Defeat at Newcastle will see the pressure mount on Andre Villas-Boas
NEWCASTLE UNITED v CHELSEA 12:45, St. James’s Park (Saturday)
Newcastle are flying this season losing just once to Manchester City. They currently sit one place above Chelsea in fourth, and heading up to Tyneside now is probably not top of Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas’ wish-list.
While Newcastle are tenacious and well-drilled, Chelsea lack discipline and currently struggle against decent opposition. Only a real change in the way they defend will see them come away from this with anything.
What to watch out for:
Fernando Torres. There are conflicting reports in the media surrounding the Spain forward. Some say Villas-Boas is going to hand another start to the stuttering striker while other suggest that until he rediscovers his form, he’s on the bench. Only time will tell.
Possible line-ups:
Newcastle: Krul; Simpson, Coloccini, Taylor, R. Taylor; Guthrie, Cabaye, Tiote, Obertan; Ben Arfa, Ba
Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Terry, Luiz, Cole; Romeu, Ramires, Lampard, Mata; Drogba, Sturridge
Recent form: Newcastle: DWWWLD, Chelsea: WLLWLW
Prediction: 1-0
BLACKBURN ROVERS v SWANSEA 15:00, Ewood Park
It would seem that Blackburn’s owners, Venky’s, think that guiding the team to one win in 13 matches and anchoring them firmly to the bottom of the table is worthy of a contract extension. While football fans around the country will be praying for such easily-pleased employers to come to their office on Monday morning, Blackburn fans will just be praying for three points.
It’s hard to see where they’ll come from, though. Despite a raft of experienced, talented players, they can’t seem to create anything, and Swansea’s fearless attacking outlook will cause them no end of trouble.
What to watch out for:
Leon Britton. Talented, hard-working, fearless. Blackburn’s back-line will look like an early Christmas present to the Swansea midfielder.
Possible line-ups:
Blackburn: Robinson; Givet, Samba, Dann, Olsson; Hoilett, N’Zonzi, Lowe, Pedersen; Formica, Yakubu
Swansea: Vorm; Richards, Williams, Monk, Taylor; Gower, Allen, Britton, Dyer; Sinclair, Graham
Recent form: Blackburn: DLDLDL, Swansea: LDWDLD
Prediction: 0-2
MANCHESTER CITY v NORWICH CITY 15:00, The Etihad Stadium
Newly-promoted Norwich have exceeded all expectations this season. Currently tenth in the table, the Canaries have pulled some unlikely victories out of the bag. They will, however, have to dig very deep indeed to take anything from this one.
Although City failed to win their last game, against Liverpool, they are still in red-hot form, and their second-string’s victory over Arsenal in midweek will give them even more confidence.
What to watch out for:
Micah Richards. It’s easy to get carried away with City’s exhilarating attacking moves. But despite some decent performances at right back, Richards has struggled to make the shirt his own. If picked, he’ll be doing his utmost to cement the position for club and country.
Possible line-ups:
City: Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov; De Jong, Toure, Silva, Milner; Aguero, Dzeko
Norwich: Ruddy, Tierney, Barnett, Martin, Naughton; Crofts, Johnson, Surman, Pilkington; Hoolahan, Morison
Recent form: City: WWWWWD, Norwich: WDDLLW
Prediction: 4-0
QUEEN’S PARK RANGERS v WEST BROMWICH ALBION 15:00, Loftus Road
QPR suffered a defeat at the hands of fellow Premier League newcomers Norwich last weekend. It seemed an unlikely result after their impressive win away at Stoke the week before. It was a result that seems to sum up QPR’s season; very impressive one minute, slightly laboured the next.
It’s actually also a decent way of summarising West Brom’s season. While the Baggies have no problem creating chances, they have the Devil’s own job sticking the ball in the net. Impossible to predict.
What to watch out for:
Shane Long. The Irishman hasn’t really pulled his weight goals-wise for the Baggies this season, and will have to start doing so. A goal or two against a well-drilled QPR side would see his stock rise considerably.
Possible line-ups:
QPR: Cerny; Young, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Hill; Faurlin, Derry, Barton, Mackie; Wright-Phillips, Bothroyd
West Brom: B. Foster; Reid, Olsson, Scharner, Shorey; Thomas, Mulumbu, Morrison, Brunt; Tchoyi, Long
Recent form: QPR: DWLLWL, West Brom: WWLLWL
Prediction: 2-2
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v BOLTON WANDERERS 15:00, White Hart Lane
Spurs are the league’s form team with Harry Redknapp’s side going in search of their sixth successive Premier League win. With Rafael van der Vaart still out with a hamstring injury Jermain Defoe will get another chance to show he is worthy of a regular starting spot.
Bolton are struggling for any level of consistency and currently sit in the relegation places, with Owen Coyle not knowing where or when his team will pick up their next points. Good sense says it won’t be at White Hart Lane.
What to watch out for:
Emmanuel Adebayor and Defoe. Defoe needs to impress and Adebayor is in his best goalscoring form since his Arsenal days – the pair should prove far too much for Bolton.
Possible line-ups:
Spurs: Friedel; Walker, King, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Modric, Parker, Bale; Defoe, Adebayor
Bolton: Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Robinson; Eagles, Muamba, Reo Coker, M Davies; Klasnic, K Davies
Recent form: Spurs: DWWWWW, Bolton: WLLWLL
Prediction: 3-0
WIGAN ATHLETIC v ARSENAL 15:00, The DW Stadium
If we were going on latest results, Wigan might have a shot here. While the Latics ended a winless streak that seemed to date back to the Plantagenet era against Sunderland last weekend, Arsenal could only manage a draw against lowly Fulham.
That’s about all the good news there is for Wigan, however, whose season, despite their victory over Sunderland, has gone from bad to worse and stayed there. In 19th place, they will have to banish all the sloppy defending and lacklustre attacking if they are to beat an Arsenal side who look rejuvenated of late, with Robin van Persie scoring goals like a man possessed.
What to watch out for:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. After a flawless, gutsy performance against Manchester City in the Carling Cup midweek, the youngster has to start getting some Premier League game time. Could be magnificent.
Possible line-ups:
Wigan: Al Habsi; Stam, Caldwell, Boyce, Figueroa; Watson, Diame, McCarthy, McArthur; Moses, Sammon
Arsenal: Szczesny; Koscielny, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Santos; Song, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arteta, Ramsey; Gervinho, Van Persie
Recent form: Wigan: LLLLDW, Arsenal: WWWWWD
Prediction: 0-4
ASTON VILLA v MANCHESTER UNITED 17:30, Villa Park
Last week United conceded a very soft penalty against Newcastle, throwing away two points in the process. Then in midweek, their second string, which is worryingly poor, lost in the Carling Cup to Crystal Palace. Needless to say, United will be looking for blood.
Villa won’t be an easy team to beat though. Eighth in the table, Villa got a respectable draw at Swansea last week, with a much-improved performance than the one they gave against Spurs.
What to watch out for:
United fans calling for Fergie’s head. It’s insane, but one or two of them are doing it. Lose a couple of games and suddenly you want to sack the most successful manager in the history of the sport. Get a grip, immediately.
Possible line-ups:
Villa: Given; Hutton, Dunne, Collins, Warnock; Jenas, Delph, Bannan; Agbonlahor, Heskey, Bent
United: de Gea, Jones, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra; Young. Fletcher, Carrick, Nani; Hernandez, Rooney
Recent form: Villa: LLDWLD, United: DLWWWD
Prediction: 1-3
EVERTON v STOKE CITY Goodison Park, 15:00 (Sunday)
This may sound insane, but a win here could put Everton within touching distance of Arsenal and Liverpool. Okay, so even if results went their way, they’d still be four points behind, but it’s a massive incentive for David Moyes’ team to get a third successive win, especially after enduring such a rotten start.
Stoke, meanwhile, are all over the place at the moment, with a win against Blackburn last week papering over the cracks. Every time they’ve played in the Europa League this season, they’ve lost the following Premier League game. Read into that what you will.
What to watch out for:
Peter Crouch. Yet to justify the hype or the price tag, it’s ludicrous that 18 months or so ago the former Spurs man was in the running for an England place. Perhaps falling out of the England reckoning has stopped him trying as hard.
Possible line-ups:
Everton: Howard; Hibbert, Heitinga, Jagielka, Baines; Coleman, Rodwell, Cahill, Bilyaletdinov; Drenthe, Saha
Stoke: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson; Pennant, Whelan, Delap, Whitehead; Walters, Crouch
Recent form: Everton: LWLLWW, Stoke: WLLLLW
Prediction: 2-0
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS v SUNDERLAND 16:00, Molineux
It seems every game these two play at the moment is a six pointer. Sunderland maybe boosted by the confirmation that Martin O’Neill will replace the sacked Steve Bruce – it would appear that losing against Wigan is too much for any board to stomach.
Wolves, meanwhile, have one of the shakiest defences in the league, and a few more bad results might see Mick McCarthy go the same way as Bruce. He will see this game as the perfect opportunity to kickstart Wolves’ season.
What to watch out for:
Stephane Sessegnon. With Mignolet and Wickham injured, the Frenchman is just about Sunderland’s only hope of scoring. Will relish running at Roger Johnson.
Possible line-ups:
Wolves: Hennessey; Zubar, Johnson, Berra, Elokobi; Ward, Edwards, Milijas, Jarvis; Doyle
Sunderland: Westwood; O’Shea, Turner, Brown, Bardsley; Larsson, Cattermole, Colback, Richardson; Sessegnon, Bendtner
Recent form: Wolves: LDLWLL, Sunderland: LWDLDL
Prediction: 1-0
FULHAM v LIVERPOOL 20:00, Craven Cottage (Monday)
With Fulham getting a very respectable draw against Arsenal last week, and Liverpool getting an even more creditable draw against Manchester City, we should see two teams going hammer and tong at each other.
However, despite Fulham’s performance against the Gunners, they have been well below par this season, and Liverpool, who also claimed Chelsea’s scalp a fortnight ago, are really starting to deliver on their potential. While they have blown hot and cold this season, they will see anything less than three points here as a slip-up.
What to watch out for:
Suarez and Bellamy. Liverpool’s success seems to hinge on their excellent understanding of each other’s games. Expect to see a glum northerner sitting on the sideline with a £35million price tag on his head, while two players who combined didn’t cost that link up time and again.
Possible line-ups:
Fulham: Schwarzer, Baird, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise; Ruiz, Murphy, Etuhu, Dempsey; Dembele, Zamora
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique; Rodriguez, Adam, Henderson, Kuyt; Suarez, Bellamy
Recent form: Fulham: LLWLDD, Liverpool: DDWDWD
Prediction: 0-3
Tags: Andre Villas Boas, arsenal, Barclays Premier League, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Martin O'Neill, Newcastle United, Premier League, Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur