A look at this weekends game in the Premier League. The showcase is the North London derby where Spurs will try and end a 10-year losing streak to their biggest rivals
Arsenal v Tottenham
Arsenal have been really good at the Emirates this season and will hope to continue that form against a Spurs side that is not playing quite as well as they did last month. Arsene Wenger has not lost to Spurs for 10 years in the league and I don’t see that streak coming to an end Saturday.
Prediction: Arsenal 4-2
Bolton v Chelsea
Bolton are a much better team at home than on the road, but so is Chelsea. Chelsea play really well on the counter attack and I expect Drogba and Anelka to cause Bolton all sorts of trouble on the break. Bolton will cause Chelsea some problems at set-pieces but it will not be enough for them to win the game.
Prediction: 3-1 Chelsea
Burnley v Hull
Burnley have picked up 12 points at home this season. Only Chelsea (15) and Manchester United (13) have more and that stat has to worry Phil Brown who has maybe two games to save his job. Better get that CV polished up Phil because I cannot see Hull getting anything at Turf Moor.
Prediction: Burney 1-0
Everton v Aston Villa
These are two teams that were supposed to be challenging for Europe, but one of them (Everton) seems to be going in the wrong direction as David Moyes has seen his relatively small squad decimated by injuries. Villa is another team that I think plays better away from home, as their speed causes teams all sort of trouble on the counter-attack. Which is what I think will happen here.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1
Fulham v Liverpool
Huge win for Liverpool last week, but now they face Fulham in a trap game as Liverpool will surely have one eye on next week’s crucial Champions League game. Fulham are much better at Craven Cottage than away from home, but they are facing a Liverpool side that has to be flying high after beating Man Utd. This will be a tight game, but I expect Liverpool to shade it in the end.
Prediction: Liverpool 1-0
Manchester United v Blackburn
Terrible performance by Man United last week, but now they get to rebound with a win in another derby type game. Blackburn have managed just one Premier League victory at Old Trafford in 15 attempts and that streak will not end this weekend. Big Sam has already beat one Ferguson this week. He is not going to beat the father,
Prediction: Manchester United 3-1
Portsmouth v Wigan
Wigan is a team that I just cannot understand this season. One week they look great, but then the next week they look terrible. Since they won at Burnley last week, I am expecting Wigan to underperform this weekend, which is great news for Paul Hart and Portsmouth fans. The events at Fratton Park this season have been farcical, but I expect the bells to be ringing in celebration Saturday night as Pompey get a rare win.
Prediction: Portsmouth 2-1
Stoke v Wolves
This is a relegation battle between two teams that will be in the bottom six come the end of the season. The difference is that I expect Stoke to stay up, while Wolves will get relegated. Wolves have only picked up 2 draws from their last five matches and I they seem to lack that bit of class in the final 3rd of the park that is often the difference between survival and relegation.
Prediction: Stoke 2-0
Sunderland v West Ham
I was really disappointed in Sunderland’s performance last week, as I am sure Steve Bruce was. On the other hand and Gianfranco Zola must have been over the moon with the way his team came back against Arsenal to get a share of the points. We have not had many draws in the Premier League this season, but this could be one of them.
Prediction: West Ham 1 Sunderland 1
Birmingham v Manchester City
Birmingham had a huge win last week against Sunderland as Alex McLeish played a more open game for the first time this season. The problem for his this week is that Manchester City are not Sunderland. City, who started the season playing great, have won only one of their last five league games and they need to get back on the winning track. City need to start to turn some of their draws into wins if they are to compete for a Champions League place and that means winning at places like St. Andrews instead of drawing.
Prediction: Manchester City 1-0
