Premier League Preview

Friday, 25/11/2011

by Ger McCarthy

Stoke v Blackburn
A Stoke City side with three points from their previous six Premier League fixtures entertain struggling Blackburn Rovers at the Britannia Stadium at lunchtime on Saturday. Tony Pulis’ side will be desperate to make amends following a 3-2 defeat at home to QPR last time out while Rovers remain in deep relegation trouble despite a recent 3-3 draw away to Wigan Athletic. A fifth consecutive loss could drag an out-of-form Stoke into the drop zone so expect a tough encounter with an equally desperate Blackburn.

Bolton v Everton
Relegation threatened Bolton face Everton at the Reebok with Owen Coyle’s side looking to move out of the bottom three. A narrow 2-1 defeat at West Brom last weekend undid all the good work of Bolton’s previous home victory over Stoke (5-0) and Wanderers will look to their in-form midfielder Chris Eagles to inspire a second home win in as many games. Twelfth-placed Everton needed a Leighton Baines penalty to see off Wolves at Goodison Park but the Toffees will have to improve on their recent away record that has garnered a mere six points from five matches.

Chelsea v Wolves
Nothing but a win will suffice for under-fire Chelsea manager Andres Villas-Boas when Wolves visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Chelsea has lost ground on the league-leaders following consecutive home losses to Arsenal and Liverpool and unless Villas-Boas can re-ignite his squad then the Premier League title will be out of reach for another season. Mick McCarthy’s Wolves have lost all four of their previous away fixtures leaving the Molineux club just one place above the relegation places. It is nine games since Wolves last kept a clean sheet so a difficult afternoon waits at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Manchester United v Newcastle
Two of the form teams of this year’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford where second placed Manchester United host fourth placed Newcastle. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side stumbled to a midweek Champions League draw at home to Benfica and will be hoping Wayne Rooney recovers in time to take his place in the starting line-up. Alan Pardew watched his undefeated league record end away to Manchester City last Saturday and the Magpies will be anxious to prevent consecutive losses as they look to maintain a top four spot.

Norwich v QPR
The meeting of two promoted clubs, Norwich and QPR, offers both sides an opportunity to solidify their mid-table status. Paul Lambert’s Canaries performed impressively in the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal but one win in their last six league outings is relegation form so a home victory is vital this weekend. Ninth-placed QPR have been scoring freely of late and had Heidar Helguson to thank for two goals in the recent 3-2 win at Stoke. Helguson faces a late fitness test to see if he will line out against Norwich where a second consecutive away win could propel Neil Warnock’s new-look side into the top six.

Sunderland v Wigan
A Sunderland side with only one win in their last six outings simply must beat struggling Wigan Athletic to quell growing concern from the Black Cats supporters. A scoreless draw at home to Fulham last Saturday saw Sunderland drop to 15th in the table just two points outside the relegation zone, so anything less than a win over Wigan will see Steve Bruce come under renewed pressure. Roberto Martinez side’s 3-3 draw with Blackburn on the same weekend ended a run of eight consecutive defeats but failure to take any points from the Stadium of Light will see Wigan cast further adrift at the bottom of the standings.

West Brom v Tottenham
In-form Tottenham travel to the Hawthorns on the back of a fourth consecutive home win last Monday night and only league leaders Manchester City possess a better record over the past two months of the season. Emmanuel Adebayor’s brace should see the Togolese striker retain a place in the starting eleven while West Brom could be without Irish international Shane Long who scored in the Baggies defeat of Bolton Wanderers. Roy Hodgson’s side are currently in tebtg place , having lost only twice on their home patch suggesting an entertaining game is on the offing with Spurs’ visit.

Arsenal v Fulham

A London derby concludes Saturday’s Premier League fixture list with Fulham travelling across the city to the Emirates Stadium to take on Robin Van Persie’s Arsenal. The Gunners have recovered from a difficult start to take 15 points from a possible 18 thanks to the goals of in-form striker and club captain Van Persie. The Dutch international struck both goals in last weekend’s 2-1 win away to Norwich and should feature prominently once again on Saturday evening. Martin Jol’s Fulham are currently languishing in 16th place in the table but are unbeaten in their last two away trips suggesting the Cottagers will test Arsenal to the full.

Swansea v Aston Villa

Swansea welcome Aston Villa to the Liberty Stadium on Sunday having surrendered their undefeated home record to Manchester United the previous weekend. Brendan Rodger’s free-flowing side have impressed many neutrals with their stylish approach since coming up from the Championship but face an Aston Villa side that performed poorly in the 2-0 Monday night defeat at Tottenham. Alex McLeish’s side is just two points ahead of Swansea in the standings but an away victory would keep Villa on the coat-tails of the Champions League chasing side above them in the table.

Liverpool v Manchester City

No doubting the match of the weekend takes place at Anfield where Premier League leaders Manchester City put their undefeated league record on the line against Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool. City lost 2-1 at Napoli during the week in the Champions League and will be anxious to keep their 100% domestic record intact following a disappointing display in Italy. Liverpool produced one of their best performances of the season to see off Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last time out and a second win in as many games would see the Reds continue their push for  a top four finish.

Follow Ger on Twitter: @offcentrecircle

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