Chelsea v Man Utd
Top of the table Chelsea know that a win over United would put them nine points clear of the champions after just over a month of Premier League action. Dazzling Deco has been the star of the show in many instances and Big Phil has really got the Blues working to perfection, as witnessed in the Champions League game over Bordeaux. But this is the game that matters to Chelsea. It will be a chance for the club to beat a top-four team for the first time since Scolari's arrival and already there is so much at stake in this clash. Luckily, John Terry's appeal against his red-card last time out was successful, so he should play this game.
United were simply outplayed by Liverpool at the weekend and that defeat sends strong vibes down to the rest of the league saying the Red Devils can be beaten. They have a team full of world-class players, but like the beginning of last season, United aren't playing as well as they can, though this will surely come in time. New signing Berbatov made an instant impact on his debut picking up a vital assist against Liverpool after just two minutes however the rest of the game was very poor for him. Ferguson's side are without the suspended Nemanja Vidic, so the Scot will have to decide between playing young Jonny Evans or Gary Neville instead.
Always a tough game to predict but in all honesty these are the clashes we look forward to in the Premiership. On their day, United could beat Chelsea but then again they haven't been having many of their days recently. Based on Chelsea's league form as well as their European success, I back them to win this game. They haven't lost at home in four years and Man Utd could be quite shaky at the back without the rock-solid Vidic.
Prediction: 2-1
Sunderland v Middlesbrough
With only one league win to their name this season, the Black Cats go into this crunch orth east derby knowing that a purring performance would do the Stadium of Light faithful no harm at all. Indeed, manager Roy Keane has shown some great ambition by signing some experienced, top-class players during the summer and this quality will surely spark into life sometime soon. Sunderland are actually playing quite well, having considered they lead at Wigan for over an hour last time out. With that in mind, it is highly likely the Red and Whites will score some more points on the board soon, though they must win a game quickly if they are to keep pressure on the teams in the top ten.
Six points out of a possible twelve from Middlesbrough isn't bad going for a club with top-ten ambitions. But with striker Tuncay out for six weeks, Boro may lack that great link-up play and the wonderful work-rate which the Turkish maestro offers. Nevertheless, Mido and Afonso Alves seem to be creating a decent partnership and Southgate's side are generally sound across the pitch. Perhaps a slightly tighter defence could see them do even better, but the main problem for them by far is rookie keeper Turnbull, who doesn't look the most confident of figures at times.
With Sunderland raring to impress at home especially against their bitter local rivals, I feel that Keane's side will fare better in this game. They have good options at the back, a reasonably creative midfield and maybe it could be Djibril Cisse's day up front.
Prediction: 2-1
Blackburn v Fulham
"We need to stop leaking goals because we're doing alright at the other end, creating chances," were the words from Paul Ince after last weekends drubbing at the hands of Arsenal. After pinpointing the problem, (Rovers have the worst goal difference in the league so far), can Blackburn put things right in front of their own fans this time? The Blue and Whites can certainly play their football and with players of Roque Santa Cruz's quality, they are sure to get goals too. Unfortunately, they have been weak defensively thus far and that must be sorted out before Fulham come knocking the Ewood Park door. I think that defeat to Arsenal can be taken with a pinch of salt, after all, it's not everyday the Gunners come to play you. Nevertheless, Ince will have to do some strong defensive work in training if Rovers are to win this game.
There's no stopping Fulham now, with the Cottagers having won their last two games and now seemingly on a roll. Of course Hodgson's men have improved leaps and bounds since last season and they will not be in a relegation dogfight this year. There does seem to be enough quality in them to challenge for a place in the top half of the table, especially when they're beating teams like Arsenal. I've been very impressed by how the team's fortunes have been turned around in under six months, and having overcome a physical, tough Bolton side last time out, Fulham will provide a stern test for the home team this weekend.
I would love to think Blackburn can turn things around and get themselves out of the relegation zone as soon as possible. But Fulham are playing well at the minute though it would be great to see whether their questionable away form has improved coming into this campaign.
Prediction: 0-1
Liverpool v Stoke
The mighty Liverpool are back in Premier League action after their heroics last weekend, beating Manchester United for the first time in four years to go six points clear of their bitter rivals. It was also their best performance of the season too, albeit without star duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. The Reds impressively followed that victory up with a win over Marseille. Rafa Benitez's men will now look to take any advantage of a Chelsea slip up at United, by beating the technically-sound Stoke City. Winger Albert Riera looks a real bargain at under seven million pounds and the left-sider could be exactly what Liverpool have craved for the last few seasons. The future's bright, the future's Red.
For me, Stoke have been magnificent so far this season, despite being currently placed in the relegation zone. The Potters are taking all their chances in the Premier League and were quite unlucky to escape with nothing from the Everton game last week. But we must mention Rory Delap here. His exceptional throw-ins contributed to both goals score last weekend and they're so accurate and hard to deal with that many suggest Stoke would prefer throws to corners. With such a deadly weapon in Delap, don't be surprised to see Stoke pick up goals and wins, created from threatening throw-ins.
Liverpool should be buoyant after their recent form and wont have much of a problem here, other than the Stoke throw-ins. In all seriousness, hopefully, Rafa Benitez does keep a strong team out, in which case the Reds should win this game comfortably.
Prediction: 3-0
West Ham v Newcastle
Gianfranco Zola steps up for his first game in charge, having seen his side bitterly beaten by West Brom last week. No doubt that 3-2 defeat will be all but forgotten, as the club enters a new era under the former Chelsea striker. It would be expected Zola would be a knowledgeable tool for the clubs strikers, but based on last week's performance, the Hammers must drastically improve their defensive measures if they are to move forward. A busy January may be needed. It's a time of change and revolution at West Ham, so I don't think fans can expect immediate greatness from the team, particularly seeing as Dean Ashton is out. Expect a real performance from West Ham at the least.
Who will be the next Newcastle boss? Who will be the next Newcastle owner? What is going on at Newcastle? Imagine you were playing for the Magpies and all those thoughts crossed your head as you walked in for training each morning. Wouldn't that affect you? It almost certainly would. But the Newcastle players must get past that and just be professionals at a time where the club could undergo real transition. We can all see that Mike Ashley is chasing after an Arab multi-billionaire to take the club over, but for the mean time, the squad should just be getting on with it. And if a rich person is to take over the reigns at St James Park, then many of the Magpies players should be playing at their highest level, as many of them will be looking to keep their job. With all this flurry of thought and confusion surrounding the club, it may be difficult to imagine them getting results on the pitch. But I firmly believe that this weekend Newcastle will pull together as a unit and win this game just to silence the critics somewhat.
As mentioned above, this is a difficult time for Newcastle. Contrastingly, it is a fresh start for West Ham. Who will come out better after the game? I'm going with Newcastle.
Prediction: 0-2
Bolton v Arsenal
Weren't Bolton Arsenal's bogey team a few seasons ago? Agreed, a lot has changed since then, but Bolton do have a fair bit to prove this season. For one, they must show us all that they can avoid a relegation scrap and secondly it is important for them to finish in the top ten and start building back up to that top-six force they were under Sam Allardyce. The Trotters have failed to win a game since their opening day fixture against Stoke and in all honesty have been very poor since then. But as Fulham proved a couple of weeks ago, beating a team like Arsenal can do a whole lot of good for team morale and confidence. Bolton have to get back to what they do best and must really get into Arsenal's faces in this game.
Arsenal have been impressive in the league since that defeat to Fulham, but then a disappointing result in the Champions League midweek has brought them back to life a bit. Bolton are the sort of team that could grind Arsenal to a halt as they mastered a few season ago. This could well be a performance where we see Arsenal take a more direct approach going forward and the Gunners may well have to sacrifice their fluent football in order to get a result here.
If Bolton have a good day and close Arsenal down well enough, this could well end up as a victory for them. But I wouldn't like to bet against Arsenal especially with the quality of players that they have. I'm going for an away win, but expect the north-west side to make life difficult for the Gunners.
Prediction: 1-2
West Brom v Aston Villa
The much-awaited midlands derby will be contested by West Brom and Aston Villa this season, rather than Birmingham and the Villa. West Brom's win over West Ham will boost their confidence ahead of this game as it lifted them from the relegation zone. The Albion don't look too bad at the moment and seem to be able to hold teams back to a certain extent. Before last week I also felt they needed to take their chances more too, but the win over West Ham saw them net three goals, as they looked sharp going forward. Similar performances to that with similar grit and determination will get West Brom through the season.
Fourth placed Aston Villa look well worthy of their current Champions League position, after some excellent performances this season. Ashley Young has been menacing as usual, with Carew and Agbonlahor also impressive at different times of their opening four league games. Defensively, Villa look great and a wonderfully-balanced midfield sees them create chance after chance. With such a well organised team full of pace and belief, it's hard to see Villa not finishing in the top six come the end of the season. Villa are certainly on their way up.
A win for West Brom would be magical, but Aston Villa simply have to much firepower and pace above all, so they should overcome the threat that West Brom pose. It is a local derby so expect yellows and maybe reds, but Villa should nick it.
Prediction: 1-3
Hull v Everton
What a start to the season Hull have had. Two wins and a draw from four games is phenomenal for a newly promoted team and the Tigers have deserved it. Phil Brown's heroes took advantage of crisis at Newcastle last week, beating the Magpies 2-1 to climb up to fifth in the table. Can Hull keep it up though? Well from what we've seen of them, the team can certainly play their game and do have a good spirit to get them along. They do look the best of the three promoted teams so far.
Everton played out an entertaining draw at home to Standard Liege in the Uefa Cup midweek, a 2-2 result now to take back to Belgium. The Toffees have looked quite stuck this season, with lack of signings and takeover issues making the headlines. But they are improving somewhat and that was shown by their last win over Stoke. The draw to Liege may be slightly disappointing, where in all honesty they should be beating teams of Liege's quality. They will face a different game here, against a determined Hull side. If Osman, Arteta, Cahill and Fellaini can combine well though, Everton could be in for a good day at the office.
It would be great for Hull to win again this season, but they will really have to work for it. Everton will want to build on last weekend's success and climb up the table even more but they mustn't get too complacent against Hull. I see a tight game but an Everton victory.
Prediction: 1-2
Man City v Portsmouth
Robinho's cracking goal against Chelsea was the highlight for City as they were outclassed 3-1 by the ex-richest club in the league. With the pressure of that title now on them, City must perform week in week out now just to show us whether they can compete against these top teams. Robinho was ineffective after his goal really, but that was more due to City's midfield weakness rather than the Brazilian's ability. But as Robinho and Jo form a partnership up front, all should get better and City will be scoring goals in no time. They just need a bit of gelling together. As for the January transfer window, I would suggest a holding midfielder and a new left-back could help.
Portsmouth have been of a different class lately after their defeats to Chelsea and Man Utd. Since then they've earned wins over Everton and Middlesbrough, with a view of continuing that good run. Jermain Defoe is looking comfortable to say the least alongside Peter Crouch and even the gangly forward man is still looking for his first league goal, it cant be that long until we see Crouchy on the scoresheet for Pompey. Their ability, work ethic and team are good enough to see Portsmouth finish in the top seven this year.
It should be another big turnout at Eastlands as the City faithful hope to see their side win for the first at home since the massive takeover. Jo looked great in the Uefa Cup midweek and he could have another good game here. I'm going for a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Tottenham v Wigan
What is wrong with Spurs? Were Robbie Keane and Berbatov seriously worth more to the team than Gomes, Corluka, Modric, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko and Giovani dos Santos? Well it looks that way at the moment. Pre-season, expectation was high in north London of a Spurs push for the top four. That looks like a distant dream now. Tottenham are bottom of the table with only one point to their name, albeit they claimed that point against the toughest team, Chelsea. Juande Ramos is correct they do need time to come together as a unit and start playing some good football together, but they must hurry up otherwise, like last season, they shall be too far behind the top six to even have half a chance of catching them up. These are tough times for Tottenham but they must win this game.
Wigan cannot be looked at lightly after their impressive recent form. Their late equalizer against Sunderland may not have been deserved, but there was nothing lucky about their 5-0 thrashing over Hull previous to that. Amr Zaki looks the real-deal going forward and Steve Bruce really has built a half decent side who will give any team in the league a good game. This could be a chance for Wigan to show their ambition for this season.
Unless Tottenham improve dramatically, they will lose this game. On paper, it should be a doddle for them but Wigan are playing really well at the moment. Wigan will make it hard for Spurs, but with all that quality in the Tottenham side, surely they should win this game.
Prediction: 1-0
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