EPL: Can Manchester United Recover from Its Mini-Slump?

Manchester United vs Everton

Everton will be hoping to utilise the confidence that they have secured from the two consecutive away victories to finally inflict a home defeat for Man Utd this season.

So far, Man Utd have dropped only two points at home, which came about in the draw with West Brom. However, they do not come into the match against Everton in the best of forms after having just drawn with Newcastle. It has allowed Chelsea to get back into the title race, but they can edge closer to the title with a victory over Everton.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been stating that winning the title is in their hands and winning against Everton will be the first step to do so. The upcoming matches against Arsenal and Chelsea will become extremely tough for Man Utd should they drop any more points between now and those crucial matches, which come about during early May.

Everton are expected to be without Marouane Fellaini and Louis Saha once again, while Man Utd will be boosted by the return of Paul Scholes from suspension. Rio Ferdinand's return is expected to boost the defence. Man Utd can increase their lead to nine points with a victory.

Tottenham vs West Brom

Tottenham are still with a chance of catching Man City in the fourth position, despite the poor results that they have been getting in the last few weeks. They have been partly helped by Man City's form, which has not been too good either.

Even though they had a rousing draw with Arsenal midweek, it still gave them only one point. It has not improved their league position and anymore dropped points will result in Man City opening up a gap. West Brom need only one point to get to the magical 40-point mark, which will almost guarantee them safety.

They have been extremely good ever since Roy Hodgson took over, albeit from their last match in which they were defeated by Chelsea. Incidentally, it was Roy Hodgson's first defeat as West Brom manager and Harry Redknapp will have the chance to inflict his second.

Even though Tottenham have seen a number of players return from the injury table, they still will be without the defensive linchpin and captain, Ledley King. West Brom will be hoping for a magic from Peter Odemwingie once again, who has become West Brom's best scorer in the top flight.

Chelsea vs West Ham

Man Utd's unlikely draw with Newcastle along with Chelsea's victory over Birmingham has meant that Chelsea are once again back into the title race, with a slim chance of winning the title still existing.

Even though Man Utd are a massive six points ahead of Chelsea with only five games remaining, two of them are against Arsenal and Chelsea. Also, Man Utd do not hold a significant advantage in the goal difference stakes, which also improves the chances of Chelsea beginning an unlikely title challenge.

However, before any beginning, Carlo Ancelotti's men will have to beat West Ham before dreaming of a title challenge. It could prove to be one of the easiest tasks based on West Ham's form in recent weeks, as it has been terrible.

As a result, the mini revival that happened a few weeks ago seems to have disappeared and West Ham are back into the relegation zone. However, given the slightly better goal difference, they can edge closer to safety with only a point at Stamford Bridge. However, the recent form of Didier Drogba will suggest it will be extremely difficult. Chelsea will be without Ramires and Alex, while Stanislas is the only injury worry for West Ham.

Bolton vs Arsenal

Arsenal have once again proved that they consistently fail just at the time when it matters after they let a two-goal lead slip against Tottenham in the midweek round of fixtures. It has meant that Chelsea have overtaken Arsenal into the second place, which only adds to the misery for Arsene Wenger.

The incredible number of points that Arsenal have thrown away from a position of relative comfort is really astonishing, but will provide comfort for Bolton even if they let Arsenal take the lead.

The chances of Arsenal winning the title has not been ruled out by Arsene Wenger just yet, but many bookmakers and pundits have already ruled them out from putting an end to their trophy drought. Even though Arsenal might be on a 15 game unbeaten run, they have just won only two of their last 10 matches, which does not make a good reading for any team chasing the title.

Bolton will be looking to recover from their horrendous loss to Stoke in the FA Cup semifinal, which has led to a number of players coming out with apologies. They are expected to put in a strong performance against Arsenal to erase those memories.

Blackburn vs Man City

The slide down the table, which started during the end of January, does not seem to have ended just yet for Blackburn after they are just two points away from the relegation zone. It is an incredible slide and Sam Allardyce will be feeling extremely good about it given the way that he was sacked only after a few weeks of the takeover by Blackburn's new owners.

The rapid slide down the table is going to be extremely difficult to recover this weekend at least as they will be facing a Man City side that is going to be buoyant after the victory over Man Utd in the FA Cup semifinal.

It will see Man City entering into the FA Cup final after a long gap, which is going to put every single player of the Man City squad on their best form to be in the starting eleven of the final.

This is expected to only decrease the chances of Steve Kean getting an unlikely victory, despite this match being at Ewood Park. The injuries to Ryan Nelsen and Grella are expected to make the situation even worse for Blackburn. Carlos Tevez will be missing yet again for Man City.

Jan