English Premier League: Tuesday Previews: December 28, 2010

Joe LazarDec 27, 2010

Birmingham vs Man Utd

Manchester United face a tricky tie, when they meet Birmingham City ahead of their efforts to go into the New Year as champions. Apart from going into 2011 at the top of the table, Manchester United also have the prestigious unbeaten record to maintain. They are attempting to become the first club since Arsenal in 2004 to go unbeaten throughout the whole season. Birmingham City could turn out to be a stiff opposition that stands in the way of the record since their home form is second to none in the Premier League.

Birmingham City have ended up on the losing side just once at home this season and even though their form going into this match is not brilliant, Alex McLeish will be hoping for better tomorrow. McLeish will be worried even though Birmingham City have already beaten the likes of Chelsea at home because United are a different animal and limiting the number of chances they have in a game is not an easy task to do. Manchester United are unbeaten at St Andrews for over 20 games and Alex McLeish will be looking to change that tomorrow. Paul Scholes seems to be the only injury concern ahead of this match.

Man City vs Aston Villa

Manchester City have the chance to go to the top of the table provided Man United lose to Birmingham. City are usually strong at home and they welcome an injury ravaged Aston Villa side to the Eastlands. Aston Villa's form took a turn for the worse following their defeat to Tottenham on Boxing Day. The thing that would concern Gerard Houllier the most is the lack of fight and resilience that his side showed, despite having a man advantage. City were initially thought to be contenders for the Champions League qualification places, but given their current position they could also challenge for the Premier League title.

Aston Villa do not have the kind of luxury that lets them buy any player that they wish for, but they certainly would have not imagined being in the 16th position, just four points ahead of the drop zone. The situation does not get any better with the injury news. Here too it is Manchester City enjoying all the good news, with Kolo Touré and Joleon Lescott both recovering from injuries, while Ashley Young still remains side-lined. Emile Heskey is the latest injury concern.

Stoke vs Fulham

Fulham's miserable season does not to seem to be improving any sooner after the latest defeat to the hands of rock bottom side West Ham United. Following their defeat, Fulham are now in the relegation zone and the pressure is totally on Mark Hughes to deliver the results. He will be looking to make some changes to his team especially due to the fact that they will be facing a physical side that is confident from their last win over Blackburn Rovers.

Tony Pulis will be asking for more of the same and there are suggestions that, with some luck in the injury department, he could even field the same team that faced Blackburn. Matthew Etherington seems to be the only problem for Stoke City at the moment and they have Glenn Whelan as standby to replace him. Fulham are not blessed with injuries at the moment and it seems that Moussa Dembele will not be fit in time for this match.

Sunderland vs Blackpool

Blackpool resume their Premier League duties after a two-week gap following postponement of both their fixtures. There will be fresh, and in no doubt, be looking to spoil Sunderland's New Year party. Sunderland are doing much well than they were initially expected this season and are currently seventh in the Barclays Premier League table. One of the main reasons for that is the incredible home form that Steve Bruce has managed to build up at the Stadium of Light. Hence, winter break or not, Sunderland will be a tough match for Ian Holloway's Blackpool to get something from.

Blackpool are without doubt the surprise package of the season and they are currently the most well-equipped when it comes to surprising the home team that has not lost in front of their own fans this season. They are helped by the return of their captain Charlie Adam, whose suspension has been served after the two matches that he was supposed to miss were postponed. The return of Kieran Richardson is probably the only good news for Sunderland ahead of this match since Lee Cattermole is suspended for this match.

Tottenham vs Newcastle

Tottenham will be looking to once again reinforce their credentials as worthy contenders of the Premier League title following their win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day. It was not only the victory that impressed about this Tottenham side, but it was more about the resilience and steel that they showed to record a hard fought victory against a spirited Aston Villa side. On paper, the match against Newcastle United might look easy, especially given that this match is at White Hart Lane, a stadium that has been one of the main reasons for Tottenham's rise.

However, Newcastle United are usually much better away from home and one cannot read a lot into the home defeat against Manchester City. Also, Alan Pardew will be looking to get back to winning ways after he suffered his first defeat as Newcastle's manager. Newcastle received major boost midweek after Steven Taylor signed a new contract with the club. He was initially expected to leave the club after his contract expired at the end of the season. Jermain Defoe is the major loss for Tottenham after he was sent off against Aston Villa. He now misses three games in the Premier League starting with this one.

West Brom vs Blackburn

West Brom have suffered an alarming dip in form and Roberto di Matteo will be looking to turn things around quickly especially since he would want to avoid becoming the next Hull City. West Brom were known for their beautiful and flowing football, which they combined with ruthlessness at the start of the season. However, that seems to have disappeared from the game of late and it remains to be seen if they can capture that lost spark back against Blackburn Rovers, who are themselves suffering from a number of issues.

Steve Kean has been in charge of Blackburn for just two games, which have yielded a grand total of one point. The fact is made worse when you look at the teams that they have played in the last two games and all were at home too. Hence, he would have expected to get more points than what his team has done currently. Going away from home seems to be the best option for it at the moment since the home fans can be the disturbing factor in such a scenario. He could not have chosen a better opposition than West Brom since they are on a poor run of form.

West Ham vs Everton

West Ham United are on a roll and the victory against Fulham on Boxing Day gave a huge sigh of relief not only to the "Hammers" supporters, but to their owners as well. Avram Grant was given only these three games to save his job and he has already got four points out of them. If he can harness anything out of the Everton game, then it is pretty much sure that Grant will be continuing as West Ham manager going into 2011. Everton had the weekend off on Boxing Day after their match against Birmingham City was postponed. That would have given David Moyes the perfect opportunity to regroup his side, who still remain just five points ahead of the relegation zone.

Both teams have received good news, with a number of players coming back either from injury or from suspension. Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar are the two key players that David Moyes will have to choose to include in his team, while West Ham will welcome Luis Boa Morte and many others. West Ham United managed to win against Fulham, despite having more than 10 players missing due to various reasons and they will be looking to do the same against Everton.