EPL Saturday Match Previews: Jan 15, 2011

Chelsea vs Blackburn

Chelsea has no new injury concerns, but considering the fact that in their last league match they lost at home to Wolves with pretty much the same side, it's certainly debatable as to whether that will make any difference at all. The Blues season seems to have been riddled with embarrassments.

Since the start of the season when they were on such impressive form, they have managed to slip out of the top four, and nothing short of a complete turnaround in performance will be enough to get them back on track for the title and keep Carlo Ancelotti’s job safe.

Blackburn fans will be grinning from ear to ear about this match. Normally playing away against Chelsea would result in a loss, however playing against Chelsea at the moment seems to mean quite the opposite.

The odds are that Blackburn could come away from this with all three points, after all if Wolves can then there is no reason why they shouldn’t. Still, Chelsea’s demolition of Ipswich in the FA Cup could well be enough to turn things around for the struggling side. Blackburn hasn't won any of their last seven visits to Stamford Bridge, a figure that they will be eager to turn around.

Man City vs Wolverhampton

New signing Edin Dzeko could make a start, although it seems quite unlikely, despite Mario Balotelli being absent for another four weeks. David Silva has recovered from his knee injury and is likely to be slipped straight back into the starting lineup.

City has kept three clean sheets from their last three league matches and the home side has shown no signs of weakness at the back. Against Wolves they shouldn’t have any difficulty keeping the strikers at bay. The last time these two sides met earlier in the season Wolves did manage to win, although Man City has not lost two matches to Wolves in the same season since 1962 and they are a much better side than they were back then. One would have to assume that the smart money is on City.

Wolves have just come off the back of a win against Chelsea albeit a Chelsea who don’t look much like the title contenders that they are meant to be. With some bolstered confidence, who knows what the away side will be capable of, especially when you take into account that they’ll be seeing the return of Jody Craddock and Steven Mouyokolo.

Stoke vs Bolton

Stoke is going to be without new boy and former Bolton star Eidur Gudjohnsen, who has been ruled out with a neck injury. Tuncay Sanli is expected to return to his usual position, although Mamady Sidibe is still ruled out due to injury.

Stoke’s recent home form has been something of a cause for concern, with the home side only managing one win from the last four matches on their own turf, something which they really need to deal with quickly if they are to push for a credible finish this season. They have lost their last two meetings with Bolton and they do look slightly worse than the visitors in terms of their recent performances, although this should be a close match.

Bolton will struggle here even if they have managed to make it into the higher reaches of the Premiership. Their away form has been pretty bleak and they have not managed to take a single point from their last four away games. Bolton’s problems seem to be largely defensive, having only managed to keep two clean sheets all season. If they can strike first then they should have no problems with this, on the other hand things could quite easily go horribly wrong for Bolton.

West Brom vs Blackpool

West Brom will give a debut start to Boaz Myhill in place of Captain Scott Carson. They will also be missing Peter Odemwingie due to his ankle injury.

Brom is on a pretty bad losing streak at the moment, having lost all of their last five league matches. The home side is really struggling now and contrary to what was expected at the start of the season, Blackpool is not an easy team to play against.

Whilst the Baggies may be undefeated in their last ten matches against the Seasiders, this is a different ball game than most of the times that they’ve played against them recently. The fact is Blackpool has shown themselves to be a pretty good side and could easily take away the three points.

"Blackpool? Who knows what will happen..." That is pretty much the only statement that you can match with this team this season.

The fact is sometimes they play like title contenders and in other matches play like the relegation candidates that everyone expected them to be. They’ve been pretty good away from home, having kept five clean sheets and racking up a significant amount of points. They’re not far off from being statistically safe from relegation.

Wigan vs Fulham

Charles N’Zogbia has made something of a timely return from his three match ban seeing as Wigan will need him to replace the recently injured Tom Cleverly, who has been ruled out for at least a month due to a hamstring injury.

Chris Kirkland will undergo a late fitness test after suffering what appears to have been a nasty crack to his head in the last league match against Bolton. Wigan has the worst home record in the top flight so far this season, only averaging a solitary point per match. They have drawn four of their last six league matches and don’t look likely to set the league alight any time soon.

Fulham should see the return of Andrew Johnson and Dembele which could see them romp to victory if things get off to a good start for them.

Recently, Fulham has managed to string together a half decent run of form, having won three of their last four matches. Fulham may well manage an away victory in this match with the home side on such poor recent form, even though Wigan tends to do quite well at home against Fulham.

West Ham vs Arsenal

West Ham should be giving Wayne Bridge his debut since he signed on loan from Chelsea. Still, even with a bolstered defence, this match is not likely to be an enjoyable experience for the home side.

The Hammers look like they’d struggle against a bunch of school boys with the standard of football that they have been playing the last few weeks, never mind against Arsenal, a team which is widely regarded as one of England’s best. The battering that they received at the hands of Newcastle demonstrated not only how shoddy their defence has been but also their lack of gumption going forward.

Arsenal should be looking forward to this match, after all this should be an easy three points, especially when you consider the fact that they will be valuable away points.

They were held to a draw in their last league match, although against Manchester City that is nothing to be ashamed of. On the other hand, Arsenal has not been on a great run of form, having won only one of their last five matches in all competitions. Arsenal has scored more away goals than any other team this season and against West Ham they will get more than a couple more.

Joe - livescoredaily.com - live scores