EPL Preview: Will Spurs Hand out Another Away Drubbing for QPR?

Sunderland vs. Aston Villa

After enjoying a rather good start to the season under Alex McLeish, Aston Villa have suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this season. It has now been just one win in seven matches for McLeish, which will certainly not bode well with the supporters who were angry about his appointment in the first place.

Scoring was the main problem at the start of the season for Sunderland, but it does seem to have gradually improved. The team have scored a minimum of two goals in each of their last five matches.

However, failing to keep a clean sheet has cost them dearly in three of the last five matches. Steve Bruce will be keen to get more clean sheets under the bag, especially as they face relegation-threatened opponents in their next five fixtures.

The 2-0 win over Bolton may have taken Sunderland out of the drop zone, but the threat of falling back into it still remains, as they are just three points above 17th-place Bolton.

The same applies to Steve Bruce's job security; he came extremely close to getting sacked, but such a threat still remains.

Swansea vs. Bolton

Swansea looked extremely comfortable after scoring two goals in last weekend's match against Wolverhampton. However, Brendan Rodgers could have been extremely disappointed to have conceded two goals in the final 10 minutes to ultimately draw the match.

Even though it represented their first points away from home, it would have been a magnificent victory had they held on to the advantage. Still, they have the home match against Bolton to look forward to, as it represents a great chance to get three points on the board. Swansea have been excellent at home this season, with the team yet to lose a match at the Liberty Stadium.

Bolton, on the other hand, have been rather disappointing this season, and the 3-1 away win over Wigan now looks to be a mere flash in the pan. With just one win in the last two months, Bolton are desperately short of confidence, and injuries have certainly not helped them either.

Still, Owen Coyle will hope to bring back something from the Swansea game, which would do a world of good for the safety of his job. He is without a doubt one of the managers under extreme pressure to deliver results right now.

Wigan vs. Fulham

After turning down the Aston Villa job in the summer, Roberto Martinez finds himself in the firing line. Wigan have been extremely disappointing—more than in previous seasons, as they now have gone without a win in both September and October.

The situation looks even more desperate as they face relegation-threatened opponents in their next few fixtures in the worst possible manner. Confidence is likely at a rock bottom within the Wigan dressing room, and Martinez will wonder if his side can get an unlikely victory in the next few matches.

Fulham have been very inconsistent this season. Just a few weeks after their thumping 6-0 win over QPR, Fulham have lost three matches on the bounce. It has always been extremely difficult to predict Fulham, and things do not seem to have changed even after the arrival of Martin Jol.

He should definitely be one of them managers under intense scrutiny as the much-anticipated Christmas time arrives. Undoubtedly, the Europa League has drained Fulham already, and they once again have to prepare for a midweek Europa League match. It is unlikely that Wigan will get a better opportunity to take three points.

West Brom vs. Liverpool

After a good start to this season, Liverpool have slightly faltered in the last few weeks. Liverpool looked like title challengers after the first few games of the season, but they now have slipped to the sixth position behind Newcastle and Tottenham.

They failed to take advantage of Tottenham's poor start to the season early on and, as a result of it, find themselves a point behind the Londoners while having played a game more. The 1-1 draw with Norwich, though, is probably a game they would have won on any other day.

Liverpool would have surely worked on their finishing in order to be more clinical. It was particularly evident in the midweek League Cup match against Stoke. Kenny Dalglish played a relatively strong side against Stoke with a view of bringing back some form into the team.

It definitely seemed to have a positive effect after Luis Suarez scored a brace. Andy Carroll failed to deliver once again, and he is expected to start on the bench for the match against West Brom.

West Brom come into the match on the back of two derby wins, and confidence will certainly be high at the Hawthorns.

Tottenham vs. QPR

After conceding eight goals in their opening two matches, Tottenham have come a long way, and they are now one of the favourites for Champions League qualification ahead of Liverpool and Arsenal.

The team has been on an extremely good run recently, with just one draw in their last six matches. Despite injuries to key players, Tottenham have been able to keep the good run going, and they will be extremely confident of getting all three points against QPR.

This will be the second of the tough matches for QPR, after which they get ready to face relegation-threatened opponents.

QPR will be extremely pointed after the 1-0 win over Chelsea last weekend, but the second half did anything but inspire confidence. QPR lost their last away match by six goals, which would be something that Neil Warnock would be keen to avoid against Harry Redknapp's men.

A win against QPR would put Tottenham level on points with Newcastle United, who have played a game more than the Londoners. The three points secured against Chelsea have pushed QPR out of the relegation threat as of now, but any sort of a defeat against Spurs would bring them back into the fold.

Jann - Footybay.Com