EPL Previews: Fulham and West Brom In Relegation Dogfight at Craven Cottage

Fulham vs. West Brom

This is a clash between two teams that come into the game in the worst possible manner, with Fulham once again back in the drop zone and West Brom fresh from a defeat at the hands of Manchester United. While drawing matches has been the problem for Fulham, the Baggies recently have found it difficult to score goals at the right time.

West Brom played well against Manchester United throughout the match, but had they scored the penalty, along with being more clinical with their other chances, they would have come away from the match with all three points. However, as it is, West Brom is at the bottom of the form table going into this match and so is Fulham.

Mark Hughes will be hoping that they get something out of this game, because failure to do so will result in the gap between them and safety stretching out.

West Brom is now just three points above the drop zone and Roberto di Matteo will be very cautious about not ending up in the slog war that is the relegation battle. Mark Schwarzer is the major casualty for Fulham, as he joins up with the Australian team for the Asian Cup.

Fulham vs. West Brom kicks off at 21:00 CET on Craven Cottage.

Blackpool vs. Birmingham

Blackpool will be hosting the first game at Bloomfield Road in over a month, and they could not have asked for a better fixture as they prepare to host a struggling Birmingham City side.

Blackpool has been promising as of late, but their last defeat against Manchester City did not do them any favours. If you thought that Blackpool's situation worsened as a result of the Manchester City defeat, Birmingham City is in an even deeper mire after a 3-0 home loss to Arsenal put them into the bottom three for the first time this season.

However, Alex McLeish will be confident going into this match, having already beaten Blackpool in the reverse fixture this season. If they can repeat that result, then Birmingham's troubles will be put aside for at least one week.

Even though Blackpool is in a comfortable position at 11th place in the Premier League table, Ian Holloway will be hoping to avoid consecutive defeats within one week. David Carney is the prominent absentee for Blackpool, while James McFadden is still not back for Birmingham City. However, that aside, McLeish has a full strength squad to put out.

Blackpool vs. Birmingham kicks off at 21:00 CET on Bloomfield Road.

Man Utd vs. Stoke City

Manchester United will be very happy to come back to Old Trafford once again, as they have endured a torrid time away from home this season. The weekend victory against West Brom was just one win among a sea of draws, which does not make for good reading if the club wants to challenge for the title.

Stoke City has also been unspectacular over the past few months, and Tony Pulis has not been able to put in a steady run of results. Hence, they find themselves unable to challenge Sunderland and Bolton for the European qualification places.

Alex Ferguson will be boosted by the return of Wayne Rooney on the scoring sheet, but he has revealed that Rooney will be facing a late fitness test in order to determine his participation in the game. Likewise, Patrice Evra is also a doubt for this game. Stoke City has been boosted by the return of Robert Huth, who returns to the side after a one-game suspension. Apart from the injury to Mamady Sidibe, Pulis has a full-strength squad to play in this match.

Man Utd vs. Stoke kicks off at 21:00 CET on Old Trafford.

Xavier @ mysportshub.co.uk