It's a battle for first place this weekend, as Chelsea and Liverpool continue a rivalry that has been quite heated recently. Chelsea have done better in the Premiership, while Liverpool has had more success in Europe. There is no war of words between Rafa and Jose this year, and it will be interesting to see how Scolari handles the match.
Saturday
Middlesbrough at Blackburn- Blackburn has not scored when Roque Santa Cruz is off the pitch(field), and with Santa Cruz still out injured things don't look good. However they are playing Boro, who travel worse than ice cream. Tuncay should be in the lineup, and sooner or later Alves should get hot. Tie 1-1
Man U at Everton- Wayne Rooney is currently sitting on 99 goals for Man U, and I'm sure he would love to grab number 100 at Goodison Park. With Cahill suspended, and Yobo and Hibbert likely to be out injured, Everton's chances do not look good. I think the real question is how many Man U will put in. Man U 3-0
Newcastle at Sunderland- I could see Roy Keane and Joe Kinnear getting in a fight, and that would be a lot more interesting than the actual match. Owen is out, and Newcastle are getting the opposite of luck as evidenced by Ireland's late equalizer on Monday. Sunderland 2-1
Hull at West Brom- A battle of new promoted sides, though Hull has impressed so far. WBA got smashed by Man U, but they should fair better against Hull at home. Hull has to start losing sooner or later(just like Tottenham needs to start winning), and it will be interesting to see if Hull can slow the tempo of the game or if the Baggies can push it. WBA 2-0
Sunday
Liverpool at Chelsea- Liverpool would love to be the first team to win at Stamford Bridge in years, and grab sole possession of first place in the process. These games have often been plodding affairs, and Liverpool would be happy with a scoreless draw. This is a test of Liverpool's title ambitions, but it's also a big test for Scolari. He was brought in to play attacking football and to win, and this will be a chance to prove he can do that. Liverpool will want to keep it close, and see if they can find some magic at the end of the game. Chelsea 2-1
Stoke at Man City- A battle of two styles, the pace of City should win out over the physicality of Stoke. Stoke will be hoping to keep the ball in the air and utilize set pieces, but City should dominate possession and keep the ball in Stoke's half. This game could get ugly. City 4-1
Fulham at Portsmouth- If Boro travel like ice cream, than Fulham travel like like an ice cream cone on a bumpy road during a hot summer day. Portsmouth will want to rebound from their loss at Braga, and this game should give them the opportunity. Portsmouth 2-0
Bolton at Tottenham- This should be the game where Tottenham turns around their slide(I did say that last week). It will be interesting to see if Bentley makes it into the team after his comments earlier in the week, but Ramos will need to do something to lift team morale because they currently look like eleven strangers. Bolton looked good last week, and if they can use their physicality like Stoke did they might steal some points. Tottenham 2-1
Arsenal at West Ham- A London derby, it's just a question of which Arsenal team will show up. The style of play Zola has implemented at West Ham should make for an open game, which suits Arsenal. With both teams having problems with their back lines, this should be one to watch. Arsenal 4-2
Aston Villa at Wigan- This could be a real game, with a strong Villa side travelling to face a resilient Wigan side. Wigan has played well this season, but quite often this hasn't translated into points. Villa will be tired from their midweek win, and with Heskey and Zaki fit, Wigan will hope for some kind of result. Tie 1-1
One Liners
- Real Madrid say their pursuit of Ronaldo is over forever, anybody who believes this is officially a moron
- Ronaldo backs himself for all the awards, wonders why fans hate him
- Kenyon says there will be no Chelsea spending in January, between the credit crunch and oil prices Abramovich is now a poor billionaire
- Kinnear gets a one month extension, or as I like to call it prison sentence
- Wenger upset at photo of Gallas with cigarette in his mouth, though it's actually not lit
