Guardian writers' prediction: 9th (This is not Paul Doyle's prediction, but the average of our writers' tips)

Last season's position: 8th

Odds to win the league: 1,000-1

Martin Jol may have got a raw deal when he was ousted at Tottenham but for his return to London he could hardly have landed a cosier gig. He has been employed by the greatest chairman of the Premier League era, other, perhaps, than Blackburn's Jack Walker, and he has inherited a fine team that should finish well clear of relegation and, with tweaking rather than revamping, could again challenge for a European place and perhaps a domestic cup.

If you were looking at ways to kill time at work, you could devote many hours to debating who was more foolish: Mark Hughes for walking out on Fulham or Aston Villa for not appointing Hughes thereafter, but one thing is certain: in his one season at Craven Cottage Hughes did a splendid job, building on the excellent work previously done by Roy Hodgson. Hughes improved Fulham's away record and made them a more dangerous attacking team while retaining the defensive solidity and careful possession play that Hodgson had nurtured. He achieved this despite a wretched spate of injuries, especially in the first half of the season.

Jol has no such casualty list to contend with, Bobby Zamora's return to full fitness being a particular boon. And the club have, so far at least, been able to retain their key players, notably Brede Hangeland, who along with Aaron Hughes, forms one of the Premier League's best central defences (that pair's organisational diligence and aerial prowess are, for instance, the main reasons why Fulham conceded fewer goals than any other team in the league from set pieces last season, and the fact that Hangeland started scoring from them at the other end makes him even more valuable). The strength of the cover behind that pair, and at right-back, is something Jol will need to address. He has already reinforced well at left-back, with John Arne Riise likely to provide further evidence that Liverpool ejected him prematurely.

The linchpin of Fulham's midfield is Danny Murphy, the conduit of most of their attacks, as proven by the fact that he had more touches of the ball than any other player in the Premier League last season. Dickson Etuhu is a powerful and tidy foil for Murphy, but the latter's contribution to the team's defending is also highly significant – only five players in the league won more tackles than Murphy last season. So losing him would obviously be a serious blow, even if Steve Sidwell is a useful deputy. Jol may seek more back-up.

Damien Duff has looked excellent in the early European campaign and fitter than he has for a while, and Simon Davies, while perhaps not a star, is definitely a trouper. With Riise capable of being deployed in left midfield and Clint Dempsey due back from his extended break following his Gold Cup duty, Fulham carry potent threats out wide.

Dempsey may not play on the flank but rather off Zamora (or Moussa Dembélé, whose return from injury is another big boost for Jol). Either way, space should always be made for the excellent American. Andy Johnson, who has yet to truly convince at Craven Cottage, could find himself on the bench a lot, even though he has regularly shown tantalising signs of forming a threatening partnership with Zamora. Jol, then, has decent attacking options and will probably increase them before the transfer window closes. Fulham should be fun to watch this season. And tough to play against.