It wasn't a busy midweek for Premiership clubs, and hopefully that will translate into an exciting weekend. Sunderland play with a caretaker manager, Chelsea are away to the hottest team in the Prem, and two clubs hoping to crack into the Big 4 faceoff.Saturday
Man City at Fulham- Fulham have been in fine defensive form and nobody ever knows what kind of form Man City will be in, so this could be interesting. Fulham's run of clean sheets will probably come to an end, but Elano is injured and Robinho, Sean Wright-Phillips and Micah Richards are all recovering from knocks. Fulham will be rested, and I think they can get a result. Tie 1-1
Middlesbrough at Hull- Hull have suffered a dip in form, but that's to be expected after their flying start. Boro played one of the most boring games of the season against Newcastle, and hopefully their strike force can make sure this one isn't a dudder(made up word meaning boring). Boro 2-1
Wigan at Arsenal- Arsenal have had a lot of ups and downs this season, so the question is whether their Carling Cup loss was enough of a down or will it extend to this weekend. Arsenal have had problems with northern teams, and Zaki looks to be fit for the match. The Gunners should rally around Captain Cesc, and this game could get lopsided. Arsenal 3-0
Liverpool at Blackburn- Keegan, Curbishley, Ramos and now Keane have already been fired(Redknapp moved on) and the question is when will Ince join them. Santa Cruz has a knock, and has been a shell of himself this season(he's on my fantasy team so he better step up). Torres may be out, but unless a serious bout of food poisoning strikes the Reds this game should be a lock. Liverpool 3-1
Chelsea at Bolton- Bolton's hot streak has seen them climb from the relegation zone to the top half of the table, but that should end this weekend. Chelsea have won all seven of their away matches, and even without Cole and Drogba they should make it eight. They've only conceded one goal, and I think it would be a moral victory for Bolton if they could double that tally. Chelsea 4-0
Stoke at Newcastle- Newcastle have been up and down so far, and even though Kinnear has a contract through the end of the season the club are only out of the drop zone on goal differential. Ameobi and Duff are injured and Viduka isn't fully fit, so their offense could be lacking. They have been strong at the back, and will need to keep that up to repel Delap's long throws and Stoke's physical presence during set pieces. Tie 1-1
Sunderland at Manchester United- It might have been that Roy Keane knew he was going to get blown out at Old Trafford, and that's why he chose this week to resign. This game will be a test of character for Sunderland, and players know that with a new manager set to come in they'll be fighting for their places in a big squad. United 4-0
Sunday
Portsmouth at West Bromwich Albion- Portsmouth had a tough loss on Thursday night, and will be tired for their Sunday afternoon match. West Brom haven't gotten a result in ages, and a tie would feel like a huge result at this point. Here's hoping Crouch gets the goal(on my fantasy team). Tie 1-1
Aston Villa at Everton- Aston Villa have looked the better side, but Everton have come on strong as of late and are within three points of Villa. With Yakubu and Saha out, they'll have to rely on Anichebe to lead a 4-5-1. This should give license for Osman and Cahill to do damage behind him, and it could look like the Everton side of old. Carew is out for Villa, and it will be interesting to see if they continue to go with Young/Agbonlahor/Milner. They miss Carew's size on crosses, but given Everton's height at the back they might do better with pace. Villa 2-1
Monday
Tottenham at West Ham- West Ham may have gotten a result last weekend, but things won't be as easy on Monday. 'Ansome 'Arry 'Oudini has seemed short on magic recently, but with Jenas fit to deliver service to Pavlyuchenko and Bent that should change. Spurs know a result would give them some breathing room, and they should get it. Spurs 3-2
One Liners(the return)
- Evra suspended four games for last year's fight with groundsman, apparently groundskeepers get more respect than referees
- Ronaldo was an inch away from joining Gunners, and by inch he means £8 million
- Casillas happy at Madrid despite Man City interest, who would think the Spanish champions are more appealing than a 15th place club
- Pavlyuchenko would welcome Arshavin, then he'd actually be able to talk to someone on the team
- Rumors of Sam Allardyce joining Sunderland, he may play ugly but he'll keep you up
