The Premiership programme for Sunday majors on a clash between potential top of the table sides Arsenal and Chelsea. Comments and predictions, below, for each of the games on Sunday are from Derek Bilton at bettingzone.com.

Bolton v Everton (13.30 KO) The Trotters have had the edge over their Merseyside rivals over the past two years, winning three of their last four encounters. Sam Allardyce's men started their season well enough after grinding out a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa, while Everton were mercilessly swept aside by Manchester United on their own patch. The Toffees didn't play poorly last week, but were simply undone by a side who look every inch Premiership challengers this term.

Everton for their part face a run of three games inside a week, starting at the Reebok, and so will be desperate to turn things around (particularly having endured a dire couple of weeks, including a potentially crippling Champions League defeat to Villarreal).

I expect a physical encounter, with few scoring opportunities.

Verdict: Bolton 0 Everton 0

Chelsea v Arsenal (16.00 KO) Two of the Premiership's biggest guns duke it out at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and despite only being 90 minutes into the new season, many pundits acknowledge this game will have a major bearing on where the Premiership trophy will be residing next summer.

Having finished last season 12 points behind Chelsea, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger knows his side simply must avoid defeat here. They were edged out 2-1 by the Blues in the FA Community Shield just a couple of weeks ago, but anyone who watched that game would have to admit that the men from North London dominated for long spells and were worth at least a draw.

Chelsea failed to impress during their 1-0 win over Premiership new boys Wigan last weekend, moving maverick boss Jose Mourinho to dub the result "unfair". There is no doubt that the Portuguese will have his men fired up for this one, but I can't get excited about them.

Games such as these, especially at this early stage of the season, are notoriously difficult to call with any authority. However, I have seen enough of Arsenal to suggest they could prove more than just competitive in this one. The cold facts are that Chelsea have not beaten the Gunners in the Premiership since 1997. Last year the teams drew both games, and even with the talismanic Patrick Vieira now having moved to pastures new, Arsenal still having enough quality about them to trouble the champions.

Verdict: Chelsea 0 Arsenal 1