There are some interesting fixtures to watch out for this weekend. Many questions remain. Who will be the next Sunderland boss? How long can Villas-Boas survive with bad results? How further into relegation can Steve Kean talk Blackburn into? Anyway this is what I think for the following fixtures.
Saturday's early kick-off see's Newcastle take on Chelsea at St. James's SportsDirect.com Arena. A fortunate draw away at Man United last weekend will give Alan Pardew something to motivate his team with. Chelsea are clearly struggling with the ageing stars finding the change of system to much and I don't see Newcastle losing this one. A draw will be the likely outcome.
Moving on to the 3 o'clock kick-offs and Blackburn face their first cup final at home to Swansea. Makes you wonder why managers don't treat all 38 games as cup finals. Anyway confidence could not be any lower at Ewood Park and Swansea have proved a decent Premier League addition. With Vorm producing virtuoso performances on a weekly basis and Sinclair providing the attacking spark, an away win or at worst a draw is what I think will happen. Not good enough for Kean.
Manchester City have a nice easy home match against Norwich. Despite Norwich looking very organised and a match for anyone on their day, I'm not going to say Man City should be in any danger. Barring human error, devine interference or a stomach bug epidemic sweeping through the Ethiad, Man City will win this easily.
QPR take on West Brom at Loftus Road and I can't see beyond QPR here. West Brom will defend well and make things difficult but the home side should have just enough fire power. Apologies but not much more I can say on that match.
Tottenham face Bolton at White Hart Lane. This is the kind of fixture Tottenham have to win if their title challenge is to be taken seriously. For whatever reason Bolton haven't performed this season and I just hope a Tottenham win doesn't cost Owen Coyle to dearly. Tottenham to win.
Wigan have the unenviable task of taking on Robin van I mean Arsenal. The only crumb of comfort for Wigan will be that confidence may have had a slight dip at the Emirates after the league cup exit to Man City on Tuesday. That plus a long away trip for Arsenal may give Wigan a chance early doors. The longer Arsenal are level though and you make them favourites to create something. I think Arsenal will have enough to bounce back from a disappointing week.
The late match on ESPN pits Aston Villa against Manchester United. If Villa can get off to a good start then Crystal Palace have shown what is possible if you put the effort in. I expect an inspired Shay Given to have a decent game and McLeish to install defence and work rate but despite all those factors Sir Alex Ferguson won't be happy with the draw at home to Newcastle and will want a response after defeat to Palace. United should win. Just.
On Sunday Everton take on Stoke at Goodison Park. With Stoke in mid week Europa League action, it is a good time for David Moyes's men to take them on. Much will depend on whether Everton can take their chances. I expect a tough game with plenty of tackles and a keenly fought contest which sees a narrow Everton victory.
Sky Sports Super Sunday sees Wolves take on managerless Sunderland. Probably the least attractive of the weekends fixtures, yet everyone will be watching to see how Sunderland respond to their new manager who is bound to be in the stands watching. A draw would suit Sunderland and the senior players need to stand up and be counted.
The final act to the weekends Premier League action takes place on Monday night at Craven Cottage. Fulham take on a Liverpool team high on confidence after decent results against Chelsea in the league and cup and from their last league match against Man City. However if Fulham are to avoid being sucked into the relegation mire, this is the kind of fixture they have to get something from. Although it may be a long shot I think Fulham could cause an upset here. This is the hardest one to call so maybe a draw is the sensible choice but something is saying a Fulham home win.
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