Premier League Saturday Match Previews: September 25, 2010

Manchester City vs. Chelsea

This is the clash of the big spenders: both have teams which are amongst the most costly in world, and both of them have paid more than a little bit over the odds for one or two players.

Man City are looking a little bit stretched at the back with Lescott, Boeteng and Richards all being injured, but that isn’t where City's injury difficulties end, mind you.

Things get even worse when you consider that recent signing Balotelli is also not available.

City have been making a lot of fuss recently in the news saying that they expect to beat Chelsea to the title, well this is their chance to prove that what they’re saying isn’t just a load of hot air, and judging by the two teams' performances, most people would say that it well and truly is.

With Mr. Chelsea aka Frank Lampard still injured amongst others, Chelsea do have a few concerns as regards missing players.

On the other hand, they do have brilliant depth and it’s not as if they have to worry too much due to lack of replacements.

They have put in some staggeringly good performances so far, and it is a real possibility that they will tear City to shreds.

They have only lost two Premiership meetings with City and it seems less than likely that this will be the third.


Arsenal vs. West Brom

Arsenal will be giving several players last-minute fitness tests: Diaby, Eboue and Rosicky will all be tested just before the match. Gibbs, on the other hand, is certain to miss the match with a bruised foot.

Considering Arsenal have been playing with half a side, they have been playing pretty well.

They currently sit joint second which is testament to the abilities of their whole squad not just their best 11.

They may have struggled in their last match against Sunderland, but the side will be eager to prove that this was just a blip.

West Brom may have a little more confidence than they normally would in this fixture, coming off the back of a very respectable 3-1 victory against Birmingham.

The Baggies however still have yet to find any stride when it comes to away games; it has been almost 2 years since they last won away from home in the Premiership.

They do have some concerns over Tamas and Thomas who are doubtful for the match, not that two players will be enough to save West Brom unless they pull off something amazing.


Birmingham vs. Wigan

Birmingham are fortunate in the fact that they have no new injury concerns ahead of their match with Wigan. Michel is still missing due to his dead leg and McFadden is recovering from knee surgery.

Birmingham did take a bit of a pounding from West Brom last weekend which is not something that any team wants to admit, there isn’t really any excuses seeing as they should be the better side on paper.

Wigan’s form has been one of the worst so far in the season, seeing them place in the bottom 3, this shouldn’t be too hard for Birmingham to pick up the points at home.

Wigan will be desperate to pick up a few more points so they can claw themselves out of the bottom 3.

Wigan have only managed to win one of their last eight Premiership matches and that looked like a little bit of a fluke, as it stands their side just doesn’t seem to have what it takes to compete at the highest level of English football.

If they aren’t careful, this will simply be another poor away performances to add onto their increasingly tally.


Blackpool vs. Blackburn

Blackpool have to worry about finding somebody to slot into Baptiste’s place as he is now sidelined for the next 6 weeks. Blackpool are rapidly becoming the most exciting team in the Premiership.

When it comes to goals scored in their matches they have to have one of the highest averages in Europe.

If Blackpool gets a good start then they are generally a pretty good side, both of their wins have come from matches where they have scored in the fist half.

Their poor defence and sometimes inspired attacking makes them a very interesting side, and very hard to call.

Blackburn are without Dunn, Andrews and Grella who picked up an injury against Fulham. Rovers aren’t a team with a great away record, in fact they have only won five of their last thirty-one away games since Allardyce took over.

Technically, Blackpool are doing far better so far this season although on paper Blackburn have a much better side and the home team should be struggling to get a point, but things don’t always go how you’d expect them to.

This could be another interesting match. It will certainly be very hard to call, although considering Blackburn’s away record it wouldn’t be daft to put some money on Blackpool.


Fulham vs. Everton

Fulham’s Dembele will be out for 3 weeks due to an ankle injury while Duff and Stoor are also doubtful for the match. They have drawn 12 of their last 16 matches and are looking a like they may have a few difficulties without their top scorer.

Fulham seem to be have some difficulty actually getting shots on goal. They had 62% of the possession in their last match and only managed two shots on goal throughout the entire match, which isn’t exactly the sign of a team who is going to cause a lot of problems for the back four.

Everton are in a rut, they are traditionally slow starters, but this is starting to look worrying for the Toffees, they need to pick up three points.

If they don’t turn their season around very quickly they could find themselves in a relegation battle very soon.

Picking up on where the weak link is could be very difficult; the whole side seems to be underperforming, and not a great deal has changed.

If you were going to pick on something it would be the attack, seeing as Cahill has scored their only league goals, but the strikers aren’t getting the service, so all the responsibility can’t be placed squarely on their heads.

If Everton play like they can this should be an easy game, on the other hand if they carry on as they are, they are going to lose.


Liverpool vs. Sunderland

Liverpool aren’t having a good start to the season much like Everton, their Merseyside counterparts.

They haven’t exactly set the Premiership on fire and considering their supposed to be pushing for a European place it makes things seem so much worse.

Losing to Manchester United last week will not have gone down well with the fans, but it isn’t as if Liverpool went down without a fight.

Judging by how they played in that match up they should have what it takes to pick up the three points against Sunderland and potentially being getting their season back on track.

Liverpool have been off to slow starts in every match so far this season, having yet to score in the first half of any match.

Sunderland are going to miss Ferdinand and Richardson, who are both suffering from hamstring injuries. Bramble, on the other hand, is set to make an appearance.

Sunderland seem to be having more than enough opportunities, they just can’t seem to hit the target only 12 of their 46 shots have actually challenged the keeper this season which clearly isn’t enough.

Sunderland will need to make sure that they don’t slip up; after all, Anfield is not an easy place for an away side to pick up three points.


West Ham vs. Tottenham

Upson, Gabbidon, Iltunga and Ried will all start after sitting out in the Carling Cup match midweek.

West Ham are rock bottom of the table with one lonesome point, the bad thing for the Hammers fans is that it doesn’t look all too likely that they will pick up a win here.

The main problem seems to be the back, they have only managed to keep 1 clean sheet in their last 17 league matches, this simply isn’t good enough in the top flight.

That sounds bad, but things get worse, they’ve only managed to score 5% of their shots on goal, so they can’t keep the goals out and can’t score their chances, this sounds like a no-brainer as to who should win this match.

Tottenham are off to the start they were expected to make, sitting just outside of Champions League qualification is pretty much where every pundit tipped them to be.

Eketto and King are doubtful, although Modric has been given the green light and is now fit to play.

Tottenham have a much better side on paper and have every chance of picking up the three points here against one of the few teams that has been converting less chances than they have.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores and live sports