EPL Saturday Match Previews: January 22, 2011

Joe LazarJan 21, 2011

Wolverhampton vs Liverpool

Wolves new boy Hammill could make his first start against the club where he first started out. Wolves' list of absentees is looking a little bit worse: Blake and Edwards are both out, giving Wolves a few more difficulties in choosing a side.

Wolves have lost more matches than anyone else in the Premiership this season, which is certainly not the most appealing of statistics to have attached to your side. In the last eight matches, Wolves have alternated between wins and losses consistently and assuming that continues then the result should be a win for Wolves.

Liverpool managed to claw back a draw against Everton last weekend and the side hardly looked convincing that they deserved the result that they got. The Reds may just find this match a little bit difficult even if in terms of class Wolves are more than a few steps below Liverpool.

Gerrard is still suspended, although this should be the last game that the Reds have to play without him. Wolves may actually be going into a match where they have an edge.

Arsenal vs Wigan

After having successfully knocking Leeds out of the FA Cup in what was something of a battle for the Gunners, they will be turning their attention to the Premiership. The home side should (in theory) be on for something of an easy win, but considering the trouble that they had dealing with Championship opposition it is hard to be quite so sure.

Arsenal have not lost any of their last five matches and the home side have managed to achieve the strongest attack in the division, scoring 45 goals in 22 matches. Arsenal also have the best defensive record since the turn of the new year.

Wigan have lost just one of their last seven matches. The Lactics have had the worst attack in the league to contrast the brilliant record that Arsenal currently have.

Wigan aren’t going to be looking at an easy match against Arsenal; in fact, coming away from this with a draw would be more than just a reasonable result—it would certainly be a valuable point. Wigan have lost their last eight matches to Arsenal and have only played against them 11 times.

Blackpool vs Sunderland

Blackpool have no new concerns in terms of injuries. Blackpool and Sunderland have both managed to do far better than they were expected to so far this season, with the two sides situated in the top half of the table when they were expected to spend most of the year locked in relegation battles.

Blackpool, of course, have been a very exciting team to watch even if their recent form has taken a turn for the worse with them losing four of their last five league matches.

Sunderland’s defensive record is pretty good at the moment, only the top four clubs have managed to concede fewer goals than the Blackcats and they certainly look like they could very well give Blackpool more than a few difficulties in this matchup.

In fact, they do look like the more likely team to come out of this with a win, although a draw seems like a much more plausible turn of events in this game.

Everton vs West Ham

Everton had a disappointing result at Anfield last weekend, when they managed to drop their lead to finish off with a draw against their bitter rivals Liverpool thanks to a dubious penalty.

The continued absence of Cahill is likely to put a damper on the Toffees attack, although they did manage to net two goals in a matter of minutes last weekend, so it wouldn’t be entirely impossible for them to inflict similar levels of upset to the Hammers, whose leaky defence has caused them so much heartache this season. Jagielka may make a return to the side although the fitness of Saha is still causing the Toffees some issues.

The Hammers debacle regarding the future of Grant has been nothing short of embarrassing for everyone involved. The dramatic "u turn" that the club's owners had over the decision to get rid of the manager has actually left him in a stronger position than he was before the PR disaster.

The Hammers have kept only two clean sheets all season and didn’t even manage to get a single shot on target against Everton in their last meeting. Everyone can see quite easily how this match is likely to end and it wont be good for the Hammers.

Fulham vs Stoke

Fulham may decide to give a first start to new signing Sidwell, following his arrival at the club from Aston Villa. Johnson is also likely to start after scoring in his appearance for the club last weekend. Both of the two sides have each won two of their five meetings in the Premiership, leaving their match history on level pegging.

Fulham’s seven points from their last four games is the best run of form that they have had all season, which is hardly as well as they would’ve expected to be doing at the end of last season. Fulham have not done a league double over the Potters since 1999, when they were both in the third tier of English football.

The Potters have had a peculiar run of form recently with the side alternating between victory and defeat in their last six matches.

Stoke have managed not to concede more than two goals in any of their matches this season, which is quite an achievement when you consider the amount of goals that some sides which are considered to be of a similar quality have let in over the term. This should be something of a close match considering neither of the two teams seems a great deal better than the other.

Manchester United vs Birmingham

Man United are missing Rafael at right back, although the fact that the team is far better than their opposition in terms of both form and overall class should see the Devils romp to victory without too much difficulty. After all, not too many teams go to Old Trafford and manage to win, never mind teams that can’t even beat the likes of the struggling Villans.

Birmingham are going to find this match difficult even if they are seeing the return of Jerome and Larsson, who missed their derby match last weekend. Foster will be returning to Old Trafford since his move to Birmingham.

In terms of form, the Blues have been a little bit dull recently, drawing four of their last seven matches. There seems to be little chance of the home side managing to get a win from this fixture, although a draw is not the most impossible turn of events, assuming that Birmingham can stay tight at the back.

Newcastle vs Tottenham

Carroll is still out with his thigh injury and Alan Smith faces another long-term absence after injuring his ankle against Sunderland. The home side are unbeaten in the league since the turn of the year, although whether or not their recent pick up in form sees them beating Tottenham is another matter. Tottenham have beaten Newcastle the last two times that these two sides played against each other.

Newcastle have actually been pretty good going forward despite having struggled a little bit with the fitness of the strikers. Only the top four clubs have got a better offensive record than Newcastle, so if nothing else this match could be exciting in terms of goals.

Tottenham have only managed to keep a single clean sheet away from home and that was the last match that they played. Tottenham are trying to stand up to a very good attacking side with a leaky away defence.

Aston Villa vs Manchester City

Darren Bent will make his debut and the Villans will be hoping that their record signing makes a serious impact as they certainly need to turn around their form and fast if they are going to avoid being thrown into an end of season relegation battle.

The Villans are level on points with Wigan, who are in the bottom three at the moment and could quite easily pass Villa. The home side is going to find this match very difficult, with Man City looking like a much stronger team. Villa have only won one of their last 10 league matches, taking six points from a possible 30. If they manage a win here it will certainly come as a surprise to most pundits.

Man City have a good chance of winning this match without too much difficulty at all. They demolished Villa when they played against them in December. City are expected to recall Barry, Dzeko and Toure, who all sat out in their FA Cup win over Leicester midweek.