English Premier League Saturday Match Previews: October 30, 2010

Joe LazarOct 29, 2010

Arsenal vs West Ham

Wilshire will be serving the last day of his three-match ban and Gibbs is going to miss the match due to an injury that he picked up in the Carling Cup. Gibbs is just another one on the long list of Arsenal’s ever growing walking wounded.

Arsenal haven’t lost any of the last six matches against the "Hammers" and when it comes to playing them at home they haven’t even conceded a goal in five of their last six matches against the away side. Man City are the only side to have kept a clean sheet at the Emirates stadium and let’s face it, West Ham aren’t exactly up to the same standard.

Upson is likely to miss yet another game due to his lingering hamstring injury. Piquonne is also doubtful to play with his leg problem being put to a last minute fitness test on the day.

The "Hammers" have only scored seven goals so far this season, and whilst Arsenal’s defence haven’t been on great form this season, it is unlikely that they will be up to anything too impressive here. This match should be in the bag for the home side and the "Hammers" will be hard pressed to even come away from this with a point.

Blackburn vs Chelsea

Blackburn centre back Samba is returning from his ban (received for his sending off against Sunderland) and he slot straight back into the side. Nelsen should also see a come back after returning from injury. Rovers record has been pretty poor recently, with them only winning one of their last eight Premiership matches.

That’s not to say that they have been playing appalling, although anything short of brilliant is not going to hack it against Chelsea. Rovers are pretty tight in the first half, the problem is that they go to pieces shortly after. Only Chelsea have conceded fewer goals than the home side when it comes to the first 45 minutes, but again Chelsea are that one better.

Chelsea will see the return of Alex and should see Ivanovic slip into right back position. Ramires will miss out, but he should return to the side against Moscow midweek. Chelsea are head and shoulders above the rest of the league this season and a win here will just be yet another notch on their list of wins. There isn’t much hope that this is going to go Blackburn’s way, the worst result Chelsea could expect would be a draw.

Everton vs Stoke

The instrumental Arteta will be facing a last minute fitness test before the match, the Spaniard’s hamstring injury kept him out of last weeks match against Tottenham. Osman on the other hand is not going to be so fortunate—the midfielder has been ruled out until the end of November.

The "Toffees" have been undergoing something of a renaissance recently with the side returning to their usual form, this is a great opportunity for the home side to rack up a few more points and break into the top half of the table. Assuming that Everton carry on with their recent form then they should win this match without too much difficulty.

Stoke have not beaten Everton at home since 1982 and that doesn’t look to likely to change. Jones and Pennant are both doubtful due to what appears to be the flu, so on the bright side for Stoke they will only be missing this match. Technically these two sides are even on points, but that doesn’t reflect the level that the two teams are at.

Fulham vs Wigan

Andy Johnson could make his first league start since January; Fulham could also see Davies and Murphy return from injury. Fulham are struggling this season, after last seasons impressive Europa League run most pundits were banking on Fulham having a start which was at least a little bit better than this one.

They’ve only won one out of their five home matches so far this season and whilst playing Wigan might be a great opportunity to break that cycle it isn’t going to happen unless they sort out their leaky defence. The side has has some injury problems which can excuse some of the poor performances, but when it comes down to it this simply isn’t good enough if they’re looking to challenge for an European place.

The away side may see the return of club captain Caldwell and possibly Gohouri. Wigan may fancy their chances in this game with Fulham not quite performing properly this season.

Then there’s the fact that they are on a decent stint of form having avoided a loss for their last four matches, which by Wigan’s standards is pretty good. Added to all of this, they may have the chance to try and up their poor scoring form against a side which has been a little hit-and-miss this season. This could be a nice coming out game for Wigan if they play their cards right.

Wolverhampton vs Manchester City

Henry is available again after serving his three match ban for being sent off against Wigan. Hunt is also likely to make a start, finally—the player has been waiting to make his Premiership debut for Wolves for quite a long time.

Wolves have lost five of their last six matches and this isn’t going to be an easy game for them either, even getting a draw would be an absolute miracle for the home side. The best thing that Wolves can hope for is that this is not an absolute slaughter. Recently this fixture has not gone Wolves’ way, their last win against City was in 2003.

Tevez will not be playing and has flown out to Argentina whilst he recovers. Toure is doubtful, but this is not the end of City’s injury concerns which are quite conclusive. Tevez’s absence will almost undoubtedly be great news for Wolves who will not want to face a striker who scored in all but one of his last 19 matches for his club and is widely regarded as one of the best in the league.

It’s actually been a long time since the club won a match against anybody without a Tevez goal—the last time was in January against Portsmouth.

Manchester United vs Tottenham

It has been revealed that Rooney could be out for another three weeks and that Owen will be absent for five weeks and this leave United somewhat shorthanded in the striker department. It’s 50/50 whether or not Evans will be fit enough to play and he will face a late fitness test to determine this on Saturday.

Both these sides have pretty hefty injury lists and it is starting to show in their performances, particularly Tottenham’s. United are the only unbeaten team in the Premiership so far this season although they have drawn more games than they have won. On the bright side for them, a home match should mean that they at least manage to pick up a point although three points seems like a real possibility.

It’s been 67 games since Tottenham last won away to one of the Premierships big four, that say it all really, with an injured side this is not the ideal time to break the habit of a lifetime and in fact it would be pretty fluky if they manage to pick up a point here.

Tottenham should play for a draw because the odds of them winning are pretty much slim to none; this should be United’s game.