English Premier League: Sunday Matches Previews: Oct 31, 2010

Aston Villa vs Birmingham

Local derbies are always heatedly contested, but this match is between two sides which actually look pretty evenly matched to boot. If anything, Villa should have the edge in terms of class, but with numerous injuries and the suspension of Albrighton they are far from full strength.

When it comes to the Villains, sometimes it’s hard to tell whether they are over- or under-performing. There is some good news for the home side though: Carew has returned to the team after missing the Carling Cup match due to the flu. Luke Young is also available after recovering from a hamstring problem.

Aston Villa have won the last six of these matches between the two sides. On the other hand, Birmingham remained unbeaten in the six before that.

Birmingham have yet to actually win away from home, and this is probably not the best chance for them to do so. Hleb and former Villa player Gardner are both returning to the side after being sidelined for injuries.

There is something of possibility that this is going to be a low-scoring match. Birmingham have only scored four times in their last six matches, and Villa haven’t scored for 254 in game minutes, meaning this could turn out to be a boring match.

Newcastle vs Sunderland

Stephen Taylor is not quite fit enough to return to the team, despite having mostly recovered from his shoulder injury. Sol Campbell, who has a thigh problem, will also miss out.

Newcastle did win their last match, and they have been doing reasonably well since their promotion to the Premiership, although Sunderland also picked up a reasonable win in their last league match.

When it comes to North East derbies, then Newcastle have a fantastic record, losing only six of the last 42 matches. The home side have been pretty tight at the back considering the fact that they are newly promoted, only allowing a total of 24 shots on target against them so far in this season.

Sunderland are on a seven-match unbeaten run, which is their best in over 10 years. They had a very respectable win against Villa in their last game, and assuming they can stay tight at the back, they should be able to cause an awful lot of problems for the hosts.

The only trouble that they may have is they aren’t all too good going forward and that Newcastle’s defence has been pretty good this season.  

Bolton vs Liverpool

Bolton player Klasnic is in contention for a starting place, despite being arrested earlier in the week. Bolton do have some problems with injuries, but with the way that Liverpool have been playing, they have a very good chance of winning without too many problems.

The last seven times these two sides have met each other in the League, Bolton have lost every single one. The thing is that generally the Liverpool side that they have been facing has been one that can actually manage to win a match and were probably not in the bottom three.

Liverpool are playing terribly, and there is no denying it, the new owners must be worrying about their investment now. Johnson may just about manage to be fit in time for the match and he will be given a last minute fitness test.

The "Reds" haven’t scored a goal which didn’t involve either Torres or Gerrard since the start of the season, and all the criticisms about them being a two-man side is looking rather plausible.

This match is probably going to be another embarrassing result for Liverpool, and Bolton should finally break their poor run against the Merseyside outfit.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores and live sports