Premier League 16, 17 and 18 October
- Saturday -
Arsenal - Birmingham
Emirates Stadium
Kick-off: 15.00 BST
Last season: Arsenal 3 Birmingham 1, Birmingham 1, Arsenal 1.
Arsenal: 3-1-2
Birmingham: 0-4-2
Arsenal (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Almunia; Eboué, Squillaci, Koscielny, Clichy; Song, Wilshere; Arshavin, Fabregas, Nasri; Chamakh.
Birmingham (Possible, 4-5-1): Foster; Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Hleb, Bowyer, Fahey, Jerome.
Referee: Martin Atkinson. Matches: 6. R2 Y19.
Arsenal won 3-1 here last season and even tough they have failed to win in their last three Premier League games, they should be able to win this one at home at the Emirates.
Arsenal to win.
Bolton - Stoke
Reebok Stadium
Kick-off: 15.00 BST
Last season: Bolton 1 Stoke 1, Stoke 1 Bolton 2
Bolton: 0-5-1
Stoke: 3-1-2
Bolton (Possible, 4-4-2): Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Robinson; Lee, Holden, Muamba, Petrov; Elmander, K Davies.
Stoke (Possible, 4-4-2): Sorensen; Wilkinson, Huth, Shawcross,Collins; Whitehead, Whelan, Etherington, Pennant; Jones, Walters.
Referee: Peter Walton. Matches: 2. R0 Y9.
Their meeting here last season ended in a 1-1 draw. The last time Stoke managed to beat Bolton away was in October 1990. But the visitors have managed to take 10 points from their last four Premier League games.
Draw.
Fulham - Tottenham
Craven Cottage
Kick-off: 15.00 BST
Last season: Fulham 0 Spurs 0, Spurs 2 Fulham 0
Fulham: 1-5-0
Tottenham: 3-1-2
Fulham (Possible, 4-4-2): Schwarzer; Baird, Hangeland, Hughes, Salcido; Davies, Etuhu, Murphy, Duff; Dempsey; E Johnson.
Tottenham (Possible, 4-4-2): Gomes; Hutton, Corluka, Bassong, Assou-Ekotto; Van der Vaart, Huddlestone, Modric, Bale; Pavlyuchenko, Crouch.
Referee: Mike Dean. Matches: 6. R0 Y17.
Three of the last four meetings in the League here between these two have ended in draws. I expect this one to be close as well as Fulham remain unbeaten this season, drawing six of their seven games.
Draw.
Manchester United - West Brom
Old Trafford
Kick-off: 15.00 BST
Last season: N/A.
Manchester United: 3-3-0
West Brom: 2-2-2
Man Utd (Possible, 4-4-2): Van der Sar; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, O’Shea; Fletcher, Scholes Anderson, Nani; Rooney, Berbatov.
WBA (Possible, 4-5-1): Carson; Jara, Tamas, Olsson, Shorey; Brunt, Scharner, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Morrison; Odemwingie.
Referee: Mick Jones. Matches: 4. R0 Y14.
United have won 13 of their last 14 Premier League games at Old Trafford. They have gone 12 games without a loss in the Premier League.
Manchester United to win.
Newcastle - Wigan
St James’ Park
Kick-off: 15.00 BST
Last season: N/A.
Newcastle: 2-1-3
Wigan: 2-2-1
Newcastle (Possible, 4-4-1-1): Krul; Perch, Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique; Routledge, Barton, Tiote, Gutiérrez; Nolan; Carroll.
Wigan (Possible, 4-5-1): Al Habsi; Boyce, Gohouri, Alcaraz, Figueroa, N’Zogbia, Thomas, Gomez, McCarthy, Rodallega; Di Santo
Referee: Mark Halsey. Matches: 3. R0 Y6.
The Magpies have lost three of their last four League games and if they lost this one it woul dbe their worst sequence for more than two years. It has been 200 minutes since Wigan last conceded a Premier League goal.
Less than 2.5 goals.
Wolves - West Ham
Molineux
Kick-off: 15.00 BST
Last season: Wolves 0 West Ham 2, West Ham 1 Wolves 3
Wolves: 1-1-4
West Ham: 1-2-3
Wolves (Possible, 4-1-3-2): Hahnemann; Foley, Craddock, Berra, Ward, Mancienne; Fletcher, Edwards, Jarvis; Hunt, Doyle.
West Ham (Possible, 4-4-2): Green; Jacobsen, Da Costa, Upson, Gabbidon; Barrera, Parker, Noble, Boa Morte; Obinna, Piquionne
Referee: Mark Clattenburg. Matches: 6. R1 Y19.
Wolves lost 0-2 here last season and they have gone 10 games without keeping a clean sheet. Neither team have impressed me so far this season. Wolves have failed to win in their last six games.
Less than 2.5 goals.
Aston Villa - Chelsea
Villa Park
Kick-off: 17.30 BST
Last season: Villa 2 Chelsea 1, Chelsea 7 Villa 1
Aston Villa: 3-1-2
Chelsea: 5-0-1
Aston Villa (Possible, 4-4-1-1): Friedel; L Young, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Albrighton, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Downing; A Young; Carew.
Chelsea (Possible, 4-3-3): Cech; Ferreira, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Essien, Lampard, Ramires; Anelka, Drogba, Malouda.
Referee: Lee Mason. Matches: 4. R1 Y15.
Aston Villa managed to beat Chelsea here last season and the hosts have had an decent start to the season. The Blues have managed to win only once in their last 11 Premier League visits to Villa Park.
Chelsea to win.
- Sunday -
Everton - Liverpool
Goodison Park
Kick-off: 13.30 BST
Last season: Everton 0 Liverpool 2, Liverpool 1 Everton 0
Everton: 1-3-2
Liverpool: 1-2-3
Everton (Possible, 4-4-1-1): Howard; Neville, Heitinga, Distin, Baines; Coleman, Fellaini, Arteta, Osman; Cahill; Yakubu
Liverpool (Possible, 4-4-2): Reina; Johnson, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Carragher; Meireles, Pulsen; Jovanovic, Gerrard, Cole; Torres.
Referee: Howard Webb. Matches: 4. R0 Y16.
Liverpool won 0-2 here last season, but they have been very weak so far this season. But the Reds have won eight of their last 10 Premier League visits to Goodison Park.
Draw.
Blackpool - Manchester City
Bloomfield Road
Kick-off: 16.00 BST
Last season: N/A.
Blackpool: 2-1-2
Manchester City: 3-2-1
Blackpool (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Gilks; Eardley, Evatt, Cathcart, Crainey; Vaughan, Adam; Taylor-Fletcher, Grandin, Varney; Campbell
Man City (Possible, 4-3-2-1): Hart; Boateng, K Toure, Kompany, Lescott; De Jong, Barry; Silva, Y Toure, Milner; Tévez.
Referee: Phil Dowd. Matches: 7. R2 Y26.
It is 15 games since the visitors conceded more than one goal in a Premier League game. But the visitors face a very strong team in this one. Pablo Zabaleta, Wayne Bridge, Micah Richards, Mario Balotelli and Aleksandor Kolarov are expected to miss the game for the hosts.
More than 2.5 goals.
- Monday -
Blackburn - Sunderland
Ewood Park
Kick-off: 20.00 BST
Last season: Sunderland 2 Blackburn 1, Blackburn 2 Sunderland 2
Blackburn: 2-2-2
Sunderland: 1-4-1
Blackburn (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Robinson; Salgado, Samba, Nelsen, Givet; Nzonzi, Jones; Emerton, Pedersen, E Diouf; M Diouf.
Sunderland (Possible, 4-5-1): Mignolet; Onuoha, Turner, Bramble, Bardsley; Elmohamady, Henderson, Cattermole, Malbranque, Welbeck, Bent.
Referee: Lee Probert. Matches: 4. R1 Y8.
Their meeting here last season ended in a 2-2 draw. Sunderland have drawn four successive League games from the first time since September 1994 and I believe this could be the fifth.
Draw.