Premier League picks and previews 2010-11 (Page 2 of 37)

Here is the BBC's Mark Lawrenson's predictions for the Premier League fixtures this weekend:

Premier League 11, 12 and 13 September

- Saturday -

Everton - Manchester United
Prediction: 1-1

Arsenal - Bolton
Prediction: 3-1

Fulham - Wolves
Prediction: 2-1

Manchester City - Blackburn
Prediction: 2-0

Newcastle - Blackpool
Prediction: 2-1

West Brom - Tottenham
Prediction: 1-1

West Ham - Chelsea
Prediction: 1-1

Wigan - Sunderland
Prediction: 1-2

- Sunday -

Birmingham - Liverpool
Prediction: 0-2

- Monday -

Stoke - Aston Villa
Prediction: 2-0

Birmingham vs Liverpool

Birmingham's last five games:
Aug 29, 2010    Bolton 2 - Birmingham 2    EPL
Aug 26, 2010    Birmingham 3 - Rochdale 2    Carl
Aug 21, 2010    Birmingham 2 - Blackburn 1    EPL
Aug 14, 2010    Sunderland 2 - Birmingham 2    EPL
May 9, 2010    Bolton 2 - Birmingham 1    EPL

Liverpool's last five games:
Aug 29, 2010    Liverpool 1 - West Bromwich 0    EPL
Aug 26, 2010    Trabzonspor 1 - Liverpool 2    EL
Aug 23, 2010    Man City 3 - Liverpool 0    EPL
Aug 19, 2010    Liverpool 1 - Trabzonspor 0    EL
Aug 15, 2010    Liverpool 1 - Arsenal 1    EPL

Premier League 25 and 26 September

- Saturday -

Manchester City - Chelsea
City of Manchester Stadium
Kick off: 12.45 BST
Last season: Manchester City 2 Chelsea 1; Chelsea 2 Manchester City 4.
Manchester City (possible, 4-3-3): Hart; Zabaleta, K Toure, Kompany, Milner; Y Toure, De Jong, Barry; Johnson, Tévez, Silva
Chelsea (possible, 4-3-3): Cech; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry, Cole; Essien, Ramires, Mikel; Malouda, Drogba, Anelka.
Referee: Andre Marriner. Matches: 4. R1 Y19.
I expect it to be tight between these two. Both of these teams were knocked out of the Carling Cup in midweek. Chelsea have been free-scoring so far this season but have not been up against strong opposition yet.
Draw.

Arsenal - West Brom
Emirates Stadium
Kick off: 15.00 BST
Last season: Arsenal 2 West Brom 0 (League Cup)
Arsenal (possible, 4-3-3): Almunia, Sagna, Djourou, Squillaci, Clichy; Denilson, Wilshere, Song; Nasri, Arshavin, Chamakh.
West Brom (possible, 4-5-1): Carson; Jara, Tamas, Olsson, Shorey; Brunt, Dorrans, Mulumbu, Scharner, Thomas; Odemwingie
Referee: Michael Oliver. Matches: 2. R0 Y6.
Arsenal have been impressive so far this season and I expect them to steamroll over the Baggies in this one.
Arsenal to win with 0-1 handicap.

Birmingham - Wigan
St Andrews
Kick off: 15.00 BST
Last season: Wigan 2 Birmingham 3; Birmingham 1 Wigan 0.
Birmingham (possible, 4-4-2): Foster; Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell; Larsson, Gardner, Ferguson, Hleb; Jerome, Zigic
Wigan (possible, 4-5-1): Al Habsi; Boyce, Gohouri, Alcaraz, Figueroa; N'Zogbia, McCarthy, Thomas, Diame, Rodallega; Di Santo
Referee: Mark Clattenburg. Matches: 4. R0 Y10.
Wigan struggled at the back during their defeat against Manchester City last weekend. Birmingham have not impressed me too much this season, but I would expect them to win this one at home.
Birmingham to win.

Blackpool - Blackburn
Bloomfield Road
Kick off: 15.00 BST
Last season: n/a
Blackpool (possible, 4-3-3): Gilks; Eardley, Keinan, Evatt, Crainey; Grandin, Vaughan, Adam; Taylor-Fletcher, Campbell, Varney.
Blackburn (possible, 4-3-3): Robinson; Salgado, Samba, Nelsen, Givet; Jones, Nzonzi, Pedersen; M Diouf, Kalinic, E-H Diouf.
Referee: Mike Dean. Matches: 4. R0 Y12.
Blackpool struggled at Chelsea last week, but it is games such as this against Blackburn that they need to win. I believe it will be a tight one but with many goals.
More than 2.5 goals.

Fulham - Everton
Craven Cottage
Kick off: 15.00 BST
Last season: Fulham 2 Everton 1; Everton 2 Fulham 1.
Fulham (possible, 4-4-2): Schwarzer; Kelly, Hughes, Hangeland, Salcido; Duff, Etuhu, Murphy, Davies; Gera, Dempsey.
Everton (possible, 4-5-1): Howard; Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Osman, Fellaini, Heitinga, Arteta, Pienaar; Yakubu.
Referee: Howard Webb. Matches: 2. R0 Y8.
New Fulham boss Mark Hughes is still unbeaten in the league this season. Key players such as Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson are on the sidelines with injuries for the Cottagers. Everton have failed to impress so far this season, despite of their draw at home to Manchester United.
More than 2.5 goals.

Liverpool - Sunderland
Anfield
Kick off: 15.00 BST
Last season: Sunderland 1 Liverpool 0; Liverpool 3 Sunderland 0.
Liverpool (possible, 4-2-3-1): Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Konchesky; Maxi, Poulsen; Gerrard, Meireles, Cole; Torres.
Sunderland (possible, 4-5-1): Mignolet; Bardsley, Onuoha, Bramble, Da Silva; Al-Muhammadi, Henderson, Malbranque, Cattermole, Welbeck; Bent.
Referee: Stuart Attwell. Matches: 3. R1 Y19.
Liverpool have had a very poor start to the season and were sent crashing out of the Carling Cup by Northampton earlier this week. But at home Liverpool should be able to win this one.
Liverpool to win.

West Ham - Tottenham
Upton Park
Kick off: 15.00 BST
Last season: West Ham 1 Tottenham 2; Tottenham 2 West Ham 0.
West Ham (possible, 4-3-3): Green; Jacobsen, Da Costa, Upson, Gabbidon; Kovac, Parker, Noble; Piquionne, Cole, Obinna.
Tottenham (possible, 4-4-1-1): Gomes; Hutton, Bassong, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Huddlestone, Modric, Bale; Van der Vaart; Crouch.
Referee: Martin Atkinson. Matches: 4. R2 Y10.
The Hammers have had a very poor start to the season. Heurelho Gomes and Luka Modric could return for Spurs for this game. Tottenham have a great chance of winning this game but could be keeping one eye on the Champions League game against Twente on Wednesday.
More than 2.5 goals.

- Sunday -

Bolton - Manchester United
Reebok Stadium
Kick off: 12.00 BST
Last season: Manchester United 2 Bolton 1; Bolton 0 Manchester United 4.
Bolton (possible, 4-4-2): Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, Knight, Ricketts, Robinson; Lee, Muamba, Holden, Petrov; Elmander, Davies.
Manchester United (possible, 4-4-1-1): Van der Sar; O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Nani, Fletcher, Scholes, Giggs; Berbatov, Rooney.
Referee: Phil Dowd. Matches: 5. R2 Y24.
Dimitar Berbatov have been outstanding for United so far this season and I believe Bolton will be unable to stop him and the rest of the Red Devils.
Manchester United to win.

Wolves - Aston Villa
Molineux
Kick off: 14.05 BST
Last season: Wolves 1 Aston Villa 1; Aston Villa 2 Wolves 2.
Wolves (possible, 4-4-2): Hahnemann; Foley, Craddock, Berra, Ward; Jarvis, Jones, Henry, Fletcher; Ebanks-Blake, Doyle.
Aston Villa (possible, 4-4-2): Friedel; L Young; Cuellar, Collins, Warnock; Albrighton, Ireland, Petrov, A Young; Carew, Agbonlahor.
Referee: Mark Halsey. Matches: 2. R0 Y3.
I expect another tight game between these two. I believe there could be few goals in this one as well.
Less than 2.5 goals.

Newcastle - Stoke
St James's Park
Kick off: 16.10 BST
Last season: n/a
Newcastle (possible, 4-4-2): Krul; Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Enrique; Routledge, Barton, Nolan, Ben Arfa; Carroll, Ameobi.
Stoke (possible, 4-4-1-1): Sorensen; Huth, Shawcross, Faye, Collins; Whelan, Whitehead, Delap, Etherington; Walters; Jones.
Referee: Mike Jones. Matches: 3. R1 Y10.
Newcastle are coming off wins against Everton and Chelsea and I believe they could manage something in this one as well. But it should be very tight, but entertaining.
More than 2.5 goals.

Fulham vs Everton

Fulham's last five games:
Sep 21, 2010    Stoke 2 - Fulham 0    Carl
Sep 18, 2010    Blackburn 1 - Fulham 1    EPL
Sep 11, 2010    Fulham 2 - Wolves 1    EPL
Aug 28, 2010    Blackpool 2 - Fulham 2    EPL
Aug 25, 2010    Fulham 6 - Port Vale 0    Carl

Everton's last five games:
Sep 21, 2010    Brentford 1 - Everton 1    Carl
Sep 18, 2010    Everton 0 - Newcastle 1    EPL
Sep 11, 2010    Everton 3 - Man Utd. 3    EPL
Aug 29, 2010    Aston Villa 1 - Everton 0    EPL
Aug 25, 2010    Everton 5 - Huddersfield Town 1    Carl