12 days to Premier League season: Swansea City need a striker, and stability

• More: 2016/17 Premier League fixtures in UAE time

The National's sports team is counting down the days until defending champions Leicester City take on newly promoted Hull City in the opening fixture of the 2016/17 English Premier League season by looking at one team a day. Today, Swansea City.

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Last season was a topsy-turvy one for the Premier League’s sole Welsh representative. A bright start gave way to a disastrous middle that, after 20 games, saw Swansea one place and two points above the relegation zone.

The sacking of manager Garry Monk in December, following a run of one win in 11 league matches, would have surprised most before the season started given his encouraging start in the job.

The arrival of Francesco Guidolin as Monk’s successor appeared an underwhelming appointment, but the Italian deserves a great deal of credit for steadying the ship and guiding Swansea to a 12th place finish.

After earning a two year contract, Guidolin’s task is to now build on that early promise, but attacking reinforcements are needed if Swansea are to avoid a season spent at the wrong end of the table.

Swansea are three strikers lighter than last season, with Eder, Alberto Paloschi, and Bafetimbi Gomis all leaving and none arriving. Club chairman Hew Jenkins has said the club are focused on signing a striker, with Spain international Fernando Llorente the priority target.

It is sure to be another season of peaks and troughs for Swansea, although unless a striker is signed to provide a steady stream of goals, they could get dragged into a relegation dogfight.

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Previously

• Hull City: Promoted club had unstable summer

• Middlesbrough: Hopes lie largely in Spaniards

• Burnley: Third time the charm?

• Sunderland: Moyes the make or break factor in survival hopes

• Bournemouth: Well placed to avoid 'second season syndrome'

• Crystal Palace: Time to deliver on all that talent

• West Bromwich Albion: Another season of mid-table mediocrity

• Watford: Early fixtures will set the tone – for better or worse

Still to come

• Tomorrow: Everton

• Wednesday, Aug 3: Chelsea

• Thursday, Aug 4: Stoke City

• Friday, Aug 5: Liverpool

• Saturday, Aug 6: West Ham United

• Sunday, Aug 7: Southampton

• Monday, Aug 8: Manchester United

• Tuesday, Aug 9: Manchester City

• Wednesday, Aug 10: Tottenham

• Thursday, Aug 11: Arsenal

• Friday, Aug 12: Leicester City

• Saturday, Aug 13: Premier League season begins

jturner@thenational.ae

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The specs

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Did you know?

Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

How to vote

Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.

They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi

Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)

Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company

The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.

He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.

“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.

“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.

HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.

With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.

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