in 60 NAC Breda appearances, the suspicion is Breda paid Blackburn to take him to Ewood Park. This Gunnar Nielsen fella is a mere goalkeeper, and while Roque Santa Cruz clinched the title of sexiest man at the 2006 World Cup, he's won little else in his career.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Middlesbrough (a); Wed, Aug 15th, v Aston Villa (h); Sat, Aug 18th, v Arsenal (h). Sat, Aug 25th, v Everton (a), Sat, Sept 1st, v Man City (h).

Bolton

Manager: Sammy Lee

Last season: 7th.

Ins: Gavin McCann (Aston Villa, £1m), Jlloyd Samuel (Aston Villa, free), Gerald Cid (Bordeaux, undisclosed), Blerim Dzemaili (FC Zurich, undisclosed), Zoltan Harsanyi (FC Senec, undisclosed), Danny Guthrie (Liverpool, loan), Mikel Alonso (Real Socieded, loan), Christian Wilhelmsson (Nantes, loan), Heidar Helguson (Fulham, undisclosed).

Outs: Tal Ben Haim (Chelsea, free), Henrik Pedersen (released), Quinton Fortune (released), David Thompson (released), Cesar Martin (released).

Republic of Ireland players: Joey O'Brien.

Reasons to be cheerful: Mikel Alonso, signed on loan from Real Sociedad in the close season, could prove to have the footballing talent of Xabi, his brother at Liverpool.

Reasons to be fearful: Mikel Alonso, signed on loan from Real Sociedad in the close season, could prove to have the footballing talent of Fernando, the Formula One racing driver.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Newcastle United (h); Wed, Aug 15th, v Fulham (a); Sat, Aug 18th, v Porstmouth (a); Sat, Aug 25th, v Reading (h); Sat, Sept 1st, Everton (h).

Chelsea

Manager: Jose Mourinho

Last season: 2nd

Ins: Florent Malouda (Lyon, £13.5m), Tal Ben Haim (Bolton, free), Claudio Pizarro (Bayern Munich, free), Steve Sidwell (Reading, free), Alex (PSV Eindhoven, free), Danny Philliskirk (Oldham, undisclosed).

Main Outs: Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla, season-long loan), Yves Makaba-Makalamby (Hibernian, free), Geremi (Newcastle, free), Michael Mancienne (QPR, season-long loan), Nuno Morais (Apoel Nicosia, undisclosed).

Republic of Ireland players: None.

Reasons to be cheerful: Khalid Boulahrouz has gone on loan to Seville, thus removing one of Chelsea's main weaknesses from last season.

Reasons to be fearful: A Premier League ball has yet to be kicked and already Jose is fretting about injuries. We suspect he wanted to do a little more summer shopping, failing to sound rapturous about the lads who arrived, eg: "He has South American qualities because he comes from South America," he gushed about Claudio Pizarro.

First five league fixtures: Sun, Aug 12th, v Birmingham (h); Wed, Aug 15th, v Reading (a); Sun, Aug 19th, v Liverpool (a); Sat, Aug 25th, v Portsmouth (h); Sun, Sept 2nd, v Aston Villa (a).

Derby

Manager: Billy Davies.

Last season: Promoted after winning the Championship play-offs.

Ins: Andy Todd (Blackburn Rovers, £750,000), Robert Earnshaw (Norwich City, £3.5m), Tyrone Mears (West Ham United, £1m), Andy Griffin (Portsmouth, undisclosed), Lewis Price (Ipswich Town, undisclosed), Claude Davis (Sheffield United, £3m).

Outs: Seth Johnson (released), Paul Peschisolido (Luton Town, free), Morten Bisgaard (released), Mohammed Camara (released), Lee Camp (QPR, £300,000).

Republic of Ireland players: Jonathan Macken.

Reasons to be cheerful: They're 5,000 to 1 with the bookmakers to win the Premier League this season. Slap a tenner on them, what have you got to lose? Apart from a tenner.

Reasons to be fearful: They're 1 to 2 to be relegated - have you ever seen a bookie with holes in his shoes?

First five league fixtures: Today, v Portsmouth (h); Wed, Aug 15th, v Manchester City (a); Sat, Aug 18th, v Tottenham Hotspur (a); Sat, Aug 25th, v Birmingham City (h); Saturday, Sept 1st, v Liverpool (a).

Everton

Manager: David Moyes

Last season: 6th

Ins: Leighton Baines (Wigan Athletic, undisclosed), Lukas Jutkiewicz (Swindon Town, undisclosed), Phil Jagielka (Sheffield United, £4m), Steven Pienaar (Borussia Dortmund, loan).

Outs: James Beattie (Sheffield United, £4m), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United, £1m), Richard Wright (West Ham United, free), Alessandro Pistone (released), Scott Phelan (Bradford, free), John Ruddy (Bristol City, free).

Republic of Ireland players: Lee Carsley.

Reasons to be cheerful: None, really.

Reasons to be fearful: To be honest, we've yet to meet an Everton fan who's tingling about the signings the club have made this summer. Although if any one of them went in to a 50-50 tackle with Phil Jagielka (signed from Sheffield United) they'd be lucky to be left with even the remotest of tingling sensations.

First five League fixtures: Today, v Wigan Athletic (h); Tuesday, Aug 14th, v Tottenham Hotspur (a); Sat, Aug 18th, v Reading (a); Sat, Aug 25th, v Blackburn Rovers (h); Sat, Sept 1st, v Bolton Wanderers (a).

Fulham

Manager: Lawrie Sanchez.

Last season: 16th.

Ins: Aaron Hughes (Aston Villa, £1m), Steven Davis (Aston Villa, £4m), Diomansy Kamara (West Brom, £6m), Chris Baird (Southampton, £3.025m), Paul Konchesky (West Ham, £3m), David Healy (Leeds, £1.5m), Lee Cook (QPR, £2.5m), Hameur Bouazza (Fulham, £4m), Adrian Leijer (Melbourne).

Outs: Claus Jensen , Mark Pembridge, Tomasz Radzinski, Mark Crossley (all released), Michael Brown (Wigan, £2m), Franck Queudrue (Birmingham, £2.5m).

Republic of Ireland players: Michael Timlin.

Reasons to be cheerful: London Norn Irish they're calling Fulham after Lawrie Sanchez reunited himself with a chunk of his old Northern Ireland squad. Watch out for their meetings with SundIreland, it could be Windsor Park '93 all over again.

Reasons to be fearful: David Healy will prove to be the David Healy of Leeds United rather than the David Healy of Norn Iron.

First five league fixtures: Sun, Aug 12th, v Arsenal (a); Wed, Aug 15th, v Bolton (h); Sat, Aug 18th, v Middlesbrough (h); Sat, Aug 25th, v Aston Villa (a); Sat, Sept 1st, v Tottenham Hotspur (h).

Liverpool

Manager: Rafa Benitez.

Last season: 3rd

Ins: Andrey Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen, free), Nikolay Mihaylov (Levski Sofia, undisclosed), Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, £20.2m), Yossi Benayoun (West Ham, £5m), Ryan Babel (Ajax, £11.5m), Lucas Leiva (Gremio, £6m), Sebastien Leto (Club Atletico Lanus, £1.7m).

Outs: Mark Gonzalez (Real Betis, undisclosed), Bolo Zenden (Marseille, free), Robbie Fowler(Cardiff, free), Florent Sinama Pongolle (Recreativo Huelva, £2.7m), Danny Guthrie (Bolton,season-long loan), Luis Garcia (Atletico Madrid, £2.7m), Craig Bellamy (West Ham, £7.5m), Djibril Cisse (Marseille, £8m), Jerzy Dudek (Real Madrid,released).

Republic of Ireland players: Steve Finnan.

Reasons to be cheerful: Fernando Torres. A cross between Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish and John Charles.

Reasons to be fearful: Fernando Torres. A cross between Djibril Cisse, Emile Heskey and Peter Crouch.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Aston Villa (a); Sun, Aug 19th, v Chelsea (h); Sat, Aug 25th, v Sunderland (a); Sat, Sept 1st, v Derby (h); Sat, Sept 15th, v Portsmouth (a).

Manchester City

Manager: Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Last season: 14th.

Ins: Geovanni (Cruzeiro, free), Rolando Bianchi (Reggina, £8.8m), Gelson Fernandes (FC Sion, undisclosed), Martin Petrov Atletico Madrid, £4.7m), Javier Garrido (Real Sociedad, £1.5m), Vedran Corluka (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed), Elano (Shakhtar Donetsk, £8m), Valeri Bojinov Fiorentina, £6m).

Outs: Sylvain Distin (Portsmouth, free), Trevor Sinclair (Cardiff, free), Hatem Trabelsi (released), Joey
Barton (Newcastle, £5.8m), Nicky Weaver (Charlton, free).

Republic of Ireland players: Richard Dunne, Stephen Ireland.

Reasons to be cheerful: "We are not Chelsea yet, but I hope we will be in the future," said Sven Goran Eriksson of City's prospects, leaving Chelsea wondering if the good times will turn to dust. Cripes, Planet Football's "Quotes of the Week" section will be overflowing.

Reasons to be fearful: Sceptics say the appointment of Sven has removed City from the frying pan and deposited them in the fire.

First five league fixtures: Today, v West Ham (a), Wed, Aug 15th, v Derby (h); Sun, Aug 19th, v Man Utd (h); Sat, Aug 25th, v Arsenal (a); Sat, Sept 1st, v Blackburn (a).

Manchester United

Manager: Alex Ferguson.

Last season: Champions.

Ins: Carlos Tevez (West Ham United, pending), Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, £16.8m rising to £20.2m), Anderson (FC Porto, £8m rising to £20.4m), Nani (Sporting Lisbon, £8m rising to £17.3m), Tomasz Kuszczak (West Brom, undisclosed).

Outs: Kieran Richardson (Sunderland, £5.5m), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal, £6.7m), Alan Smith (Newcastle United, £6m). Republic of Ireland players: John O'Shea, Darron Gibson.

Reasons to be cheerful: If you exclude Ronaldo, Giggs, Nani, Scholes, Saha, Rooney, Solskjaer, Anderson and Tevez you have to wonder where United's attacking threat is going to come from.

Reasons to be fearful: A year ago we forecast United wouldn't finish in the top four. This time we reckon they'll have the title wrapped up by mid-October, which means they'll probably end the season below

First five League fixtures: Sun, Aug 12th, v Reading (h); Wed, Aug 15th, v Portsmouth (a); Sun, Aug 19th, v Man City (a); Sun, Aug 19th, v Man City (a); Sun, Aug 26th v Tottenham (h); Sat, Sep 1st, v Sunderland (h). Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough

Manager: Gareth Southgate.

Last season: 12th

Ins: Tuncay Sanli (Fenerbahce, free), Jeremie Aliadiere (Arsenal, £2m), Jonathan Woodgate (Real Madrid, £7m), Luke Young (Charlton Athletic, £2.5m).

Outs: Mark Viduka (Newcastle United, free), Stuart Parnaby (Birmingham City, free), Abel Xavier (LA Galaxy, free), Malcolm Christie (released).

Republic of Ireland players: None.

Reasons to be cheerful: Em. Well. Err. Nope. We've drawn a blank.

Reasons to be fearful: That Mark Viduka will only score six goals in the season, a hat-trick in the North-East derbies against Boro.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Blackburn (h); Wed, Aug 15th, v Wigan (a); Sat, Aug 18th, v Fulham (a); Sun, Aug 26th, v Newcastle (h); Sat, Sept 1st, v Birmingham, (h).

Newcastle

Manager: Sam Allardyce.

Last season: 13th.

Ins: Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, free), Joey Barton (Man City, £5.8m), David Rozehnal (Paris St Germain, £2.9m), Geremi (Chelsea, free), Alan Smith (Man Utd, £6m), Claudio Cacapa (Lyon, free), Jose Enrique (Villarreal, £6.5m).

Outs: Scott Parker (West Ham, £7m), Titus Bramble (Wigan, free), Antoine Sibierski (Wigan, free), Craig Moore (released), Olivier Bernard (released), Alan O'Brien (Hibernian, tribunal), Pavel Srnicek (released).

Republic of Ireland players: Shay Given, Damien Duff, Stephen Carr.

Reasons to be cheerful: The Geordie folk will trust that Large Sam will, indeed, lead Newcastle to the promised land - a clean sheet.

Reasons to be fearful: Newcastle shed themselves of their rowdy boys - Craig Bellamy, Lee Bowyer, Laurent Robert and the like -but what does Large Sam go and do? He signs Joey Barton.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Bolton (a). Sat, Aug 18th, v Aston Villa (h); Sat, Aug 26th, v Middlesbrough (a); Sat, Sept 1st, v Wigan (h); Mon, Sept 17th, v Derby (a).

Portsmouth

Manager: Harry Redknapp.

Last season: 9th

Ins: David Nugent (Preston North End, £6m), John Utaka (Rennes, £7m), Arnold Mvuemba (Rennes, undisclosed), Sulley Muntari (Udinese, £7m), Sylvain Distin (Manchester City, free), Hermann Hreidarsson (Charlton Athletic, free), Martin Cranie (Southampton, free).

Outs: Svetoslav Todorov (Charlton, free), Andy Griffin (Derby, free), Collins Mbesuma (Bursaspor, undisclosed).

Republic of Ireland players: Andy O'Brien.

Reasons to be cheerful: "Arry 'as it sorted." Translation: having confidently predicted they'd be relegated last season, only to see them finish in the top 10 and Calamity James half resemble a goalkeeper of some quality, we see no trouble ahead.

Reasons to be fearful: Having predicted that we see no trouble ahead, Pompey are sure to struggle, drastically.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Derby (a); Wed, Aug 15th, v Manchester Utd (h); Sat, Aug 18th, v Bolton (h); Sat, Aug 25th, v Chelsea (a); Sun, Sept 2nd, v Arsenal (a).

Reading

Manager: Steve Coppell.

Last season: 8th.

Ins: Kalifa Cisse (Boavista, £1m), Emerse Fae (Nantes, £2.5m).

Outs: Steve Sidwell (Chelsea, free), Greg Halford (Sunderland, £3m), Curtis Ujah (Yeovil, free), Jonathan Hayes (MK Dons, undisclosed), Alan Bennett (Southampton, loan), Graham Stack (Wolverhampron Wanderers, loan).

Republic of Ireland players: Kevin Doyle, Shane Long and Stephen Hunt.

Reasons to be cheerful: Kevin Doyle, Shane Long and Stephen Hunt.

Reasons to be fearful: The second season syndrome, and all that.

First five League fixtures: Sunday, Aug 12th, v Man Utd (a); Wed, Aug 15th, v Chelsea (h); Sat, Aug 18th, v Everton (h); Sat, Aug 25th, v Bolton (a); Sat, Sept 1st, v West Ham (h).

Sunderland

Manager: Roy Keane.

Last season: Championship winners.

Ins: Craig Gordon (Hearts, £9m), Dickson Etuhu (Norwich City, £1.5m), Kieron Richardson (Manchester United, £5.5m), Greg Halford (Reading, £3m), Russell Anderson (Aberdeen, £1m), Michael Chopra (Cardiff City, £5m), Paul McShane (West Bromwich Albion, £2.5m), Roy O'Donovan (Cork City).

Outs: Kenny Cunningham (released), Tommy Miller (released), Stephen Elliott (Wolves, undisclosed).

Republic of Ireland players: Paul McShane, David Connolly, Anthony Stokes, Liam Miller, Daryl Murphy, Graham Kavanagh, Roy O'Donovan, Billy Dennehy, Clive Clarke.

Reasons to be cheerful: There'll never be a dull moment. They'll either be challenging for a Champions League place, or slugging it relegation-ally out with Derby and Co. We'll be glued.

Reasons to be fearful: If SundIreland struggle, that'll be half Steve Staunton's squad clinically depressed.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Tottenham (h); Tue, Aug 14th, v Birmingham (a); Sat, Aug 18th, v Wigan (a); Sat, Aug 25th, v Liverpool (h); Sun, Sept 1st, v Man Utd (a).

Tottenham

Manager: Martin Jol

Last season: 5th

Main ins: Gareth Bale (Southampton, £6m rising to £10m), Adel Taarabt (Lens, undisclosed), Yuri Berchiche (Athletic Bilbao, undisclosed), Darren Bent (Charlton £16.5m), Younes Kaboul (Auxerre, £8m), Danny Rose (Leeds, undisclosed), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Hertha Berlin, £4.7m).

Main outs: Emil Hallfredsson (Lyn-Oslo, undisclosed), Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria, £1.4m), Mark Yeates (Colchester, undisclosed).

Rep of Ire players: Robbie Keane, Terry Dixon.

Reasons to be cheerful: Dimitar Berbatov's continuing presence at White Hart Lane (Alex Ferguson would have sold his Granny and Louis Saha to get him). And Gareth Bale's arrival. Watch out for those curly wurly free-kicks. Mind you, we're not saying they'll be on target.

Reasons to be fearful: Well, we're talking about Spurs here. Nuff said.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Sunderland (a); Tuesday, Aug 14th, v Everton (h); Sat, Aug 18th, v Derby (h); Sun, Aug 26th, v Man Utd (a); Sat, Sept 1st, v Fulham (a).

West Ham

Manager: Alan Curbishley

Last season: 15th

Ins: Scott Parker (Newcastle, £7m), Julien Faubert (Bordeaux, £6.1m), Richard Wright (Everton, free), Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, £7.5m), Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham, £3m).

Outs: Paul Konchesky (Fulham, £3m), Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa, £8.5m), Tyrone Mears (Derby, £1m), Yossi Benayoun (Liverpool, undisclosed), Marlon Harewood (Aston Villa, £3m), Teddy Sheringham (Colchester, released), Shaun Newton (Leicester, released), Roy Carroll (Rangers, free).

Repubic of Ireland players: None.

Reasons to be cheerful: First, by releasing Teddy Sheringham West Ham have halved the average age of their squad, and second, the signing of Craig Bellamy means Lee Bowyer will be booed much less often by opposing fans.

Reasons to be fearful: Just when fans thought the future looked bright, £6.1m signing Julien Faubert ruptured his Achilles tendon. He's out for six months.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Man City (h); Sat, Aug 18th, v Birmingham (a); Sat, Aug 25th, v Wigan (h); Sat Sept 1st, v Reading (a); Sat, Sept 15th, v Middlesbrough (h)

Wigan

Manager: Chris Hutchings.

Last season: 17th.

Ins: Antoine Sibierski (Newcastle, free), Titus Bramble (Newcastle, free), Mario Melchiot (Rennes, free), Andreas Granqvist (Helsingborg, undisclosed), Carlo Nash (Preston, £300,000), Jason Koumas (West Brom, £5.3m), Michael Brown (Fulham, £2m).

Outs: Leighton Baines (Everton, undisclosed), Lee McCulloch (Rangers, £2.25m), Matt Jackson (Watford, free), Arjan de Zeeuw (released), David Unsworth (released), Andreas Johansson (AaB Aalborg, free).

Republic of Ireland players: Kevin Kilbane, Caleb Folan.

Reasons to be cheerful: The way Jason Koumas was talked up last season he seemed destined for a move to Real Madrid, Chelsea or AC Milan. But he settled for Wigan.

Reasons to be fearful: Titus Bramble. Wigan got him for free from Newcastle, seasoned observers maintain they were robbed.

First five league fixtures: Today, v Man City (h); Sat, Aug 18th, v Birmingham (a), Sat, Aug 25th, v Wigan (h); Sat, Sept 1st, v Reading (a); Sat, Sept 15th, v Middlesbrough (h).