Season Summaries--15. Birmingham City

15. Birmingham City (My preseason prediction: 19th)

If there's one team I hope can succesfully navigate the relegation battle and remain in the Premiership (other than Sunderland), it's Birmingham. Perhaps it's because Steve Bruce looks like Jay Leno and is such a nice guy, such a players' manager; perhaps it's because I like the heart and "endeavor that the lads play with", who knows.

One thing is for sure, though, and that's if Birmingham lose Steve Bruce to Wigan (as is the current rumor), the Blues won't be playing in the Premiership next season. He's got a bunch of guys on that team that love playing for him and I couldn't see any other manager coming in and getting the results and performances out of them like Bruce does. I know that their record isn't the greatest (3-2-8), but it's pretty misleading as Birmingham have been pretty unlucky this season, combined with the fact they haven't been able to close out games. Just like Sunderland, their competitiveness and how hard they play has never been in question.

Their best player this season has been Olivier Kapo, without a doubt. The Ivorian-born French international has scored a team-leading five goals from his center midfield position and really stepped up when Mikael Forssell was out injured. Forssell has two goals in 5 starts, showing the impact he can have when healthy, and after his tally against Aston Villa in the Second City derby last weekend, the Finnish striker looks to be back on form. Birmingham will need to rack up the points in December, especially in the last three games of the month (at Bolton, home to Middlesbrough and Fulham) because their first three games of January come against Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal, and it'll be that six-game stretch that defines Birmingham's season.

Michigan-Georgetown

Michigan's game at #5 Georgetown tonight (7:30 PM, ESPN 360) will probably end in a victory for the host Hoyas, and I think most Michigan fans know this and are realistic about what to expect from a very young Wolverines team not just in this game, but over the whole season.

New coach John Beilein has a young nucleus of players in Manny Harris, Kelvin Grady, and DeShawn Sims, to build on and I have no doubt that in a year's time, Michigan will make a return to the NCAA Tournament. It's games like tonight's that will really be the building block for a team like Michigan: on the road in a hostile arena against a nationally ranked, championship contender. Michigan also will go to Duke this season, as well as play neutral court games in Alaska, and in these games where the Wolverines may not win, Beilein will look to see improvement and composure from his team.

As for tonight's game specifically, Georgetown are led by preseason All-American center Roy Hibbert and have some talented guards in Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp. I'm interested in seeing what defense Michigan comes out with to defend the 7-foot Hibbert; I expect the 1-3-1 to harass the backcourt players but also a mixture of straight man-to-man, with either Sims or shot-blocker extraordinare Ekpe Udoh defending Hibbert. Shooting the 3-ball at a high percentage is going to be critical for Michigan tonight as that will neutralize Hibbert's defensive presence under the basket and force the big man to come out and defend guys like Sims and Zack Gibson, who can shoot pretty well from 15-18 feet.

I said it before, I don't expect Michigan to go into Verizon Center and come out with a win. Hopefully the Wolverines can keep the scoreline close (I think they can) and force Georgetown to really have to battle to get a win tonight.

Season Summaries--16. Sunderland

16. Sunderland (My preseason prediction: 17th)

I'll tell you what, Sunderland boss Roy Keane has done an outstanding job at the Stadium of Light, not just in leading the Black Cats to promotion last season but also guiding them through some times this season. If you based the table on competitiveness and how hard each team plays, Sunderland would be much higher up than they currently are and I'm very impressed with how they've competed in almost every single game this season.

With all of that being said, however, the table is based on points and right now, Sunderland have 10 through 13 games. They've already played Liverpool (2-0 loss), Arsenal (3-2 loss), and Manchester United (1-0 loss), but unfortunately for them, they've also played Wigan, Birmingham, Middlesbrough, and Fulham, and didn't gain enough points from those four games to create a buffer zone between them and the teams in the relegation battle. Trinidad and Tobago international striker Kenwyne Jones has been a revelation for the Black Cats (a poor man's Didier Drogba), and Craig Gordon has been pretty good between the sticks despite the team's overall record. Kieran Richardson's return from injury will be a major boost for this club as he played well in the three games before he got hurt and provides pace down the wing and good aerial service for Jones. I don't think Sunderland will go down this season and a lot of that is based on just pure grit, heart, and effort, things that can make up for a lack of widespread talent and things that Wigan, Boro, and Derby don't have.

Season Summaries--17. Middlesbrough

17. Middlesbrough (My preseason prediction: 16th)

Aside from poor play on the field, the one thing that the bottom four clubs at this point in the Premiership table have in common is uncertainty at the manager's post. Wigan and Bolton have already replaced managers, Derby are probably a few more embarrassing results away from doing so, and Middlesbrough's Gareth Southgate seems to be the odds-on leader in the sack race. With just 10 points in their first 13 games, Middlesbrough are actually tied with Sunderland for 16th but anyone who's been watching the Premiership this season will tell you that Sunderland has been a far more competitive team.

Boro haven't won a league game in their last nine played and with their next three games coming against Aston Villa, Reading, and Arsenal, that streak figures to continue. They lost in the 3rd Round of the Carling Cup at Tottenham 2-0, which normally would have been a respectable result, but with the way Spurs were playing back in late September one really would've thought Middlesbrough could come away with a victory, or at least push the game into extra time and/or penalties. Winger Stewart Downing is Boro's leading goalscorer (3 in the Premiership), and though he's a good player in his own right, it shows just how much they're missing Yakubu and Mark Viduka up front. I can't see it getting much better for Middlesbrough and if it doesn't, I fully expect Gareth Southgate to be gone before Christmas.