THE bookmakers may be taking Wanderers lightly again this season but it is unlikely that the Premiership's big guns will be following suit.

Wanderers' success against England's biggest teams last season will ensure the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool will be on their toes when Sam Allardyce's men visit this season.

Despite making a number of exciting big name signings during the summer, the number one priority for the Reebok side remains the same -- survival.

In Jay Jay Okocha, Bulent Akin, Bernard Mendy and Youri Djorkaeff -- now on a permanent contract -- Wanderers will have greater pedigree and class in their line-up which will help them to meet that first target and then hopefully go on to make some memories.

They certainly did the latter last season when, with a side noted more for its spirit than its style, they left some of the Premiership's elite teams with their tails between their legs.

With the element of surprise now behind them it is going to be tough to emulate the giant-killing displays against Liverpool and Manchester United and the brilliant away draws at Anfield, Elland Road and Highbury.

But those are the games the fans will be looking forward to more than any others and the players will want to deliver.

They will get the chance during an 11-day period in September when they will need all the class and spirit they can summon against the three sides expected to be fighting it out for the title.

First up is United on the 11th at Old Trafford and Alex Ferguson is unlikely to make the same mistake as last season when he fielded a weakened side against Wanderers.

Big Sam's men made him pay with the most memorable performance for years as goals from Kevin Nolan and Michael Ricketts earned a 2-1 victory, national headlines and the adulation of the fans who made the match video the biggest ever seller by a country mile.

That defeat lives on in the memory of United's players and they will be desperate to make amends which makes this season's Old Trafford locking of horns one not to miss.

Three days later Liverpool visit the Reebok where they went down to a lucky late goal by Dean Holdsworth at the beginning of last season.

Wanderers proved that performance was no fluke when they went to Anfield later in the season and came away with a deserved draw, courtesy of a Nolan strike.

And, as if that is not a difficult enough double, Wanderers will certainly get a taste of the class the Premiership has to offer seven days later when they travel to Highbury where they earned a 10-man draw last term.