| Up-Coming Premiership games |
|
Saturday 15th January
|
| 15.00 |
Chelsea |
v |
Blackburn |
| 15.00 |
Man City |
v |
Wolves |
| 15.00 |
Stoke |
v |
Bolton |
| 15.00 |
West Brom |
v |
Blackpool |
| 15.00 |
Wigan |
v |
Fulham |
| 17.30 |
West Ham |
v |
Arsenal |
|
Sunday 16th January |
| 12.00 |
Birmingham |
v |
Aston Villa |
| 12.00 |
Sunderland |
v |
Newcastle |
| 14.05 |
Liverpool |
v |
Everton |
| 16.10 |
Tottenham |
v |
Man Utd |
|
Top 4 |
Top 5 |
Top 10 |
Bottom Half |
Relegation |
|
Sunday is derby day in the Premier League as huge contests in the Second City, Merseyside and Wear-Tyneside take the spotlight.
Birmingham host Aston Villa in a 12pm kick-off, while Sunderland and Newcastle also meet at high noon, and Liverpool welcome Everton across Stanley Park later in the afternoon.
To add to Sunday's drama, top-of-the-table rivals Tottenham and Manchester United clash at White Hart Lane in what promises to be an engrossing encounter in North London.
On Saturday, defending champions Chelsea welcome Blackburn, Manchester City seek revenge against Wolves, and Arsenal travel to West Ham in the evening kick-off.
Elsewhere, relegation-threatened Wigan see Fulham arrive at the DW Stadium, out-of-form West Brom will hope for a reprieve against a confident Blackpool side, and Bolton visit Stoke.
Saturday 15th January
15.00 Chelsea v Blackburn
On Saturday, defending champions Chelsea welcome Steve Kean's Blackburn to Stamford Bridge hoping last weekend's destruction of Ipswich in the FA Cup could breathe life into their appalling league form.
Carlo Ancelotti's men have slipped to fifth in the table and have won only once in their last nine matches, taking just five points from an available 12 at home.
.
However, Blackburn, having missed out on Ronaldinho in the transfer window, but on the brink of re-signing Roque Santa Cruz, will be disheartened by the fact that they have lost 11 of their last 14 Premier League meetings with Chelsea.
| Premiership table |
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
Man Utd |
20 |
10 |
1 |
0 |
29 |
7 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
14 |
12 |
24 |
44 |
| 2 |
Man City |
22 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
14 |
7 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
19 |
9 |
17 |
42 |
| 3 |
Arsenal |
21 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
22 |
11 |
6 |
3 |
2 |
20 |
11 |
20 |
40 |
| 4 |
Tottenham |
21 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
17 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
14 |
16 |
6 |
36 |
| 5 |
Chelsea |
21 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
22 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
5 |
14 |
12 |
17 |
35 |
| 6 |
Sunderland |
22 |
6 |
4 |
1 |
14 |
7 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
11 |
15 |
3 |
33 |
| 7 |
Bolton |
22 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
22 |
13 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
12 |
16 |
5 |
30 |
| 8 |
Newcastle |
21 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
25 |
14 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
9 |
17 |
3 |
28 |
| 9 |
Blackpool |
20 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
14 |
14 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
15 |
19 |
-4 |
28 |
| 10 |
Blackburn |
22 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
15 |
10 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
14 |
25 |
-6 |
28 |
| 11 |
Stoke |
21 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
14 |
12 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
12 |
14 |
0 |
27 |
| 12 |
Everton |
21 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
12 |
13 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
11 |
12 |
-2 |
25 |
| 13 |
Liverpool |
21 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
17 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
8 |
21 |
-4 |
25 |
| 14 |
Fulham |
21 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
14 |
14 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
8 |
10 |
-2 |
22 |
| 15 |
Birmingham |
20 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
9 |
10 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
11 |
15 |
-5 |
22 |
| 16 |
West Brom |
21 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
13 |
15 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
13 |
24 |
-13 |
22 |
| 17 |
Wolves |
21 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
15 |
15 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
6 |
19 |
-13 |
21 |
| 18 |
Aston Villa |
21 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
15 |
13 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
8 |
25 |
-15 |
21 |
| 19 |
Wigan |
21 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
10 |
20 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
13 |
-15 |
21 |
| 20 |
West Ham |
22 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
14 |
16 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
8 |
22 |
-16 |
20 |
15:00 Man City v Wolves
Wolves produced a major shock when upsetting Manchester City at Molineux earlier in the season and Roberto Mancini will be determined to teach Mick McCarthy's team a lesson at Eastlands.
Billionaires City trail derby rivals United by two points ahead of the weekend, although they have played two games more, and the Premier League's second-placed club will hope that latest recruit Edin Dzeko can make an immediate can help their title challenge.
The Bosnian striker has arrived in what is likely to be the biggest deal of the January transfer window and he is expected to make his debut against Wolves.
McCarthy's 17th-placed team continue to flirt with relegation and wretched away form has been the cause after taking just four points from their 10 games on the road so far to create the worst record in the top-flight this season.
15:00 Stoke v Bolton
If Owen Coyle had been told that Bolton would only be trailing Chelsea by five points in January, he would probably have contacted the local asylum. But, ahead of their trip to Stoke, that is exactly the position in which the Reebok Stadium side find themselves and they have not given up hope of participating in Europe next season.
Stoke, meanwhile, continue to punch above their weight in mid-table. The facts also suggest that there could be a twist in the tale at the Britannia Stadium, with Bolton having scored in the 88th minute or later in each of their last three meetings with Stoke to claim an extra five points in the process.
.
15.00 West Brom v Blackpool
Roberto Di Matteo's West Brom have plummeted down the table and five successive defeats have dragged the club into the relegation battle, while the FA Cup shock at Reading will have further undermined confidence.
With that in mind, Di Matteo would probably have preferred to be hosting a different side to Blackpool, who will arrive at The Hawthorns on the back of their memorable success against Liverpool.
Complacency could be a concern for Ian Holloway, but the experienced and unique Blackpool boss' methods will have calculated for any slip-ups ahead of a trip to a ground where they suffered a dramatic 3-2 defeat in last season's Championship. The eventual play-off winners won their Premier League meeting at Bloomfield Road at the beginning of November
15:00 Wigan v Fulham
Wigan are only one point off bottom spot ahead of the DW Stadium arrival of Fulham, but they also trail their 14th-placed visitors by just the same margin.
Roberto Martinez will hope that last weekend's FA Cup win at Hull City will provide confidence, but Fulham should be on an even greater high after dismantling Peterborough.
Mark Hughes has steered the West Londoners out of the relegation zone, but wretched away form, with a 2-0 victory at Stoke on 28th December their only win in 28 Premier League games on their travels, means that the Craven Cottage club are unlikely to know if they will be safe from the drop until the very end of the season.
17.30 West Ham v Arsenal
On the back of Wednesday night's Carling Cup semi-final first-leg upset at Ipswich, title-hopefuls Arsenal will aim to respond against rock-bottom West Ham in Saturday's evening match.
The Gunners have been accused of a lacklustre attitude at Portman Road and that has brought with it the usual implications of a lack of experience. Arsene Wenger will want to silence the critics with a convincing win at Upton Park, where Avram Grant is reportedly clinging to his job, despite a battling and spirited midweek win over Birmingham in the last four of the Carling Cup.
Wayne Bridge could make his debut for West Ham following his loan arrival until the end of the season from Manchester City.
Sunday 16th January
12:00 Birmingham vs Aston Villa
Both Birmingham and Aston Villa would have had expectations beyond a fight for top-flight survival this season, but the Midlands rivals find themselves scrapping at the wrong end of the division.
Gerard Houllier's Villa have the unwanted tag of sitting in the drop zone ahead of their trip to St Andrews and Alex McLeish, who could hand a debut to loan signing David Bentley, and his club will want to ensure their Second City neighbours stay in the bottom three.
To add to Birmingham's motivation, they only sit one point clear of the relegation places and they will hope for a repeat of their Carling Cup victory over Villa at the beginning of December.
Both sides recorded comfortable wins in the FA Cup last weekend, but Birmingham lost to 10-man West Ham in their League Cup semi-final first leg on Tuesday.
12:00 Sunderland vs Newcastle
Sunderland are on a revenge mission as they prepare to erase some of the misery suffered in October's 5-1 demolition derby defeat to Newcastle at St James' Park.
Stadium of Light boss Steve Bruce has spoken openly of his pain in aftermath of the hammering at the hands of the club he supported as a boy and he has his players focused on a response when eight-placed Newcastle make the short trip to Wearside.
Sunderland have climbed to sixth spot since their humiliation and, despite playing down their aspirations, have European football on the horizon, but they were stunned by Notts County in the FA Cup last weekend.
Alan Pardew will take charge of his first derby day as Newcastle manager, with Chris Hughton having been boss in the autumn, and he will also be licking cup wounds after suffering one of the greatest giant-killings of the modern era against Stevenage.
14:05 Liverpool vs Everton
It has been suggested that King Kenny Dalglish's crown is slipping as Liverpool prepare for their match against city foes Everton on Sunday afternoon.
The 18-time champions of England threw away the lead to lose 2-1 at Blackpool on Wednesday night as last season's Championship play-off winners completed a famous double over their more illustrious opponents.
The defeat means that Dalglish has lost both games since succeeding Roy Hodgson, having suffered in the FA Cup at Manchester United last weekend.
The Scot will demand a response in the first home match of his second managerial spell at Anfield. Everton, though, will be determined to increase Liverpool's misery and climb the table. With only goal difference separating the two rivals in bottom-half underachievement, David Moyes will want a repeat of October's 2-0 win.
16:10 Tottenham vs Man Utd
As the David Beckham melodrama continues at a pace, Tottenham will likely be happy to return to the pitch when they bid to keep alive their decreasing hopes of winning the title.
Beckham's former club, Manchester United, are leading the way and sit eight points clear of Spurs with a game in hand to put Sir Alex Ferguson's team in a very strong position.
Harry Redknapp, who guided his team to an FA Cup success over Charlton, will know that a win is almost essential to ensure Tottenham's priorities for the remainder of the season do not drift towards the UEFA Champions League.
Goals from Nemanja Vidic and Nani gave United the three points when Spurs travelled to Old Trafford almost three months ago.