Friday 25 November 2005

Premiership Preview Week 14

Winter's starting to bite in Blighty and so is the tension in The Premier League as the season unfolds but this week's fixtures are guaranteed to keep you warm.

With no lunchtime game this week there's five at three on Saturday as Arsenal host Blackburn Rovers and should win; Aston Villa will do well to avoid defeat by visitors Charlton Athletic; Manchester City should beat Liverpool if they play well but have stuttered recently; Sunderland are already looking marked for relegation and Birmingham City should take advantage.

The game of the day must be Wigan Athletic versus Tottenham Hotspur, with both these attacking teams looking to keep pace with runaway leaders Chelsea, who have an evening out at struggling Portsmouth.

Sunday offers a veritable marathon of football spanning almost six hours, starting with Everton v Newcastle United, which most years you'd fancy Everton to win, but not this season - Newcastle to pick up valuable away points is my call. Fulham will be looking to make progress against Bolton Wanderers but I predict more disappointment for The Cottagers.

Former Alex Ferguson assistant Steve McClaren's Middlesbrough will be severely tested by the visit of United ex-captain Bryan Robson's West Bromwich Albion but should just edge a tight game. The pupils' former boss takes Manchester United to London's East End to visit West Ham United for a stern test of both teams resources, including Rio Ferdinand facing younger brother Anton, but I expect the phoenix to fly for the Red Devils tonight.

This article is cross-posted here at BlogCritics.

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