English Premier League Saturday Match Previews: Dec. 11, 2010

Aston Villa vs West Brom

Villa’s league position is more than a little bit precarious. their recent form has seen them sliding further and further down the table, although their opponents aren’t exactly miles away in terms of points. Villa’s extensive injury list is more than likely the cause of their bad form, although several of the players are not expected to return any time soon, which is where the headaches began for fans and management alike.

When it comes to good news Villa do have something to brighten up their day in the return of Bannan and Hesky, although they probably aren’t the first pick of the injured players to return that fans would’ve wanted to see on the pitch, but it is better than nothing.

Brom are going to be without their leading scorer Odemwingie, which is perhaps the worst injury that the Baggies could’ve had to contend with; however, he should be back at some point in the near future judging by the severity of his concern.

West Brom could have a pretty good shot at picking up a win here simply due to the fact that they may as well be playing against Villa’s reserves, something of a hollow victory although the points will not be something that the Baggies will sniff at.

Aston Villa vs West Brom kicks off at 16:00 CET on Villa Park in Birmingham.


Everton vs Wigan

Arteta is suspended and Pienaar is in doubt which means Everton will probably be lacking a little bit of their bite. The home side's form has been poor all season, although traditionally this fixture normally goes their way.

They have only lost two of their last 10 meetings with Wigan, although this could very well be their third, granted they did draw with Chelsea last week, although that is not the Chelsea that strikes fear into the hearts of other teams.

Everton have not won a match in their last six outings so this could be an uphill struggle for the Toffees. If Everton lose here it will be their 100th Premiership defeat at Goodison Park.

Wigan are actually doing worse than Everton in terms of points, they have only won one match in their last nine games. The Lactics could possibly give Caldwell a start, although the question is more a matter of whether or not they will be willing to risk the player who is instrumental to their plans to actually work their way out of the relegation zone.

Rodellega will return to the side after completing a three-match ban and he will replace striker Boselli in Wigan’s attacking line up.

Everton vs Wigan kicks off at 16:00 CET on Goodison Park in Liverpool.


Fulham vs Sunderland

Fulham will see the return of Salcido, he has been declared fully fit and ready to play after his ankle injury. This is another side which is suffering from a major injury crisis and as such underachieving. Dembele is perhaps one of the main concerns from this mound of unavailable players and the lack of key players of his calibre is an undeniable concern.

This match is traditionally quite bland, only two goals have been scored in their last four Premiership meetings. If Fulham were fully fit, the smart money would be on a home victory however when you look at recent form and the above factors they are going to really struggle to take anything positive from this fixture.

Sunderland are off to a very good start this season, when you consider that they were tipped to be in a relegation battle. On the other hand, this is one of the closest Premiership tables that we’ve seen in a long time so things could soon change.

Sunderland are also plagued with injuries at the moment, although they seem to be coping a lot better than Fulham, this could be a good win for them if they can pull it off and with the way that they have been playing then it is very possible.

Fulham vs Sunderland kicks off at 16:00 CET on Craven Cottage in London.


Stoke vs Blackpool

Stoke are one of the few sides who are behaving as expected so far this season, mid table obscurity and pretty standard performances are just what we have come to expect from the home side. Pennant and Wilkinson are expected to feature after returning from their respective injuries.

The home side should be the favourites for this matchup, although it will be difficult to say exactly how this match will end up. Stoke are unbeaten against Blackpool in their last seven league matches.

Blackpool have only lost once in their last six matches and in that game they made ten changes to the starting line up for their match against Aston Villa. The Seasiders have been a very interesting side to follow, leaving puzzled faces on pundits and fans across the country.

There have been 52 goals in Blackpool’s 15 matches this season, leaving their average just short of four goals a game, if nothing else this will very likely be another interesting match to watch. In theory there is very little reason why Blackpool couldn’t take some points from this matchup.

Stoke vs Blackpool kicks off at 16:00 CET on Britannia Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent.


West Ham vs Man City

West Ham are on for another loss here, considering the fact that they can’t seem to scrape a win against some of the Premierships worse sides. Berhami could make a start however it is unlikely that his returning presence will be enough to turn the tide of this match to a point where it will make much of a difference here.

The Hammers are bottom of the table and are showing no signs of turning around their poor performances. Last time that West Ham were doing this badly at this point in the season was in 2002 and they were ultimately relegated, this doesn’t bode well for where they are heading this season.

Man City are without Tevez and Korolov who are both serving one match bans although this is unlikely to make much of a difference considering the fact that City should be expected to walk through this without any difficulty at all.

Away from home, only Arsenal have scored more goals than City and they have kept the joint most clean sheets so far this season. There is really only one way that this match is going to end and that should be in City’s favour.

West Ham vs Man City kicks off at 16:00 CET on Boleyn Ground in London.


Newcastle vs Liverpool

Newcastle have been making headlines recently, but not for their football, mostly through the rather unpopular sacking of Hughton, who not only guided the Magpies to promotion, but has also got them off to a pretty good start this season  Barton, Harper and Guthrie will all be given late fitness tests and are all classed as doubtful ahead of the match. It will be interesting to see how the Magpies do under their new manager, Alan Pardew.

Liverpool’ season seems to be getting progressively back on track, although how long this lasts remains to be seen. Liverpool are still missing Gerrard and whilst his absence might not have shown up two badly against Villa last week, Newcastle are a team which are actually playing reasonable football this season and it is well documented how often Liverpool go to pieces without the talismanic midfielder.

Liverpool have lost five of their eight away games this season, although with Newcastle under new management it will be very difficult to call the result of this game.

Newcastle vs Liverpool kicks off at 18:30 CET on St James' Park in Newcastle.

Jann - livescoredaily.com - live scores