Premier League Saturday Match Previews: November 20, 2010

Arsenal vs. Tottenham

Koscielny is available after having served a two-match ban as a result of getting red carded against Newcastle. Jack Wilshire is also available; he's been given a clean bill of health after recovering from his back injury.

Arsenal may have lost against Tottenham in April, which was the first time they beat their London rivals in 21 matches, but both teams are in the middle of rather extensive injury crises, so this is pretty much a match being played between two second-string sides. It may seem at first glance that this should be Arsenal’s game especially when you consider the way that Tottenham have been playing, but this match will be something of a struggle and is certainly not an open-and-shut case.

Tottenham will see the return of Defoe, which is some sorely needed good fortune on the injury front. Spurs have conceded 15 goals in their last seven competitive matches, which says a lot for their recent form. This problem doesn’t seem likely to go away any time soon. This is going to be a tough match for Spurs and fans won’t soon forgive any embarrassing slip-ups here.

Birmingham vs. Chelsea

Gardner may not be fit, which is a big blow for any chances Birmingham may have had at getting on the scoreboard against Chelsea. The top goal scorer is still injured after picking up an ankle complaint against Man City.

There is no denying the gulf in class between these two sides, and Birmingham will be very lucky if they are going to get any sort of result out of this. On the bright side for Birmingham they have drawn the last four of their last meetings against the Premierships “big four.”

Chelsea have lost three times this season—that is the most they have lost by this point in the season in a decade. Last time this happened, they only managed to finish sixth, although the Premiership's standings did look a lot different back then, with Chelsea not being the powerhouse they are today.

Despite having a few injury problems Chelsea are the league's leading goal scorers. Add to that the fact that they have conceded the fewest goals so far this season and this match should be all theirs.

Blackpool vs. Wolverhampton

Blackpool are going to be without instrumental goalkeeper Gilks, which could cause them nightmares if their second stringer doesn’t measure up. Gilks will be out for up to two months, and this could be where things start to turn sour for the team's very reasonable start to the season, which has seen them sitting in the middle of the table—despite everyone’s predictions that they would be lucky to ever move off the bottom spot.

Blackpool has a great record for producing interesting matches since they’ve entered the Premiership, with an average of almost four goals per game being scored by either side.

Wolves have a pretty good record in these matchups. They haven't lost to Blackpool since 1968, which is a run of 14 matches undefeated. On the other hand, they have lost eight of their last 10 matches in the league; they have also managed to not keep a clean sheet since the start of the season so this could be when their brilliant record against Blackpool comes to an end.

Any result that means the away side picks up a point would be a great result. Unfortunately for the Wolves, nothing short of a miracle seems likely to change things soon.

Bolton vs. Newcastle

Stiensson could make an appearance if Bolton manager Coyle decides to change the layout of his winning side. Bolton have won six of the last seven home matches against Newcastle, but this match could be the turning point, Newcastle have looked pretty strong recently, though that’s not to say that Bolton will continue to impress. Their fifth place standing is a testament to that fact. This is going to be a tight match and either side could take it.

There was some concern about Carroll after he was subbed during England duty and he had a known ankle concern, however it seems to have been nothing to worry about. Newcastle’s away form has been pretty good, winning three of their last six away matches. That's a pretty good away record for most teams in the Premiership when you are outside of the “big four.”

The big threat could come from set pieces, the Magpies have scored eight goals from headers so far this season, which is the highest in the Premiership. If they win this match, it could well put them back into fifth place, provided a few other results go their way.

Man Utd vs. Wigan

Wayne Rooney may feature on the bench after recovering from his injury and Scholes is again available for selection after completing his ban. Ferdinand is fine, despite complaining of a tight hamstring after England’s loss against France midweek. He was subbed at half time, but it appears the substitution was purely cautionary.

This match is only ever going to go one way, and betting on Wigan would not be a smart move. United have made some slips ups this season, but it's very, very unlikely that this will be the situation here. If they lose here, it will be nothing short of humiliating.

Wigan’s poor performances has left them teetering on the brink of the relegation zone, and now they have to take on United at Old Trafford. This is not the sort of match that you want when you are looking to claw your way up the table. The Lactics are the top flight's lowest scorers this season, having netted only 10 goals all season.

Wigan did win their last match against West Brom, which was pretty respectable for them, the problem is that this is not going to be so easy and probably won’t go well for them.

West Brom vs. Stoke

Brunt is the latest on West Brom's large list of players who is considered doubtful, after he picked up a groin injury on international duty. Jara will be returning after a three-match ban, but this will hardly compensate for the numerous players ruled out.

Brom lost last week to a struggling Wigan in something of a humbling loss. West Brom's form has turned south since the start of the season when they looked like a team competing for a European place. On paper, the Baggies are the better team, but the real question is whether or not their injuries cause them too many problems and enable Stoke to sneak a win.

Stoke had an impressive win against Liverpool and are just about in the top half of the table. A win here would see Stoke rack up a third successive win, something they have not managed in the top flight since 1983. The same side which started against Liverpool seems likely to play, as Pulis has not stated that he will make any changes. There are no fresh injury concerns for the away side.

Liverpool vs. West Ham

Gerrard will not be fit to play, which may well be enough to rule out much chance of Liverpool getting a win from this match. The side has still only scored one goal all season, which has not involved either Torres or Gerrard. This team has been proving critics right in saying that it is a side which relies far too heavily on the two players. The result of this match could go a long way to proving them right even further if they can’t manage to beat the Hammers, who haven’t managed a win in their last seven matches.

At home, the Merseysider’s haven’t been too bad this season and whilst a win should be the result, this game could prove tricky.

The Hammers could be lucky and actually get a result out of this match, depending on whether or not Liverpool crumble without their instrumental captain. The Hammers have only won one match all season and considering they are without several key players, any result other than a loss would probably be acceptable.

West Ham have had some problems on the road, they are without a win in 24 matches away from home. Who knows maybe this could be their first in 25.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores