EPL: Intriguing Bottom of the Table Battle Begins

West Brom v Man Utd

This is probably the one fixture that Roberto di Matteo would not have been wishing to face as Manchester United is not only the table leaders at the moment, but they are also the only undefeated team in the Premier League.

Sir Alex Ferguson got his wish of starting the New Year at the top and he will be looking to build on that when he visits the Hawthorns to face a West Brom side that is missing a number of key defenders. The only saving grace for Roberto di Matteo will be the fact that Manchester United has been poor away from home this season and has so far drawn seven games.

Lee Bowyer's late equaliser once again made Manchester United leave with only a point on their travels, but Ferguson’s men will no doubt be the favorites for this match, especially since West Brom has been really poor of late.

They have lost their last three matches and the situation is not helped by the loss of Paul Scharner, Jonas Olsson and Gabriel Tamas. The only good news for West Brom is the return of Chris Brunt from suspension. Ferguson will make a late decision on winger Nani's fitness.
West Brom - Man Utd kicks off at 13:45 CET on the Hawthorns

Liverpool v Bolton

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson’s future seems to be the talking point ahead of this match as the defeat against the Wolverhampton Wanderers has put more demands for his exit. It is fair to say that, if Roy Hodgson fails to defeat Bolton tomorrow, then all likelihood is that he will be forced to leave the club. Angry fans signed a petition demanding his exit yesterday and his position would really become untenable if he does not win against Bolton.

Roy Hodgson's task is slightly made easy by the fact that Bolton is usually very poor away from home and even though they performed well against Chelsea mid-week, they still ended up losing the game.

Hence, Roy Hodgson will be looking at this fixture to take some points away and make an attempt to qualify for the Champions League next season. Bolton will likely be fired up especially since they came away with nothing from Stamford Bridge, despite putting in a great effort.

Steven Gerrard is doubtful for this game after Roy Hodgson said that he was feeling tired following the 90 minutes against Wolves. Joe Cole will not be featured in this match after suffering yet another injury setback.
Liverpool - Bolton kicks off at 16:00 CET on Anfield

Man City v Blackpool

Manchester City has been showing impressive form of late and they were one of the very few teams during the Christmas period to win both on Boxing Day and mid-week. They will be looking to keep up their form against Blackpool, who is coming on the back of the mini winter break.

Manchester City is the surprise team at the top of the table now and they are separated only by goal difference from the leader. However, they face the ultimate test when they meet Blackpool at home. The fixture is made tough for Roberto Mancini because his teams usually struggle at home to score goals.

Ian Holloway will be looking to get revenge on City after his team was robbed earlier in the season after two illegal goals by City. The only injury worry for Blackpool is Elliot Grandin, who was substituted in the match against Sunderland, after suffering a hamstring injury.

It remains in doubt if there will be any kind of participation from him. Roberto Mancini will have to make a decision on whether to play hat-trick hero Mario Balotelli or skipper Carlos Tevez.
Man City - Blackpool kicks off at 16:00 CET on the City of Manchester stadium

Stoke v Everton

Stoke City has been poor for the last three matches and Tony Pulis will be looking to get his team back on track when they face Everton, who is also coming on a mini slump of their own. Stoke City was defeated by Fulham mid-week and boss Tony Pulis was especially critical about his team’s performance.

He will be looking to make amendments to that, but unfortunately, his options are limited since Matthew Etherington and Jon Walters are currently facing late fitness tests and it is not sure whether they will make it for this match or not.

Also, Robert Huth’s suspension makes things worse for Tony Pulis. David Moyes, on the other hand has better news, with Phil Jagielka recovering sufficiently from his injury and it is reported that he could be included in the squad.

Even though Moyes has got positive news on the injury front of Phil Jagielka, he will mostly not be making any changes to his team that drew against West Ham United mid-week. David Moyes will also know that with the victory, his team can climb above Stoke City in the table and he will not have a better motivation than that.
Stoke - Everton kicks off at 16:00 CET on Britannia Stadium

Sunderland v Blackburn

Sunderland is once again at home, and they will be looking to avenge their first defeat at home this season when they face Blackburn Rovers. Steve Kean could not have wished for better after he won his first game as a Blackburn manager against West Brom mid-week.

He will be looking to build on that, but Sunderland usually poses a very strong threat at home. Fortunately, that threat would be slightly negated by the rare home loss to Blackpool. Steve Bruce admitted after the match that his team did not deserve to win and he will be looking to make some changes in order to do so.

Despite suffering a demoralising defeat, Sunderland is still in contention for the Europa League places and even though Steve Bruce says that it is not in his mind, he will surely be welcoming something like that.

Steve Kean and the clubs owners faced a lot of backlash after taking over from Sam Allardyce, but they will have a chance to steady the ship against Sunderland. Blackburn will have to do without the services of Paul Robinson for this match, while Sunderland are missing Lee Cattermole and Asamoah Gyan.
Sunderland - Blackburn kicks off at 16:00 CET on the Stadium of Light

Tottenham v Fulham

Tottenham come on the back of two tough victories against Aston Villa and Newcastle United, in which they played with only ten men for most of the game. Harry Redknapp would have been delighted to see his team's resilience, but he will no doubt be wishing to have games that are easier in the future. He has exactly that, at least on paper tomorrow when they face Fulham at White Hart Lane.

Even though Fulham has just gotten out of the relegation zone, they are still short of confidence and Harry Redknapp will be looking to make the most out of it. Doing so would ensure that Tottenham will start the New Year in the top four as Chelsea does not play until Sunday.

However, Mark Hughes will certainly have other plans on his mind after his side’s great victory against Stoke City. The away win against Stoke City came at a time when Fulham was struggling even at home to get points and Mark Hughes will be looking to build on that with another away victory. However, the odds will certainly be against Mark Hughes as he is still missing Moussa Dembele. Tottenham is also without key players like Jermain Defoe and Younes Kaboul.
Tottenham - Fulham kicks off at 16:00 CET on White Hart Lane

West Ham v Wolves

West Ham United is certainly coming into some sort of form lately and they will be happy that this six pointer comes at the correct time for them. However, Mick McCarthy will certainly have other things on his mind after he masterminded his side's fantastic victory over Liverpool mid-week.

It was a defeat that was certainly unexpected by many and even though the victory did little to get them out of the relegation zone, it did give the Wolves great confidence to take into their next match. Also, Mick McCarthy will be confident from his last trip to Upton Park, which resulted in an impressive victory for the Midlanders.

West Ham has drawn two and won one of their previous matches and given that kind of form, they will be hoping for nothing less than a victory, but Avram Grant will know that it will be certainly difficult as West Ham has not managed to win at home for more than a month now.

A defeat for either team in this match would certainly be very damaging to their chances of survival in the Premier league and hence, many expect this match to be a cagey affair.
West Ham - Wolves kicks off at 16:00 CET on Boleyn Ground

Birmingham v Arsenal

Arsenal failed to carry the impressive performance that they put in against Chelsea into the match against Wigan Athletic. Hence, after the draw, they are back to square one and they will be looking to once again get to the top of the table by winning against Birmingham City.

But, it is easier said than done because Birmingham has one of the impressive home records in the Barclays Premier League and they have already beaten Chelsea and Tottenham, whilst drawing with Manchester United most recently.

Hence, Arsene Wenger will be ruing the fact that he made eight changes to his side against Wigan Athletic. Even though he stood by his decision after the game, it is expected that he will be putting up his strongest side against Birmingham City. That strongest side has been slightly weakened by the loss of Abou Diaby, who is injured yet again.

However, they have been boosted by the news that Cesc Fabregas will be back as he completed his suspension against Wigan Athletic. Birmingham City does not have any new injury worries, but they are still worried by the lack of goals.
Birmingham - Arsenal kicks off at 18:30 CET on St Andrew's stadium

Xavier - mysportshub.co.uk