Aston Villa v Norwich City
Out of the two managers, Paul Lambert will be the more determined to get 3 points and get a victory against his former employers. It was only in the summer that Lambert parted ways with Norwich after guiding them to back to back promotions and to the promised land of the Premier League. So far Lambert isn’t making a big impact as they added another loss to their tally last weekend losing 1-0 away to Fulham to leave them flirting with the relegation spots in 17th. Chris Hughton took the hot seat at Norwich after the departure of Lambert and nor had he made a massive impact until last weekend when they got their first win at home against Arsenal. Norwich is only 1 point ahead of Villa and both teams will want the victory to climb up the table.
Arsenal v Queens Park Rangers
The Gooners host bottom of the table QPR, not something you’d expect to say about the Rangers at the start of the season. Last year Mark Hughes vowed not to let QPR get themselves in a similar position where their Premier League status is under jeopardy and although he still stands by that, the league table doesn’t lie which shows them placed 20th. Things started to look slightly better last weekend as they were able to gain a point against in-form Everton, although they will be disappointed they surrendered there lead and were they unable to capitalise as Everton went down to 10 men. Arsenal had a more disappointing weekend not picking up any points away at Norwich and they will be looking to bounce back in this London derby and are boosted by the exciting news that Jack Wilshere could return.
Reading v Fulham
Two of last year’s promoted sides are currently placed in the bottom 3, and one of them being Reading. They are still searching for their first win the Premier League win which could help them climb out of the drop zone. McDermott was satisfied with his team’s performance last week despite losing 1-0 and believes that his side showed good battling qualities. Although they could be without Karacan as he left Anfield on crutches. Fulham were on the winning side of a 1-0 result last week and they will want to improve on their away form, which has only seen them win once out of 4 games and they will want to improve on their current league position of 8th with another 3 points.
Stoke City v Sunderland
Both these teams go into this weekend’s game locked on 8 points sharing 13th position. The Potters were involved in a see-saw game against Manchester United when they found themselves 1-0 up at Old Trafford only to go onto lose the game 4-2. It’s at The Brittania where Stoke have picked up the majority of their points this season which includes not losing at home and no doubt Tony Pulis will look to replicate this on Saturday. On the other hand Sunderland’s away record hasn’t seen them pick up 3 points so far this season and they will have to improve on last week’s performance, a 1-1 draw with Newcastle, if they want to get their first win on the road.
Wigan Athletic v West Ham United
North v South in this game and The Latics’ last win was a 4-1 victory against The Hammers in last month’s Capital One Cup game. In the Premier League, Wigan haven’t won in 6 games, their last victory being in August and they will want to transfer their previous performance against West Ham into this game to earn a valuable 3 points. Look ten places up the league to 7th and you will see West Ham mixing it with the Premier League big boys as they have had a very satisfying start to their campaign. Another 3 points at the DW stadium and West Ham could be sitting in the European spots.
Manchester City v Swansea City
City starts this game on the back of a disappointing week which saw them all but destroy their Champions League hopes with a 3-1 defeat away to Ajax. A long journey home for the English Champions and they must prepare for the arrival of a well organised and talented Swansea side. The reverse of this fixture last year made for a thrilling match and it was the Welsh side that came out on top. Under the guidance of a new manager, Michael Laudrup, The Swans will be after the same result against a possibly vulnerable Manchester City team.
Everton v Liverpool
The first of the seasons Merseyside derby’s and so far The Toffees have the bragging rights with the higher league position. A 1-1 draw away at QPR despite finishing the game with 10 men although a huge negative being the fact they are now without Pieenar for this derby. Everton are currently 4th place and they won’t want to surrender that against their local rivals. On the other side of Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers men are desperate to pick up as many points as possible to improve on one of their worst league starts. A feisty affair awaits and this game means more than just 3 points for the City of Liverpool as there are bragging rights on the line.
Newcastle United v West Bromwich Albion
The spoils were shared in last week’s North East derby and Newcastle will be looking to make up for that by picking up 3 points against WBA. This will the 2nd of 2 home games in a row as Newcastle compete in Europe against Club Bruges just a few days before this fixture. West Brom will feel more refreshed as they didn’t play midweek and will look to take advantage of Newcastle’s fatigue. Both these teams beat each other at the opponents ground so with the form both of these teams are in, it will be another close game.
Southampton v Tottenham Hotspurs
A tough game for the hosts and with only one win under their belt, they need to step up their game to make that two wins. Slack defending led to a disappointing result against fellow new boys West Ham last week for The Saints which has resulted in them staying in the bottom three. They face another tough test on Tuesday when they travel to Elland Road to play Leeds where they’ll look to progress in the League Cup. Spurs were also on the end of a disappointing result losing at home to Chelsea 4-2 but they still lie in 5th place in the league. There may be a few team changes for Spurs due to their midweek trip to Slovenia to play in the Europa League and this may prove costly because 3 points against The Saints is a must.
Chelsea v Manchester United
This is the 1st leg of fixtures for these teams as they play the exact same fixture again on Wednesday in the Capital One Cup. The European Champions are the front runners in the Premier League so far and could keep up their 8 game unbeaten run with another victory. They are closely followed by Manchester United who will want to close the gap early on in the season and keep the top spot up for grabs. The Reds are the only English team to win in the Champions League midweek and Alex Ferguson is now spoilt for choice in attacking options with Rooney, Van Persie, Welbeck and Hernandez all fighting for a place.
