EPL Midweek Previews for Jan. 4, 2011

Blackpool vs. Birmingham

Carney won’t be available to play seeing as he is starting his stint with the Australia squad in the Asia Cup and Grandin is unlikely to be risked as he was left out against Manchester City.

There are no other new absentees for Blackpool. This match could go in favour of Blackpool considering the fact that they have been pretty good at home this season, although this is their first home match since Nov. 20 due to all the problems that the stadium has had because of the recent weather issues in the UK.

The last time these two sides met Birmingham did have the fortune of winning, on the other hand Blackpool have not lost to Birmingham at Bloomsfield Road since 1960.

Birmingham have not managed an away win all season so they are the only team in the Premiership to have not managed three away points from a game this year, which speaks volumes for their chance of winning this match.

Added to which their recent form has been pretty poor, having won only one of their last 10 matches. With any luck though, this match will be another exciting Blackpool game to enjoy, from a neutral prospective if nothing else.

Fulham vs. West Brom

Fulham will be without first-choice keeper Schwarzer, who is yet another player to be absent due to the Asia Cup, which means that Stockdale will take his place between the goalposts for this matchup.

On the bright side though, Dembele may be fit enough to make an appearance for the home side. Fulham have not managed to win any of their last five home matches, although managing any win at all has been something of a task for Fulham recently, the home side's form this season has been terrible especially considering how well they did last season in Europe and what was expected of them by the fans.

West Brom will be without Ibenez and Reid, who were both forced off in the defeat to Manchester United. Last time these two sides met at the Hawthorns it was the match which propelled Brom into the top four, still that was an achievement short lived as the Baggies form has dipped since then. Still, out of the two sides, West Brom do look like the most likely to have it in them to manage a win from this fixture.

Man Utd vs. Stoke

This match is only ever going to go one way, short of a huge upset anyway, Manchester United at home to Stoke should be a no-brainer really. The fact is that United have a much better squad and the 11 men on the pitch are of a significantly higher quality than what the Potters have to rely on.

In fact, United haven’t lost to Stoke since 1984 and it has been over 36 years since they lost to Stoke when they were at home. In terms of recent form, the Devils have only not managed to win one of their last 12 home matches.

As if there wasn’t already enough of a precedent for the home side beating Stoke and to repeat an earlier point, this match is only ever going to go United’s way.

Stoke will not be looking forward to this match, the fact is that if they have any sense they will be playing for a draw as a win simply is not on the cards. Still, they are unbeaten after scoring first this season, so if they manage to nick the first goal who knows, they may just manage to surprise us all and get some points out of this.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores.