EPL: Midweek Matches Previews for Jan. 5, 2011

Arsenal vs. Man City

Arsenal have no new injury concerns, and it is expected that Arsene Wenger will play the same squad rather than risking rotating the squad against City. The Gunners are coming off the back of winning successive home games, although they have not yet managed to win three in a row all season and City are bound to put up stiff competition.

On the other hand, Arsenal have a pretty good record when it comes to this fixture with City not having ever won at the Emirates. The last time Arsenal lost at home to City was at Highbury in 1975, although the away side have come a very long way in the last few years.

City are going to be without Balotelli, again, due to a swollen knee. David Silva is also absent with a knee injury similar to Balotelli’s. City have the second best away record in the league this season, second only to their opposition in this match. Defensively, City have a brilliant record, having kept 10 clean sheets this season, which is more than any other club in the Premiership.

Man City, in theory, could come away from this with a win although the odds are swinging in Arsenal’s favour.

Aston Villa vs. Sunderland

Aston Villa should see the return of Agbonlahor and the forward's comeback could see Aston Villa’s attack actually materialise some sort of bite going forward, although with the way they have been playing recently, it will probably take more than the return of one player.

Young and Delph will still remain sidelined, despite rumours that they may have been fit for this match. The home side have only managed to win one of their last eight matches and have looked like a team in turmoil; they can’t seem to hold on to a lead, having dropped 14 points from winning positions already this season. It will take some really good fortune if they are to manage a win from this match.

Sunderland managed a pretty good win in their last match, not as if that will have come as much of a surprise considering the way they have been playing this season. They have not lost a single match where they have scored first.

Oddly enough, the Black Cats have been playing quite poorly against bottom half opposition, only winning three of the matches that they have had against sides in that half of the table this season. However, against Villa, they should have little problem getting the three points.

Newcastle vs. West Ham

Newcastle are once again without Carroll, who will not be back until their next match; however, Ameobi is likely to take his place again and doesn’t look to be doing too badly recently. They will also be without Sol Campbell due to injury.

Newcastle’s recent home form has been pretty bad and yet they have managed to position themselves fairly well in the table. They have suffered more home defeats than any other side in the Premiership this season and despite having to score a respectable amount (20 goals in 10 matches), they have managed to lose four times. Losing to West Ham would be nothing short of an embarrassment.

West Ham will give late fitness tests to Behrami and Jacobsen, although it is unlikely that either of the players will be fit enough to play against Newcastle. The Hammers' recent performances have been better than they have been for the rest of the season; however, it still doesn’t seem likely that they will be good enough to topple Newcastle on their home turf. Beating teams like Wolves is a step in the right direction. Is it really enough to say that they are gaining some sort of form? Not necessarily.

Wolverhampton vs Chelsea

Wolves are going to be without a number of key players, including Doyle and Caddock, due to their respective thigh injuries. This doesn’t do them any favours when they are facing some of the stiffest competition in the Premiership, and they couldn’t even manage to beat West Ham in their last home match. The fact is that they are nowhere near as good a side as Chelsea, and despite Chelsea’s recent run of abysmal form, they are not very likely to manage a win.

Chelsea are not looking too good recently; they only managed a draw against league strugglers Aston Villa, despite scoring three goals. On the bright side for Chelsea’s defence, the home side should see the return of Ivanovic to help to sure up the defence which didn’t exactly perform spectacularly last week. Chelsea have won just one of their last eight matches in the Premiership, and this is a team which was tipped to win the league this year.

Blackburn vs Liverpool

Blackburn captain Samba has recovered from the ankle problem which has kept him out of his last three matches. On the other hand, Emerton is on international duty and Kalinic is suspended. Blackburn’s list of absentees is quite extensive and after the pounding they had in their last match, it looks like it is starting to show. Since Kean took over, Blackburn have failed to win any of their home matches. Allardyce, on the other hand, had won his last three home games. Blackburn’s main problem seems to be their inability to turn a match around; they are the only team in the Premiership not to win a match from a losing position.

Liverpool will see Gerrard return to the starting lineup, and although the Reds won their last league game, it will be interesting to see how they fare away from home to Blackburn. On paper, they are the better side, although what we’ve seen this season is that apparently how good the side is doesn’t always seem to make a blind bit of difference to the results that have been achieved. Still, Liverpool could and should pick up some much needed away points from this match and at least manage a draw.

Bolton vs Wigan

Bolton will see the return of Robinson, which is good news considering anybody returning to the side is a massive step in the right direction, with the home side being so riddled with injuries at the moment. They have suffered four defeats in their last six matches, a distinct sign of their suffering from having most of their team absent at the moment.

On the other hand, they have only suffered one defeat at home all season and that was against Liverpool, who have done the double over Coyle’s men this season. Despite the fact that their home record is pretty good, they still have only managed to keep two clean sheets there all season.

Wigan were also beaten on the weekend; their loss ended a four match unbeaten run and extinguished the spark just as it was starting to make its way back into their season. The Lactics could well lose back-to-back matches for the fourth time this season; they are not known particularly well for their away form or for doing well against Bolton. In fact, they have not actually beaten Bolton since 2008. This does not bode well for their chances of achieving a decent result.

Everton vs Tottenham

Traditionally speaking, Everton do not exactly do very well at home against Tottenham; in fact, they have not beaten them at home since 2004, which is actually a record for the amount of matches since a top-flight team has beaten another Premiership side at home, hardly prestigious.

There is also the matter of Everton’s golden boy, Tim Cahill, who will not be playing in this match due to the Asian Cup, where he will be on international duty with Australia. Any Everton fan will let out a sigh of despair at this fact, as Cahill has been instrumental in just about every Everton win this season and has scored more goals than any of the side’s strikers. A win here will take something very special on behalf of the Toffees.

Tottenham are on startling good form, something of a contrast to the Merseysiders. The only worry that they have is that they may be without Gallas and Hutton after the defenders picked up injuries against Fulham. This could be a concern when you take into account that their recent jump in form was largely due to their defensive stability so this match is probably going to go in Tottenham’s way.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores