I thought Xander won't even get mentioned, (seeing as he barely was there in S7 -> don't count those times where he stood in the corner with one stupid line) and Giles will have a veeeery small role.

I've been sure that Xander will be featured prominently in season 8 since I've seen the first sketches. Because after Spike has gone, Xander became the only ship-worthy male on the show.

And, interestingly, I feel that in season 7 Xander's presence is much bigger than in seasons 4-5. I vaguely remember a very old discussion on Cross and Stake spoiler board: somebody counted the number of lines for each character and proved that Xander had the second biggest role in s7 after Buffy herself. Willow had got the 3rd place, Spike - the 4th.