-
Related
This weekend United and City go head to head in the Manchester
derby; Arsenal will be hoping for an upset win over Chelsea;
Liverpool will be looking to the results as they take on the
Hammers while Aston Villa will try to keep their top-four-place in
the Barclay's Premier League.
SATURDAY (Sunday NZT)
Who: Aston Villa v Fulham
Where: Villa Park
After a fantastic win over Arsenal - not to mention grabbing a
home point by holding Manchester United in a fierce and physical
draw at Villa Park for the first time since 2001 last weekend -
Aston Villa have broken the stranglehold on the 'big-four' and are
making their winning intentions clear. Martin O'Neill has done a
great job with Villa while inspiring a winning mentality in his
side.
Fulham meanwhile are on their way up, after holding a frustrated
Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at Anfield with Jimmy Bullard and Andy
Johnston proving a real handful for any defence at the
moment. But with Villa's current winning mentality, and the
current form of the fantastic Gabriel Agbonlahor, it looks like
Villa will fight to keep their place in the top four this
weekend.
Prem pick: Aston Villa
Who: Middlesbrough v Newcastle
Where: The Riverside
Newcastle got a fantastic draw against a tired Chelsea last
week, but are still searching for the elusive away win they so
desperately need. Middlesbrough meanwhile had their 5-match
unbeaten streak undone by a strong Bolton side who seemed like they
had more than a point to prove.
Boro's heavy defeat last weekend could see this game become a tense
affair for both sides as Boro try to maintain a top ten place while
Newcastle (who have won just two games under interim boss Joe
Kinnear) will be looking to catapult themselves out of the
relegation zone. A newly fit Michael Owen makes all the difference
for Newcastle and while Middlesbrough have decent home form
(three wins, 1 draw, 3 losses) - I fancy Newcastle to finally nick
three points from this one.
Prem pick: Newcastle
Who: Stoke v Hull
Where: Britannia Stadium
Last weekend's comeback draw against Portsmouth once again
proved that you can never discount Phil Brown's fighting Tigers who
twice came back from defeat to snatch a valuable point. Their
wondrous form at the beginning of this season has seen Hull keep
hold of sixth place on the league table (just one point behind
Arsenal and two behind fourth placed Aston Villa) and a win over
Stoke this weekend could see them back into top-four
contention.
Even through they have been great on the road this season, the
problem for Hull (apart from the Rory Delap throw-ins) will be
Stoke's incredible home form - matched only by Liverpool and
Chelsea. Stoke grabbed another home win over West Brom last weekend
and will be looking for a win to stop them sliding back into the
relegation zone. A draw in this one might just do that.
Prem pick: Draw
Who: Sunderland v Bolton
Where: Stadium of Light
Roy Keane's Sunderland suffered yet another setback last weekend
when they were beaten 1-0 by a troubled West Ham and have won just
one game since October. Bolton meanwhile bounced back from their
2-0 defeat to Liverpool with an emphatic win over Middlesbrough -
taking their away win tally this season to three.
There is no doubt that Sunderland are a decent side but they are
failing to keep any consistency in their game and while Roy Keane
will be hoping his 100th match in charge will come with three
points this weekend - I'm seeing a Bolton win here.
Prem Pick: Bolton
Who: Wigan v West Brom
Where: JJB Stadium
Wigan ended Everton's five-game unbeaten run last weekend with a
brazen win that will have been another great confidence boost for
the side. Wigan have followed four straight defeats with a
four-match unbeaten run and I can see them grabbing another home
victory against an ailing West Bromwich Albion who are rooted
firmly to the bottom of the table this weekend.
With their strength and overpowering physical presence, Wigan are a
difficult side to play against at the best of times and with West
Brom losing 5 out 7 matches on the road this season I can only see
one end to this clash.
Prem pick: Wigan
SUNDAY (Monday NZT)
Who: Manchester City v Manchester United
Where: City of Manchester Stadium
In the first of Sunday's major kick-offs the blue get set to
take on the red in the 149th Manchester derby. Last season it was
Sven Goran Erikson's Manchester City who had the upper hand when
they did the double over their fierce rivals (1-0 at home, 2-1 at
Old Trafford) for the first time since the 69/70 season. This
weekend City will be hoping for some of the same.
After a topsy-turvy couple of weeks (that included being beaten by
Bolton, Tottenham and Middlesbrough) Manchester City turned on the
Brazilian flare with an emphatic win over a downtrodden Arsenal at
Eastland's last weekend. Man United meanwhile are still eight
points adrift of leaders Chelsea and Liverpool (albeit with a game
in hand). United have suffered two goalless draws in the last week
and will be looking to unleash the power that destroyed the likes
of Stoke when they take on City. But it is away from home that
United are having their problems (won 2, drawn 3, lost 2) while at
home is where City have notched their best wins of the
season.
Wayne Rooney may be on the goalscoring warpath and Berbatov may
make a Derby comeback but it could be the pace and
deft touches of Robinho and Ireland that may make this
weekend another Manchester Derby to remember.
Prem pick: Manchester City
Who: Chelsea v Arsenal
Where: Stamford Bridge
In the second of the big games this weekend a crumbling Arsenal
get set to take on a top-of-the-table Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
After being sent reeling by a 3-0 loss at the hands of Manchester
City away last weekend (and Aston Villa the week before) Arsene
Wenger's men seem a world away from the slick and sublime team that
beat Manchester United just a few weeks ago. Arsenal, who qualified
for the last 16 of the Champions League midweek but have been
watching their Premier league title hopes fade, may be suffering
without the pace of agility of Theo Walcott but could be bolstered
by the return of Sagna, Nasri and Adebayor for this crucial
clash.
Chelsea meanwhile are still flying high but were ground to a halt
by a re-energised Newcastle last weekend as their questionable home
form continues, and looked tired and uninspiring in their 1-1 draw
with Bordeaux. Drogba and Deco will be missing for this clash but
Michael Ballack, who featured in Thursday's Champions League game,
could start. With Anelka in devastating form Chelsea will be odds
on to win this duel at Stamford Bridge - but I'm going for an
Arsenal upset.
Prem pick: Arsenal
Who: Portsmouth v Blackburn
Where: Fratton Park
Portsmouth suffered yet another draw last weekend, this time at
the hands of Hull City but still have the quality and depth needed
to survive in the top half of the Premier League. News that
Jermaine Defoe may be fit again for this clash will also be a boost
for Tony Adams' Pompey whose home ground makes them a difficult
side to beat.
Sitting second from bottom on the League table, Blackburn are
struggling to find any sort of consistency and are finding goals
and wins even harder to come by, failing to win a game since the
end of September. Blackburn have had the upper hand in four out of
six of these sides previous meetings but confidence is at a major
low for the Rovers so I see a first home win for Pompey under
Adams this weekend.
Prem pick: Portsmouth
Who: Tottenham v Everton
Where: White Hart Lane
Redknapp's Tottenham jumped back out of the relegation zone last
weekend with a scrappy 1-nil win over a ten man Blackburn at White
Hart Lane and will be hoping to keep themselves on the up as they
take on the Toffees at home this weekend. With every game that goes
by Redknapp's newly inspired Tottenham is taking shape, and
confidence for the likes of Pavlyuchenko, Lennon, Bentley and Bent
is at an all time high.
Everton have been great on the road this season but fell to a
surprise loss at the hands of Wigan away last weekend. Everton will
come out with guns blazing this weekend as they look to keep their
place in the top half of the table. This is set to be a tough
contest that may go down to a draw.
Prem pick: Draw
MONDAY (Tuesday NZT)
Who: Liverpool v West Ham
Where: Anfield
Last weekend Liverpool missed a cracking opportunity to go three
points clear at the top of the table after leaders (on goal
difference) Chelsea suffered a 0-0 draw to Newcastle at Stamford
Bridge. Instead, clearly missing the influence of skipper Steven
Gerrard, the Reds suffered the same fate with missed chances and a
disjointed midfield display in a match that seemed as if only
Torres had turned up.
West Ham meanwhile netted their first win in two months with a
sturdy defensive display away to Sunderland that will have been a
great confidence boost for the Hammers. West Ham may be starting
their road to Premier League recovery but rebuilding and problems
still loom for Zola's side.
After such a fantastic start to the season Liverpool can not afford
to start dropping points if they have any hope of reaching their
first Premier League title in 20 years. They will have to provide
cover for injured Torres - which may cause problems as Robbie Keane
is still failing to hit the mark - but knowing the outcome of the
Arsenal / Chelsea clash should give Liverpool more than enough
reason to push for a win.
Prem pick: Liverpool
Results from previous round
Who: Villa v Man
United Pick:
United Result:
Draw
Who: Chelsea V Newcastle
Pick:
Chelsea Result:
Draw
Who: Liverpool v
Fulham
Pick:
Liverpool Result:
Draw
Who: Man City v
Arsenal
Pick:
Arsenal
Result: Man City
Who: Middlesbrough v
Bolton Pick:
Bolton
Result: Bolton*
Who: Portsmouth v
Hull Pick:
Draw
Result: Draw*
Who: Stoke v West
Brom
Pick:
Stoke
Result: Stoke*
Who: Tottenham v
Blackburn Pick:
Tottenham
Result: Tottenham*
Who: Wigan v
Everton Pick:
Everton Result:
Wigan
*Last weekend Sarah got four out of ten picks right
