The Sports Mac: English Football Fives: August 26th, 2010

Top 5 Premiership Teams Right Now

1.    Chelsea: The defending champions are off to a flying start winning their first two matches by a combined score of 12-0.

2.    Arsenal: Leading the group of teams chasing Chelsea after dismantling Blackpool 6-0 in Round Two

3.    Manchester United: Let two points slip away allowing Fulham to score a stoppage time equalizer

4.    Manchester City:  Into the top four for the first time this season after a impressive 3-0 win over Liverpool

5.    Bolton Wanderers: Moved up to fifth after a good 3-1 win on the road over West Ham

Top 5 Football League Teams Right Now

1.    Queens Park Rangers (Championship):  Unbeaten in their first three matches and plus nine in goal difference

2.    Torquay United (League Two): Unbeaten in their first three matches and plus seven in goal difference

3.    Cardiff City (Championship): Two wins and a draw in their first three matches and plus five in goal difference

4.    Carlisle (League One): Two wins and a draw in their first three matches and plus five in goal difference

5.    Chesterfield (League Two): Two wins and a draw in their first three matches and plus five in goal difference

Top 5 Premiership Players Right Now

1.    Didier Drogba, Chelsea Forward: three goals in his first two matches has him picking up right where he left off last year after almost scoring 30 in 2009-10

2.    Nicolas Anelka, Chelsea Forward: Scoring twice in the 6-0 win over Wigan last weekend already has Anelka at 20 percent of his scoring total from last season

3.    Gareth Bale, Totteham Defender: Scoring twice early on in the campaign has almost equaled Bale’s output for all of last season

4.    Florent Malouda, Chelsea Midfielder: His three goals in the first two matches for the Blues has helped Chelsea to a huge goal differential right from the start of the season

5.    Andrew Carroll, Newcastle Forward: His three goals have helped the Magpies split their first two games in their return to the Premier League after a one year drop

Top 5 Matches To Keep An Eye On This Weekend

1.    League Two: Port Vale vs. Torquay, Saturday: Fourth place Vale plays host to the League 2 leaders

2.    Championship: Millwall vs. Coventry, Saturday:  Sixth in the Championship hosts fourth

3.    Premiership: Bolton vs. Birmingham, Sunday:  Fifth place Wanderers get a visit from the sixth place Blues

4.    League One: Colchester vs. Carlisle, Friday: Ninth place United take on the League One leaders

5.    League One: Hartlepool vs. Sheffield Wednesday, Saturday: Fourth place Wednesday travel to eighth place United

5 Matches You Might Want To Avoid

1.    Dagenham & Redbridge vs. Tranmere Rovers (League One):  The bottom two teams in the third division meet having just taken 1 point from their first five matches combined

2.    Leicester City vs. Reading (Championship): The two teams have three points combined from their first six matches played.

3.    Brentford vs. Rochdale (League One): 22nd in the table hosts 19th in a match of two struggling sides

4.    Sheffield United vs. Preston North End (Championship): Two of the bottom seven teams meet to try and get their season’s kick started.

5.    Morecambe vs. Gillingham (League Two): 21st hosts 17th for a clash between two clubs floundering at the bottom of the league.

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