The Gunners sit two points behind pace-setters Chelsea, who play later on Saturday, following impressive back-to-back away wins in the top flight. They return to action at Emirates Stadium to tackle neighbours Tottenham, who notched their first league victory in five attempts last time out. Spurs are currently seventh in the table on goal difference, but a high-scoring win could lift them as high as fourth spot. Arsene Wenger will be wary of his side undoing all their hard work of late, in particular after they responded to a shock loss at home to Newcastle. Tottenham may have ended a drought when they beat Arsenal at White Hart Lane last season, but Spurs are infamously poor on the road against the so-called 'big four'. Indeed, they have gone 68 Premier League games away from home without a victory over Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester United.
A triumph for Arsenal would put further pressure on out-of-sorts Chelsea as the Blues travel to St Andrews to face Birmingham City. Carlo Ancelotti's men were desperately poor in their previous match as they were stunned 3-0 against Sunderland. Their concerns centred around defensive issues, and Ancelotti remains without first-choice pairing John Terry and Alex, who are both injury victims. It is hard to gauge if playing Chelsea off the back of a hiding is a positive or a negative for Alex McLeish's men, who will either face a wounded or angry animal. Birmingham themselves are placed in the relegation zone at present, having managed a paltry one win in 11 league fixtures. But despite that torrid run, they have have only lost one of their last 21 Premier League matches at St Andrews.
Manchester United are also in action at 3pm as they welcome Wigan Athletic to Old Trafford with Wayne Rooney expected to make his comeback. Rooney is said to be in contention following work on his fitness in the wake of his ankle injury. And his return will come as a boost, particularly with Dimitar Berbatov struggling of late. The Red Devils, who sit third, may have been suspect on their travels to date, but at home they have been convincing. Indeed, Sir Alex Ferguson's charges have won five of their six games at the Theatre of Dreams. Wigan, who sit a place above the bottom three, struggle away from the DW Stadium, with one win accrued in their last 13 Premier League away matches. But the Latics did halt a poor run of form when they ousted West Brom in their last match.
Liverpool are involved in another Saturday evening kick-off, this time versus struggling West Ham, aiming to bounce back from their loss at Stoke City, which disrupted the Reds' momentum. Said slump was a first defeat in five for the Reds, who looked to have turned a so-called corner. Nonetheless, amid the continued congestion of the division, Liverpool still remain within three points off fifth spot. Hammers boss Avram Grant received backing during the week despite the club's position at the bottom of the table. West Ham head into the match off the back of three successive draws, while they are five points adrift of safety. A positive performance would do nicely for the under-pressure Grant, who faces a crunch match against Wigan next weekend.
Slayers of Liverpool, Stoke City, lock horns with West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns in a match-up that may be seen by some as a clash of styles. The Potters' direct play and excellent pressing made Liverpool look very poor indeed while the Baggies have been hailed for their passing football. Stoke appear to be over their blip of four straight defeats having won back-to-back matches, but the Baggies have slid down the standings following some disappointing results, compared to their bright start to the term. West Brom have lost three of their previous four fixtures and are now placed 12th, level on points with Stoke. The history records indicate that it is the Potters who have enjoyed the better of previous meetings between the duo, having won six and lost none of the last seven in the league.
Second-from-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers seek to end their poor run when they travel to Blackpool. Wolves have lost three on the bounce and are level on points with basement-dwellers West Ham. Their performances, though, have been encouraging and Mick McCarthy will hope that a turnaround is on the horizon. The Seasiders, meanwhile, continue to entertain while they have garnered a not too shabby total of five points from their last four fixtures. To emphasise the excitement Blackpool have brought to the division, their 13 games this season have totalled 45 goals - over three per match. Fact: Blackpool have not beaten Wolves in any of the last 14 meetings between the two teams in all competitions.
High-flying Bolton Wanderers are in action versus Newcastle United at the Reebok Stadium. The Trotters sit fifth in the table following a fine beginning to the campaign, with the club having lost less games than Arsenal and Chelsea. Bolton have earned seven points from a possible nine while Newcastle remain a side hard to predict. The Magpies' away form has actually been better than their return at home, so there is hope for Chris Hughton on Saturday. But Bolton have only lost one of their last eight Premier League home matches. Johan Elmander is Bolton's man of the moment, with the Swede's brilliant goal last weekend taking his tally to six for the term. But still Elmander has yet to score at the Reedbok Stadium this season.
Sky Sports HD1 brings you live coverage of Blackburn Rovers' encounter against Aston Villa at Ewood Park. Rovers' loss last time out versus Tottenham disrupted a run of back-to-back successes, so Sam Allardyce will be eager to back on track against the Villains, who sit two points higher than their opponents. Villa are unbeaten in their previous four matches, but three of those outings have ended in draws. Yet there was much encouragement to take from Villa's performance that saw them come close to beating United with a young side. New signing Robert Pires could make his debut for the Midlands club at the age of 37, providing said youthful contingent with a wise head. This could be key as Villa have dropped more points from winning positions (12) than any other team in the top flight.
Following the aforementioned game is Manchester City's trip to Fulham, also on Sky Sports HD1. The pressure on Roberto Mancini's shoulders was increased further following their insipid goalless draw with Birmingham. The club are positioned fourth in the table on 22 points, which is decent enough, but City fans are surely pining for their manager to instruct the players go for the jugular, not play the supporters into a slumber. Indeed, City have the eighth lowest goals scored column. For Fulham, the match sees manager Mark Hughes face the club he departed so cringe-worthily in December last year. Fulham, who have won just twice so far this season, are placed a point above the relegation zone. Interestingly, City had 22 points from 13 Premier League games under Hughes last season and won their 14th game to make it 25.
Arsenal v Tottenham. Click here to bet.View the original article here
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