English Premier League: Previews of the Matches on Saturday November 27, 2010

Aston Villa vs Arsenal

Carew and Collins will be returning to the side, which certainly comes as great news to the injury ridden Aston Villa, who have been struggling of late mostly due to their extensive list of absentees. Still, Beye and Hogg are doubtful although they may possibly play. The Villans have only won one of their last eight matches. They’ve managed to drop more points from winning positions than anyone else in the league this season, having lost 12 points from winning positions.

They seem to regularly get off to a good start only to collapse half way through the match—perhaps it is a concentration or fitness issue—either way it may be something that could be worked out in the training ground.

Arsenal are on poor run of form and are suffering from the same issue as Aston Villa, a massive injury list. Still, the Premiership as a whole has been interesting this year, but Arsenal will need to improve if they are going to finish in the top three.

Bolton vs Blackpool

Bolton are likely to field the same side that thrashed Newcastle in their last outing. Coach Owen Coyle has the benefit of no new injury concerns, which is more than half of the teams in the Premiership can say. Taylor is hoping to retain his place on the wing instead of Petrov.

Bolton still haven’t kept a clean sheet since the opening day of the season, which is testament to their prowess going forward, considering the fact that they have managed to break into the European qualification zone. Bolton seem to go to pieces in the last 15 minutes, they have conceded 20 goals in the closing minutes of their matches.

Blackpool are still perhaps the most exciting team to watch in the Premiership, and it’s not so much because of their own stellar performances, simply because you can’t ever guess what’s going to happen in one of their games. They have a miraculous goal to game ratio (almost four per match).

They beat Wolverhampton in their last match, although it was something of an unexciting match by their standards, and they didn’t look quite as shaky at the back as they have done. It would seem they actually have a chance in this game if they can play in the same manner.

Everton vs West Brom

Everton have been struggling going forward recently. The Toffees have relied heavily on Cahill, who has been on sparkling scoring form, especially for a midfield player. Cahill has scored five goals in his last eight matches, which is something of an impressive record. The home lost only four of their last 25 matches, although they are win less in their last four, which doesn’t bode well.

There is some good news for the side in the fact that Anechebe may be able to return to the first team; he completed a full 90 minutes in the reserves, meaning that Everton’s problems going forward may be coming to an end. In theory Everton are the better team, although that seems to mean nothing this season.

West Brom have only kept one clean sheet all season, their defence has been riddled with silly errors and schoolboy mistakes, they may have started pretty well at the beginning of the season, but their poor run has seen them drop to the bottom of the table. When you take into account their away form has never been something to be all too proud of, they are more than likely to struggle in this match.

Fulham vs Birmingham

Fulham have a bit of a striker shortage on their hands and for a team looking to get out of the habit of drawing and actually start winning a few games, this is not the best of news. Zamora and Dembele are sidelined and Johnson is doubtful, which leaves Fulham using players that aren’t even considered second string. Whilst the squad started encouragingly at the beginning of the season, their recent run of four defeats from their last seven matches has left them in a little more of a disappointing position.

Birmingham are without Gardner, who has been their top scorer this season, and they are yet to win away in their last seven matches. Birmingham have not won at Craven Cottage since 2004. The away side may be doing slightly better this season, however, it seems rather unlikely that they will emerge from this match as victorious, simply due to the fact the they don’t seem to travel very well.

Man Utd vs Blackburn

Man United have managed to get themselves back level on points with Chelsea, which is quite an achievement considering the fantastic start that their main rivals had at the start of the season. Vidic and Ferdinand will be reappearing after having missed United’s match against Rangers midweek. They are also the only unbeaten team in the Premiership (in all competitions). They have also scored two or more goals in 12 of the league games season.

This match should be an open and shut case, all things considered, United should be able to keep the pressure on Chelsea as Blackburn are going to need some sort of miracle if they are going to pick up a point at Old Trafford.

Blackburn have been on good form, but they haven’t had a match as tough as this one since their form has picked up. The away side have won three of their last four matches and have looked very confident going forward, on the other hand, they have lost every match where they have conceded the first goal.

Stoke vs Man City

Stoke will be without Pennant, who suffered a hamstring injury, and Wilkinson could also miss out due to minor knee concern. If Stoke can win here, then they will be on for their fourth successive league win, which will be quite something for the side, as the form that they are on at the moment will be the best they’ve been in the top flight since 1980.

City have the second meanest defence in the Premiership, having kept seven clean sheets this season, second to Chelsea’s eight. Oddly enough, City have yet to score a headed goal this season and are the only Premiership side yet to have done so. Balotelli is set to return after a ban, so their strike force is back to full strength; it seems pretty likely that the sheer gulf in the abilities of these two sides will result in a win for City. An upset is possible when you consider the way Stoke have been playing, but remains very unlikely.     

West Ham vs Wigan

West Ham will welcome back Scott Parker, who has been absent due to a chest infection. Teammates Dyer and Berhami will be receiving late fitness tests, and if they are able to play, it will be the first time in a while where the Hammers have had what appears to be a respectable midfield. Generally speaking, their matches against Wigan tend to go pretty well. The last four times they’ve met in the Premiership, they’ve won three of their meetings. On the other hand, the Hammers have had a terrible start to the season, and they haven’t spent a single day outside of the relegation zone.

Wigan’s last match resulted in a bit of bad behaviour on their part and was something of an embarrassment all things considered. Having one player sent off is bad, but two is not just bad, it has a carry over on the rest of the team, and they are likely to suffer for it in this match. The suspended duo (Rodellega and Alcaraz) will add to their list of absentees. Wigan’s away record is appalling so who knows, maybe the home side will have a chance of getting some points on the board and just maybe get out of the relegation zone.

Wolverhampton vs Sunderland

Wolves are missing their instrumental captain and figurehead Henry, who is going to be out for two months due to ligament damage. Unfortunately, the home side do have other concerns besides Henry. The last time these two sides met, Wolves won the fixture, although that seems to be a blip in a long line of defeats in matches between the two teams. The last match was rather exciting with three penalties, two own goals and two red cards. With any luck for those of us watching this could be a very interesting match up just like the last time they met.

Sunderland have had some terrible news in the fact that Bramble and Turner will not be available until January. The lack of these two instrumental players could see Sunderland’s recent run of form take a turn for the worse. They have only lost one of their last 12 matches in the league, which is a decent enough record. In theory, if they didn’t have any new injuries, it seems like this should have been their match for the taking, but with the injuries, things could be a bit more interesting as it will be hard to predict whether or not Sunderland play at the same level they have been.

Joe—livescoredaily.com—live scores