Premier League Weekend Preview (Part 2)
In their last outing in the Premier League, Sunderland were mauled by Newcastle United in the Tyne-weir derby but they must respond this week when they host the Potters at the Stadium of Light. It was nothing short of a humiliation for Steve Bruce’s men
losing to their local rivals but they can put it all behind them with a win tonight.
Sunderland can take some heart from the fact that they have not lost at Wearside since 26th of December 2009 and Stoke themselves do not boast the best of records in the league as they are on a run of four consecutive defeats but prior to that
they had amassed an impressive 10 points from an available 12. So, it may not be beyond their reach to beat Sunderland at their home but whatever the case it's going to be a mouth watering clash.
Since the arrival of Gerrard Houlier, Aston Villa have not set the Premier League alight and are currently lying in the 14th spot. The manager will be desperate for his men to respond emphatically when they visit the Craven Cottage in London to
face Fulham.
Fulham are also not in the best of forms as they only ended a poor run of form last weekend when they beat Wigan 2-0 and this was just their second three points haul this season.
Mark Hughes is a man under pressure and he will be hoping that his side can produce back to back wins for the first time since February but one thing going for the Welshman is the form of Clint Dempsey who has been finding the net with remarkable ease this
season. But, it has been the Fulham defense that is letting them down miserably, perhaps the sale of Koncheskey hasn’t gone down well with the team.
On the other hand, goals are a cause of concern for Houllier’s side as they are now 344 minutes without scoring and have lost 5 of their last six away fixtures.
All three points will be extremely important for both the sides but all will depend on who can rise to the occasion.
Last match on Saturday will be played between two North-West rivals as Blackburn Rovers take on Wigan Athletic. Rovers are currently in the drop zone and they almost inflicted a point loss on Chelsea last week but a late goal by Branislav Ivanovic broke
their hearts.
Nonetheless, it was an impressive performance by Rovers and they surely will take heart from that game. Sam Allardyce will be confident that his players can continue the good form in tonight’s game.
Wigan are just one place above Rovers and were on a good run of form prior to their defeat to Fulham where they had not lost in 4 straight games but the record came to an end at Craven Cottage. It is a bottom of the table clash but with only 3 points separating
10 places in the league table, a win will be high on both the managers' agendas.
The two matches on Sunday will be Arsenal vs. Newcastle and West Brom vs. Manchester City.
Arsene Wenger’s side lost to Shakhtar Donetsk in Europe in the midweek but their league form has been formidable in recent weeks but so was their form in Europe prior to the visit to Ukraine. Their opponents on Sunday will be riding a high as they are on
the back of a 5-1 thrashing of Sunderland only a week ago.
Arsenal defeated Newcastle 4-0 in the Carling Cup a fortnight ago and the manager will be hoping that they can repeat that performance on Sunday.
The last game of the weekend will be of pivotal importance for Roberto Mancini as they are on the back of 3 consecutive defeats and losses against the likes of Wolves and Lech Poznan are just not acceptable for a club of their stature.
The pressure is on Mancini to turn things around but if he doesn’t, we all know what Mark Hughes got for a Christmas present last year.
Tags: