A lot of Premier league stars are starting to sustain lengthy injuries just before Christmas so many would have to be careful this weekend.
A handful of 3pm kick-offs on Saturday includes Bolton Wanderers and Aston Villa. This game is evenly spread as both teams have lost their last three league matches whilst winning their fourth at the beginning of November. Wanderers received a boost ahead of the game as England defender Gary Cahill had last weekend’s red card overturned. However, Villa have received opposite news with goalkeeper Shay Given and Jermaine Jenas out for long periods.
Saturday’s other matches include: Arsenal v Everton, Liverpool v QPR, Man.Utd v Wolves, Norwich v Newcastle, Swansea v Fulham and West Brom v Wigan – all at 3pm.
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At the Stadium of Light, newly managed Sunderland entertain Blackburn Rovers. Sunderland looked revitalised last Sunday and although taking the lead, they missed a penalty and eventually lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers. But give them credit, it was Martin O’Neill’s first game in charge and Wolves are battling to win any points. Blackburn are on a small high after thrashing Swansea City last Saturday with inform striker Yakubu hoping to add to his four goals last week. Both teams are desperate for the points and with Sunderland only one point and place ahead of Rovers in the league table, it’s vital for either side to win.
Sunday’s other match is Stoke against Tottenham.
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On Monday night it’s Chelsea who host unbeaten Manchester City. The Stamford Bridge outfit are starting to get decent results and both Didier Drogba and Juan Mata are impressing as of late. They have kept two clean sheets in their last two games and have scored six goals so this is certainly a team who can end City’s run. After winning in midweek against Bayern Munich, City’s motivation will still be low as they were dumped out of the Champions League via other teams winning. This could, however, prove to be good news for manager Roberto Mancini, who could now ditch the Europa League and focus on winning the Premier League for the first time.
Aaron Aquilina
@P_D_L_P