English Premier League: Week 5 Previews and Predictions

Another week has almost passed us by, and Saturday is quickly approaching for the first games of Round 5 action in the 2011-12 Barclays English Premier League.

Both clubs from Manchester continued their fine runs of form as they remain on the top of the pile. Chelsea found another way to victory, while Arsenal achieved their first win and Liverpool were handed their first loss.

This weekend sees some great top table matchups as of the table at the end of last season. Liverpool plays against Tottenham in a rematch of the game that cost the Reds Europa League action this season.

Manchester United and Chelsea have no doubt the biggest game of the week as the Blues will travel north to play in Old Trafford.

It looks to be another exciting and action-packed weekend of action in the Barclays Premier League, and it is sure to get your heart pumping and your blood moving.

Blackburn Rovers vs Arsenal

Blackburn Rovers played to a 1-1 draw against Fulham last weekend thanks to the Cottagers' Bobby Zamora equalizing just minutes after Ruben Rochina had put the away side 1-0 up at Craven Cottage. The draw saw Rovers drop to dead last in the EPL.

Arsenal were glad to relinquish their 17th place spot to another club as they finally achieved their first win of the season thanks to a grasp by Swansea City keeper Michel Vorm. The Gunners look like they are attempting to improve, but they are having way too hard of a time scoring, and they could still face a long climb back up the ladder.

Thomas Vermaelen is out for a while as is Jack Wilshere, and Aaron Ramsey is on the fence as far being available.

Match Prediction:

Arsenal continue to rebuild their confidence against weaker sides and take a 3-0 victory.

Predicted Lineups:

Blackburn Rovers Starting XI: Paul Robinson, Michel Salgado, Scott Dann, Chris Samba, Gael Givet, Steven Nzonzi, David Dunn, Mauro Formica, Ruben Rochina, David Goodwillie, David Hoilett

Arsenal Starting XI: Wojciech Szczęsny, Kieran Gibbs, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna, Mikel Arteta, Emmanuel Frimpong, Aaron Ramsey; Theo Walcott, Robin Van Persie, Andrei Arshavin

Players to Watch: Robin Van Persie has been hot all season and will hope to continue that form.

Aston Villa vs Newcastle United

Newcastle United are surprising many so far this season as Alan Pardew's new-look Magpies have been in great form as they sit in fourth place in the EPL on eight points.

Leon Best and Shola Ameobi have been just good enough up front, and the midfield and defense have been solid despite the loss of both Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan.

Aston Villa have also had a good run so far to start the season with a current eight position standing. They have done better than many might have imagined with Gabriel Agbonlahor starting the season in great form and helping to push them up the table.

Match Prediction:

Villa is tough at home but faces a determined Newcastle United, 2-2 draw.

Predicted Lineups:

Aston Villa Starting XI: Shay Given, Alan Hutton, James Collins, Richard Dunne, Stephen Warnock, Fabien Delph, Stiliyan Petrov, Jermaine Jenas, Charles N'Zogbia, Darren Bent, Gabriel Agbonlahor

Newcastle United Starting XI: Tim Krul, Danny Simpson, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Jonás Gutiérrez, Yohan Cabaye, Ismael Cheik Tioté, Gabriel Obertan, Leon Best, Shola Ameobi

Players to Watch: Agbonlahor has been top class so far this season and looks to get a goal.

Bolton Wanderers vs Norwich City

Bolton have had a tough road as of late, having fallen to the Manchester giants and Liverpool all in the last three weeks after starting the season with a great 4-0 win against Queens Park Rangers.

Wanderers have looked great on attack, but their finishing has let them down tremendously.

Their new additions Joey Barton, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Luke Young hope to keep the team up and moving forward.

Norwich, likewise, have been frustrated as they let a chance draw or surprise upset against Chelsea fade away and then fell again to West Bromwich Albion giving them their first win of the season.

Match Prediction:

Bolton make up for three straight losses, 3-1 Trotters.

Predicted Lineups:

Bolton Wanderers Starting XI: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Paul Robinson, Gary Cahill, Zat Knight, Dedryck Boyata, Nigel Reo-Coker, Martin Petrov, Fabrice Muamba, Chris Eagles, Kevin Davies, Ivan Klasnic

Norwich City Starting XI: Declan Rudd, Zak Whitbread, David Fox, Marc Tierney, Ritchie De Laet, Russell Martin, Andrew Crofts, Wesley Hoolahan, Andrew Surman, Steve Morison, Grant Holt

Players to Watch: David N'Gog could get his first goal as a Bolton player at some point.

Everton vs Wigan Athletic

Everton earned another point last week thanks to a draw between them and Aston Villa in what was an exciting game. The recent sale of Mikel Arteta has hurt the club in some ways, and it threatens to make them look like a complete selling club rather than the title challengers that they were in the 1980's.

Wigan Athletic have had a better start to the season than I believed they would, but their recent loss to Manchester City has seen them now also spiral out of the Carling Cup at the hands of lower division side Crystal Palace in the same week.

Both clubs need every point they can manage in order to avoid a relegation battle in the future. Everton should always fight for the top six, but that has not been the case lately while Wigan should at least be lower-mid table.

Match Prediction:

Everton take advantage of Wigan while they are down and take a 2-0 victory at Goodison Park.

Predicted Lineups:

Everton Starting XI: Tim Howard, Tony Hibbert, Sylvain Distin, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Marouane Fellaini, Phil Neville; Jack Rodwell, Tim Cahill, Leon Osman, Denis Stracqualursi

Wigan Athletic Starting XI: Ali Al Habsi, Adrián López Rodríguez, Maynor Figueroa, Gary Caldwell, Emmerson Boyce, James McCarthy, Ben Watson, Shaun Maloney, Victor Moses, Franco Di Santo, Hugo Rodallega

Players to Watch:Tim Cahill is always dangerous for Everton, and he has to be on the top of his game without Mikel Arteta around anymore.

Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich have finally escaped the basement thanks to a victory last week over Norwich City and Peter Odemwingie's first goal of the new campaign after he scored 15 last season. He should have had two but missed a penalty that would have ended the game with about 15 minutes to spare.

Swansea nearly took Arsenal to a draw if not for one bad moment. The Gunners threatened all day but a stout and organized Swansea side weathered the storm and just did not have the quality to pull one back on the day.

Both teams need this as they are sitting in the lower reaches, but Swansea are in the relegation zone.

Match Prediction:

Baggies cannot get through the Swans' tight defense and fall 1-0 in Wales.

Predicted Lineups:

Swansea City Starting XI: Michel Vorm, Neil Taylor, Steven Caulker, Ashley Williams, Angel Rangel, Nathan Dyer, Leon Britton, Kemy Agustien, Joe Allen, Danny Graham, Scott Sinclair

West Bromwich Albion Starting XI: Ben Foster, Jonas Olsson, Nicky Shorey, Gabriel Tamas, Steven Reid, Paul Scharner, James Morrison, Chris Brunt, Somen Tchoyi, Peter Odemwingie, Shane Long

Players to Watch: Michel Vorm, the keeper, is likely to be the difference for the Swans this season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Queens Park Rangers

Wolverhampton Wanderers will hope to bounce back from their first defeat of the season to Tottenham Hotspur last week. The month of August saw Wolves earn seven points out of nine, and Mick McCarthy's team looked the best they had in some time.

Queens Park Rangers will continue to mold their new-look squad this week, and I look to see Shaun Wright-Phillips start making his way to the starting 11 as they will need his speed on the wings or up front.

Joey Barton and Adel Taarabt could be a potentially deadly midfield for QPR once they get used to playing alongside one another. The vastly-improved squad for Neil Warnock should allow them to finish at least 15th or higher and keep them around for next season in the EPL unless they just fall apart.

Match Prediction:

Wolves bound back, but without Matt Jarvis they don't take another home win as they draw 1-1.

Predicted Lineups:

Wolverhampton Wanderers Starting XI: Wayne Hennessey, Stephen Ward, Christophe Berra, Roger Johnson, Richard Stearman, Michael Kightly, Jamie O'Hara, Karl Henry, Stephen Hunt, Kevin Doyle, Steven Fletcher

Queens Park Rangers Starting XI: Radek Cerny, Luke Young, Anton Ferdinand, Daniel Gabbidon, Armand Traore, Shaun Derry, Adel Taarabt, Joey Barton, Alejandro Damian Faurlin, D.J. Campbell, Shaun Wright-Phillips

Players to Watch:  Joey Barton and Shaun Wright-Phillips hope to be fortune changers for QPR.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool

Tottenham finally got off the line with a 2-0 victory last weekend. Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe both got on the score sheet to get Spurs out of the basement. It is still a long road for Harry Redknapp's team to get back to full form.

Liverpool were frustrated to no end as they dominated the game against Stoke City but ended up falling 1-0 at the Britannia.

Luis Suarez will hope to have a better showing, while Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson better step it up and show some quality after putting in some weak shifts against Stoke. Craig Bellamy should see some good time off the bench again.

Match Prediction:

Liverpool make up for their loss in a great back and forth match at White Hart Lane, 2-1 Reds.

Predicted Lineups:

Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI: Brad Friedel, Kyle Walker, Ledley King, Younes Kaboul, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Niko Kranjcar, Luka Modric, Scott Parker, Gareth Bale, Jermain Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor

Liverpool Starting XI: Pepe Reina, Martin Skrtel, Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, Jose Enrique, Lucas Leiva, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson, Dirk Kuyt, Luis Suarez, Stewart Downing

Players to Watch: Emmanuel Adebayor and Luis Suarez are the game changers for both sides at the moment.

Fulham vs Manchester City

Fulham continue to search for meaning as they just cannot seem to get all the pieces right in the league so far this season. They had a decent transfer season over the summer, and Martin Jol hopes that some of the club's form in preseason will come back to help them.

Manchester City continue to put goals in the back of the net. Sergio Aguero's hat trick last week proved he has what it takes to play up front on his own if supported by David Silva. Both Silva and Samir Nasri have been sensational when on the pitch for City.

Match Prediction:

The Citizens keep on rolling with a 3-0 victory at Craven Cottage.

Predicted Lineups:

Fulham Starting XI: Mark Schwarzer, Aaron Hughes, Brede Hangeland, Philippe Senderos, John Arne Riise, Damien Duff, Danny Murphy, Steven Sidwell, Clint Dempsey, Bryan Ruiz, Bobby Zamora.

Manchester City Starting XI: Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott, Gaël Clichy, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, Adam Johnson, Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko

Players to Watch: Silva and Nasri are proving to be the death of any team as they have owned the midfield, allowing their strikers easy goals in many cases.

Sunderland vs Stoke City

Stoke City have a chance to jump into the top four if they beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. They beat Liverpool at home last weekend and are proving that they are more than up for any challenge so far this season.

Sunderland are faltering since their season-opening draw, and the loss of Asamoah Gyan is puzzling on all fronts as he looked a necessary component of Steve Bruce's side this season.

Phillip Bardsley's suspension could see John O'Shea make his first start for the Black Cats as they need a result this weekend

Match Prediction:

Stoke keep rolling with another win 2-1 over Sunderland.

Predicted Lineups:

Sunderland Starting XI: Simon Mignolet, John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Titus Bramble, Kieran Richardson, Sebastian Larsson, Lee Cattermole, Jack Colback, Craig Gardner, Stephane Sessegnon, Nicklas Bendtner

Stoke City Starting XI: Thomas Sorensen, Matthew Upson, Ryan Shawcross, Robert Huth, Marc Wilson, Jermaine Pennant, Rory Delap, Wilson Palacios, Matthew Etherington, Peter Crouch, Jonathan Walters

Players to Watch: Nicklas Bendtner and Peter Crouch both are looking to open their accounts.

Game of the Week: Manchester United vs Chelsea

Chelsea got their Champions League campaign off to a good start with a victory midweek, and now they look to take their few game-winning streak to Old Trafford. Fernando Torres will hope to have put his frustrating few weeks behind him as his career at Stamford Bridge has come into question.

Manchester United suffered their first draw of the season midweek, but their league form is outstanding and should see this to be one of the best games of the season so far.

Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young and Javier Hernandez are all on fire while Phil Jones has been a sensation from the back, creating goals left and right in the last few weeks.

Raul Meireles will look to be the difference maker for Torres just as Juan Mata will, as they know if they can get the Spaniard on the goal trail he might just make the league his own once more.

Match Prediction:

The Blues just can't get the best of United, 3-2 at Old Trafford.

Predicted Lineups:

Manchester United Starting XI: David De Gea, Chris Smalling, Jonathan Evans, Phil Jones, Patrice Evra, Ashley Young, Tom Cleverly, Anderson, Nani, Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney

Chelsea Starting XI: Petr Cech, Jose Bosingwa, John Terry, David Luiz, Ashley Cole, Juan Mata, Frank Lampard, John Obi Mikel, Raul Meireles, Fernando Torres, Daniel Sturridge

Players to Watch: Raul Meireles and Phil Jones are the ones who could make the biggest difference if they contribute what they have proven to be capable of in the past.