English Premier League: Week 14 Previews and Predictions

The tragic loss of Gary Speed overshadowed the end of last week's English Premier League Week 13 matchups. Some players, such as Liverpool's Craig Bellamy, were even so distraught that they were dropped from their club's lineup for the day on emotional grounds.

In Liverpool, manager Kenny Dalglish's press conference before the Manchester City game aired on Liverpoolfc.tv. He expressed sympathy for both the Speed family and Bellamy, who considered the Welsh manager one of his closest friends and mentors. In the word of Dalglish, "Some things are more important than football," and for once Bill Shankly might have made an exception to his famous quote:

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"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

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Aside from the weekend's sad sendoff, there were some great matches and interesting results. Liverpool dominated Manchester City at Anfield but unfortunately came away with only a draw, just as they did against Manchester United. The sending off of Mario Balotelli gave Liverpool an opening, but the amazing play of keeper Joe Hart kept City from going down.

Manchester United likewise was frustrated with a draw against Newcastle thanks to a poorly called penalty awarded from Rio Ferdinand's tackle in the box. The Magpies will be happy but the Red Devils scorned after losing the chance to retake ground on their cross-town rivals at the top of the table.

Wolverhampton lost 3-0 to Chelsea, giving the Blues a slight boost before Liverpool beat them again at Stamford Bridge to knock them out of the Carling Cup, just over a week after beating them at home in the league. Norwich City took down fellow promoted club Queens Park Rangers, while Arsenal suffered a setback and saw their winning streak snapped in their draw with Fulham.

Aston Villa failed to score once again, and Swansea City claimed another point and another draw to maintain their strong start to the season. Both Bolton and Blackburn lost once again, while Wigan finally earned two results in a row as they have taken four points from their last six.

All in all, a decent weekend of football before we kick of the last month of the 2011 campaign. Teams are charging for the halfway point before the January transfer window opens up in 2012.

Newcastle United vs. Chelsea

Newcastle restored some of their faith in themselves with a draw at Old Trafford despite the questionable call gifting it to them. They will face one of two Chelsea teams this weekend: One that destroys them, or one that is still sulking from another loss to Liverpool.

The Blues have had a tough run of it, and Andre Villas-Boas has to rally his troops if he is going to get his squad back together and on track, as they face another hard run of games in the first part of December.

Match Prediction: Newcastle 1 - 2 Chelsea

Predicted Newcastle United Starting XI: Tim Krul, Danny Simpson, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Gabriel Obertan, Yohan Cabaye, Ismael Cheik Tioté, Hatem Ben Arfa, Leon Best, Demba Ba

Predicted Chelsea Starting XI: Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Alex, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Raul Meireles, Juan Mata, Ramires, Flourent Malouda, Didier Drogba

Players to Watch: Demba Ba and Didier Drogba

Blackburn Rovers vs. Swansea City

Blackburn Rovers were eliminated from the Carling Cup by Cardiff City on Tuesday afternoon and will have to focus all their attention on trying to climb out of the EPL basement.

Swansea City are the first club in Rovers way, as the opening weekend of December is nearly upon us, but the Welsh club will have aspirations of their own. Nothing less than a return to the top flight is in their plans.

Match Prediction: Blackburn 2 - 2 Swansea City

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

Predicted 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

Players to Watch: Ruben Rochina and Danny Graham

Manchester City vs. Norwich City

Manchester City got to the semifinal round of the Carling Cup with a victory over Arsenal on Tuesday and will get the chance to take on Liverpool once again in hopes of progressing to the final. But before that, they have to battle Norwich City at the Etihad this weekend.

The Canaries have been much better than anyone thought they would be and are a team capable of surprise results. However, there is little likelihood that they will defeat City in front of their home fans.

Match Prediction: Manchester City 3 - 1 Norwich City

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

Predicted Norwich City Starting XI: John Ruddy, Leon Barnett, Kyle Naughton, Marc Tierney, Russell Martin, Bradley Johnson, David Fox, Wesley Hoolahan, Anthony Pilkington, Grant Holt, Steve Morison

Players to Watch: Edin Dzeko and Grant Holt

Queens Park Rangers vs. West Bromwich Albion

Queens Park Rangers suffered a setback last week with a loss to Norwich City, but they will hope to rebound against West Bromwich Albion.

WBA were frustrated by a loss of their own, as Tottenham took them to the cleaners. Roy Hodgson will hope that they can leapfrog QPR into the middle of the pack with a victory.

Match Prediction: QPR 2 - 2 WBA

Predicted Queens Park Rangers Starting XI: Patrick Kenny, Luke Young, Anton Ferdinand, Clint Hill, Armand Traore, Shaun Derry, Joey Barton, Alejandro Damian Faurlin, Jay Bothroyd, Heidar Helguson, Shaun Wright-Phillips

Predicted West Bromwich Albion Starting XI: Ben Foster, Billy Jones, Jonas Olsson, Gareth McAuley, Steven Reid, Paul Scharner, Graham Dorrans, Chris Brunt, Jerome Thomas, Somen Tchoyi, Peter Odemwingie

Players to Watch: Heidar Helguson and Peter Odemwingie

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Bolton Wanderers

Tottenham Hotspur are rolling closer to the summit of the league with each weekend, as another victory last week pushed them to a strong third place.

Bolton Wanderers can't buy a win, and with their current status they are in the drop zone still. It is not likely that they are going to upset Spurs in this clash.

Match Prediction: Tottenham 3 - 0 Bolton

Predicted Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI: Brad Friedel, Kyle Walker, Younes Kaboul, Ledley King, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Luka Modric, Scott Parker, Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon, Jermaine Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor

Predicted 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

Players to Watch: Emmanuel Adebayor and Chris Eagles

Wigan Athletic vs. Arsenal

Wigan have drawn and won their last two matches and have given some renewed hope to a chance of staying up, however unlikely.

Arsenal were eliminated from the Carling Cup for their first loss after a great run of form that saw them line up back-to-back wins for most of the last two months, but now their dip in form could see them be vulnerable to a surprise.

Match Prediction: Wigan 1 - 2 Arsenal

Predicted Wigan Athletic Starting XI: Ali Al Habsi, Gary Caldwell, Anton Alvarez, Maynor Figueroa, Emmerson Boyce, Albert Crusat, David Jones, Ben Watson, Mohamed Diame, Victor Moses, Hugo Rodallega

Predicted Arsenal Starting XI: Wojciech Szczęsny, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Thomas Vermaelen, Andre Santos, Mikel Arteta, Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey; Gervinho, Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott

Players to Watch: Hugo Rodallega and Robin Van Persie

Aston Villa vs. Manchester United

Aston Villa were held to their seventh draw of the season against Swansea last weekend as they failed to score for the second straight weekend.

Manchester United continued their frustrations with a draw against Newcastle at home last weekend and a Wednesday evening extra-time elimination from the Carling Cup at the hands of Crystal Palace.

The Red Devils are in desperate need of some victories to solidify their place in the top two of the table.

Match Prediction: Aston Villa 0 - 1 Manchester United

Predicted Aston Villa Starting XI: Shay Given, Alan Hutton, James Collins, Richard Dunne, Stephen Warnock, Chris Herd, Stiliyan Petrov, Emile Heskey, Charles N'Zogbia, Darren Bent, Gabriel Agbonlahor

Predicted Manchester United Starting XI: David De Gea, Phil Jones, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Ji-Sung Park, Darren Fletcher, Anderson, Nani, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez

Players to Watch: Gabriel Agbonlahor and Javier Hernandez

Everton vs. Stoke City

Everton manager David Moyes admitted this week in an ESPNsoccernet article that his team is without a top-class goal scorer. It seems he caught up with what everyone else already knew. Despite that fact, the Toffees have two straight wins on the bounce as they prepare to host Stoke City.

The Potters, on the other hand, finally got back to winning ways against Blackburn over the weekend with a 3-1 victory, but their Europa League tie on Thursday night will once again tire some of their primary players before the match with Everton.

Match Prediction: Everton 2 - 1 Stoke City

Predicted Everton Starting XI: Tim Howard, Tony Hibbert, Sylvain Distin, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman, Royston Drenthe, Jack Rodwell, Tim Cahill, Leon Osman, Louis Saha

Predicted Stoke City Starting XI: Asmir Begovic, Marc Wilson, Jonathan Woodgate, Ryan Shawcross, Andy Wilkinson, Jermaine Pennant, Rory Delap, Wilson Palacios, Matthew Etherington, Peter Crouch, Jonathan Walters

Players to Watch: Louis Saha and Matthew Etherington

Wolverhampton vs. Sunderland

Numbers 16 and 17 in the EPL table square off when the Sunderland Black Cats come to Molineux Stadium to face the Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Steve Bruce was sacked just this midweek after the abysmal start to Sunderland's season, and it is unknown who could be in line to replace him.

Mic McCarthy, however, looks as content as ever, and his club should be set to pounce on a leaderless visiting team, as Wolves need the points.

Match Prediction: Wolves 2 - 1 Sunderland

Predicted Wolverhampton Wanderers Starting XI: Wayne Hennessey, Stephen Ward, Christophe Berra, Roger Johnson, Richard Stearman, Stephen Hunt, Jamie O'Hara, Karl Henry, Matt Jarvis, Kevin Doyle, David Edwards

Predicted Sunderland Starting XI: Simon Mignolet, John O'Shea, Wes Brown, Titus Bramble, Kieran Richardson, Sebastian Larsson, David Vaughn, Jack Colback, Ahmed Elmohamady, Stephane Sessegnon, Nicklas Bendtner

Players to Watch: Matt Jarvis and Nicklas Bendtner

Fulham vs. Liverpool

Fulham have only won one of their last five games in the EPL and only escaped the Emirates against Arsenal thanks to Thomas Vermaelen scoring at both ends.

Liverpool have been on fire in all competitions the last two months, and they will hope that continues. An injury to Lucas Leiva against Chelsea has seen them recall Jonjo Shelvey from his loan to Blackpool and will likely see him on the bench this weekend.

Craig Bellamy and Maxi Rodriguez have been on top form lately and could come into the weekend clash after being used to great effect in the club's last two matches against Chelsea.

Match Prediction: Fulham 0 - 2 Liverpool

Predicted Fulham Starting XI: Mark Schwarzer, Zdenek Grygera, Brede Hangeland, Chris Baird, John Arne Riise, Moussa Dembele, Danny Murphy, Dickson Etuhu, Clint Dempsey, Andrew Johnson, Bobby Zamora

Predicted Liverpool Starting XI: Pepe Reina, Martin Kelly, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger, Jose Enrique, Jay Spearing, Maxi Rodriguez, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing, Craig Bellamy, Luis Suarez

Players to Watch: Andrew Johnson and Craig Bellamy

Conclusion

The run up to the January transfer window is about to commence, and the month of December holds some great matchups. Many teams need all the points they can get this month before they start the back end of their campaign.

With the race at both ends of the table continuing to heat up, I expect this to be a great opening weekend of December, and it should spark some great action for the remainder of the year.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out more on Bleacher Report and at the links below. You can follow me on Twitter @thedailyatz and Facebook or visit my website.