Jozy Altidore enters the Premier League season in fine form. His hat-trick during USA’s 4-3 comeback win over Bosnia and Herzegovina is the perfect confidence booster ahead of the campaign.
Expect the battling forward to lead the line with Emanuele Giaccherini and Adam Johnson in a front three that possesses real incision. With Stephane Sessegnon sitting behind Altidore, the Black Cats finally have a threat that will make knees tremble.
While many Sunderland supporters would settle for a pleasant mid-table plod through the campaign, they are equally realistic that yet another year of transition awaits.
The appointment of Martin O'Neill in December 2011 was supposed to herald a much-needed period of stability, yet within 16 months he was gone, with his side precariously close to a return to the Championship.
“Fulhamerica” visits Jozy Altidore‘s Sunderland in a U.S. special Saturday. The red-hot 23-year-old striker is set to make his Sunderland debut, his first in the English Premier League since his failed Hull City stint in the 2009/10 season.
Just like in the Stoke City vs. Liverpool matchup, both these clubs finished in relatively disappointing positions. Last year’s hot start for Fulham (including a 5-0 defeat of Norwich on Opening Day) fizzled out as they relied heavily on Dimitar Berbatov for goals. The end of the year brought fatigue, which led to them being sucked into the relegation battle before outsidee help saw them pushed up to 12th place.
Sunderland were very much in the relegation tempest, finishing just above the drop zone in 17th thanks largely to Wigan’s league failures down the stretch. Paolo Di Canio, brought in with seven games to go to inject some fighting spirit into the squad and avoid relegation, has signed a whopping 10 new players this summer, including Altidore. Many of them, like Emanuele Giaccherini and Vito Mannone, could not just make appearances Saturday but start as well.
Altidore is on a blistering hot streak this summer in international play for the United States, and Di Canio would love for his new signing to carry that success over to his team as well. Jozy bagged a hat-trick against Bosnia-Herzegovina to spur the United States to a stunning comeback just two days ago, making it five consecutive matches Altidore has scored in for the United States.
