Premier League Preview - Nov 20th, 2010 -- Part 1
Premier League resumes normal service this weekend after the international sabbatical and the fans could not have asked for a better opening game than the north London derby between two title hopefuls, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
The Gunners will have a chance to go top of the league table if they beat Harry Redknapp’s men in the Saturday’s early kick off as London Blues would not be playing their match at St. Andrews against Birmingham until a few hours later.
Arsenal are only two points behind the league leaders following their back to back wins in last 2 games. Tonight, they will welcome Spurs at the Emirates Stadium in what could be a fierce encounter. Arsenal have some injury worries going
into the game with four of their players out injured but for Spurs, at least 8 of their players are out on the treatment table. Defoe and King will go into late fitness tests ahead of the game and can return to the team.
Spurs have not beaten any of the so-called English top 4 for 68 matches away from home and they would be keen on getting the better of that stat tonight.
Last time out at the Emirates, Arsenal suffered a humiliating defeat to Newcastle while Spurs only registered their first win in 8 games last week. Nothing will be taken for granted for tonight’s game as both sides have agendas of their own
as Spurs, who are currently 7th in the table can go 4th with a high scoring win but of course Arsenal’s incentive is much bigger but still a competitive match is expected at the Emirates.
A win for Arsenal will surely put pressure on Chelsea who travel to Birmingham this week after a poor run in recent games. The going gets even tougher as tonight they will be without their first choice central-defensive pairing of John Terry
and Alex while Wilfred Bruma could be called upon to play at the heart of the defence. It is difficult to say if Chelsea will be an angry or a wounded tiger in the game but Birmingham are a good side at home and have only lost once in 21 games at home. They
are currently lying in the relegation zone after having only picked up a solitary win this season.
Manchester United will take on Wigan at the theatre of Dreams tonight and Wayne Rooney can make a comeback into side after completing a successful rehabilitation in Oregon, USA. The return of Rooney could be a welcome boost for United especially
considering that Berbatov has been seen struggling in recent games to get among the goals. Manchester United have a formidable record at home this season, having won 5 of their last six encounters at Old Trafford while Wigan are on the back of a win against
West Brom last weekend. They have been woeful away from the DW Stadium.
In another match on Saturday, Liverpool will come up against bottom of the table West Ham and will be looking to bounce back from the shock loss against Stoke City last weekend. Liverpool are currently in the bottom half of the table but
such is the congestion in the table this season that they are only within 3 points of the fifth spot and can claim that European spot tonight with a win and some goals. On the other hand, Avram Grant’s men will be looking to move off the foot of the table
with a win as they are five points adrift of safety and another loss could mean disaster for the East London side.
The weekend's fixtures are as follows:
Arsenal v Tottenham
Birmingham v Chelsea
Blackpool v Wolves
Bolton v Newcastle
Man. Utd. v Wigan
West Brom v Stoke
Liverpool v West Ham
Sunday:
Blackburn v Aston Villa
Fulham v Man. City
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