English Premier League Football Preview: A Super Weekend for the Top Teams

We're set for a brilliant weekend of Premier League Football with all the top teams fighting it out for dominance at the top of the league ladder.

Can Manchester United keep up their record-breaking form as they face Everton at Old Trafford, or will either Liverpool or Chelsea find their form and put the heat on the defending champions?

Also, will Arsenal be able to claim back their spot in the top four, or will Aston Villa soon become a new addition to the league's "Big Four" teams?

Arsenal v West Ham

Saturday Jan. 31, Emirates Stadium

Kickoff: 15:00

Arsenal

Arsenal drew 1-1 with Everton at Goodison Park in their last league outing, making a run of nine games undefeated since their last league defeat (3-0 away against Manchester City).

The Gunners have won five and drawn four of their unbeaten run; collecting 19 points from a possible 27 offered. They have scored 13 goals and conceded seven during this spell and currently sit fifth in the league.

Arsenal have been given the go ahead by Zenit St. Petersburg to talk to Andrei Arshavin, and appear to finally be on the verge of signing the Russian, providing a big name boost to their squad.

Arsenal will be without captain Cesc Fabregas (knee), Theo Walcott (shoulder) and Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), while Mikael Silvestre (thigh) is a doubt.

West Ham

West Ham won 2-0 against Hull City at Upton Park in their last league outing, making a run of five games undefeated since their last league defeat (1-0 at home against Aston Villa).

The Hammers have won four and drawn one during their resurgent run; taking 13 points from the 15 that were available. During their streak, they have found the back of the net 13 times and been breached five times on their way up to eighth place in the table.

West Ham have signed German striker Savio Nsereko from Italian club Brescia.

West Ham will have to do without Dean Ashton, who has a foot injury and Daniel Gabbidon, out with a hip injury.

Prediction

Arsenal beat West Ham 2-0 in this corresponding derby fixture last season and repeated that score line in this season’s fixture at Upton Park.


Both teams are on their best form of the season. The Gunners are getting some consistency together, and West Ham is winning and not stuttering at home anymore.


The recent form of Carlton Cole, with five goals in his last five successive Premier League matches, has spearheaded the Hammers’ resurgence. Robin van Persie has been the star player for Arsenal in the absence of Cesc Fabregas, having been involved in the majority of their goals throughout January.

With both teams missing some key players and on reasonably good form, the aforementioned forwards could make the difference for either team. However, the home advantage of the Emirates should see Arsenal go in as favourites with perhaps another van Persie special.

Aston Villa v Wigan

Saturday Jan. 31, Villa Park

Kickoff: 15:00

Aston Villa

Aston Villa beat Portsmouth 1-0 at Fratton Park in their least league outing, making a run of four wins in a row since drawing 2-2 at home against Arsenal.


The Villains are also 11 games without defeat, a spell that has included eight wins and three draws; collecting 27 points from a possible 33 offered. Aston Villa have found the net on 18 occasions, whilst conceding eight during those eleven games, taking them to third in the league table.

Aston Villa will be without Ashley Young as he serves the final match of his three match FA suspension for a sending off and Martin Laursen with a knee injury. While Wilfred Bouma (ankle) is listed as doubtful.

Wigan

Wigan Athletic drew 1-1 with Liverpool at the JJB stadium in their last league outing, ending a spell of two successive defeats that followed six wins out of the previous seven games.


The Latics have won six and drawn one of their last 10 games, collecting 19 points from the 30 that were available. Wigan have scored 11 goals and leaked six during their last 10 games, as they sit seventh in the league.

Wigan have signed Ben Watson from Crystal Palace, but he is currently carrying a calf injury and won’t be joining the match day squad. The Latics have also added Colombian striker Hugo Rodallega from Mexican club Necaxa.

Wigan will be without Antonio Valencia who has a hamstring injury.

Prediction

Aston Villa lost 2-0 against Wigan in this corresponding fixture last season but got revenge by thrashing them 4-0 at the JJB Stadium earlier this season.


Aston Villa come into this fixture on an outstanding run of form, with the loss of Martin Laursen seemingly not derailing their push for Champions League qualification and breaking into the top four.

Wigan have stopped a mini blip with an encouraging result against Liverpool. This will help them salvage the confidence they have garnered over a period of good form that has seen them in contention for a European place.


Both teams will come into this match with confidence and high spirits, but as Emile Heskey’s recent switch to Aston Villa indicates (scoring on his debut), the tide is more with The Villains.

The arrival of Hugo Rodallega has instantly showed promise with his crash onto the woodwork against Liverpool, so he could be ready to light up early for Wigan.

After it's all said and done, the home advantage for Aston Villa and their current winning streak should give them the extra ammunition, as they’ll go into this encounter as favourites.

Manchester United vs Everton

Saturday Jan. 31 2009, Old Trafford

Kickoff: 17:30

Manchester United

Manchester United beat West Bromwich Albion 5-0 at the Hawthorns in their last league outing, making a run of six wins in a row since drawing 0-0 away against Tottenham Hotspurs.

The Premiership leaders also haven’t lost in 11 games, a run that has included nine wins and two draws; picking up 29 of the 33 points that were available. On their unbeaten run, Man Utd have scored 19 goals and conceded none, setting a new Premiership record of 11 consecutive clean sheets as they sit in first place in the league table.

Manchester United will have to do without Anderson (leg), Jonny Evans (ankle), Rafael da Silva (hamstring), Fabio da Silva (calf), Owen Hargreaves (knee) and Wayne Rooney (hamstring), but Danny Welbeck (ankle), Nani (groin) and Patrice Evra (ankle) could return to the squad.

Everton

Everton drew 1-1 with Arsenal at Goodison Park in their last league outing, making a run of seven games unbeaten since their last league defeat (3-2 at home against Aston Villa).

The Toffees have won four and drawn three during their unbeaten run; collecting 15 points from the 21 that were available. Everton have scored nine goals and conceded 2 during this spell, as they currently hold sixth position in the league.

Everton will have to do without Ayegbeni Yakubu (calf), Louis Saha (hamstring) and James Vaughan (knee), while Mikel Arteta is a doubt with a rib injury.

Prediction

Manchester United beat Everton 2-1 in this corresponding fixture last season with two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, and the two sides battled out a drew 1-1 earlier this season at Goodison Park.

The reigning champions have won their last nine consecutive league games at Old Trafford and could line up against Everton with several more fresh faces than they have had in recent games.


Everton are in the mood to match the big boys after drawing with Liverpool and Arsenal in their last two games, despite a striker crisis. Much of that is owed to the form of Tim Cahill, who has scored three goals in the last four league matches, and midfield playmaker Mikel Arteta.

The possible injury loss of the latter for this match would be a huge blow for Everton, as they will need every attacking resource again to makeshift their frontline. Especially with the leagues most in-form defence belonging to their opponents Manchester United.

The current league leaders should be confident of keeping the Toffees out enough whilst getting the goals in at the other end, and will go into this match as favourites.

Liverpool vs. Chelsea

Sunday Feb. 1, Anfield

Kickoff: 16:00

Liverpool

Liverpool drew 1-1 with Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium in their last league outing, making a run of twelve games undefeated since their last league defeat (2-1 away against Tottenham Hotspurs).


The Reds have also drawn their last three consecutive games and a total of seven of their last 12, whilst winning five. Liverpool have taken 22 points from a possible 36, whilst scoring 22 goals and conceding seven in the process of slipping to third in the league.

The Reds will have to do without Philipp Degan and Daniel Agger (calf).

Chelsea

Chelsea won 2-0 against Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge in their last league outing, making two successive wins since losing 3-0 away against Manchester United.

The Blues have won three and drawn three of their last seven league games, taking 12 points from a possible 21 that were available. Chelsea have scored 11 goals and conceded seven during this spell, as they currently sit second in the table.

Chelsea have let goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini go on a free transfer to Tottenham this week.

The Blues will have to without Joe Cole (knee), Micheal Essien (knee) and Richardo Carvalho who has a hamstring injury.

Prediction

Liverpool drew 1-1 with Chelsea in this corresponding fixture last season and beat them 1-0 at Stamford Bridge earlier this season to end Chelsea’s year undefeated run at home.

For a top three clash, this match sees two teams in surprisingly poor form in terms of dropped points recently. Both teams are struggling and will be desperate to win to ensure that Manchester United do not pull away after only recently overtaking both in the table.


The form of Frank Lampard in particular, with four goals in his last five league games, is keeping Chelsea in contention. While it’s a similar story for Steven Gerrard for Liverpool, with six goals in his last eight league games. The two heavyweight prolific midfielders will come head to head and one of them is likely to register in what should be a very close encounter.

Liverpool’s play at home has been poor recently, while Chelsea’s outstanding play away from home has waned somewhat. This seems to make the conditions even again, as this encounter has very little to tip it one way or the other.

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