Coming up this weekend in English Premier League …
Saturday:
Saturday, 6 October 2007, is a light match day as Manchester United plays at home against Wigan United. There is a ten-rank difference in the standings between the two teams, plus Manchester has regained two of its most valuable players, Rooney and Ronaldo, the former having just scored the winning goal against Roma on Tuesday in the Champions League. It seems only sensible to agree that Manchester is the favorite for the match.
Later, Aston Villa also plays at home as they take on West Ham United. Both teams have lost to Manchester City but Villa tied Newcastle while West Ham lost by two goals. In addition, the teams have very close record, West Ham with a win in place of a tie over Villa. It really is a toss up between who will take the game.
Sunday:
Sunday, on the other hand, is a busy day with eight matches lined up. The day does not bode well for Sunderland who meets Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, who are currently top of the. Arsenal has won the last five matches and Sunderland only winning one in the last five. Arsenal will be the clear winner, barring any extreme surprises. Reading host Derby, who has yet to win a game this season, breaking their six game losing streak with only a tie against Bolton last weekend. Reading holds a slightly more positive record, claiming two wins, and though Derby tied Bolton and Reading lost to them, this football lover is leaning toward Reading winning the match. Call it an unfounded hunch.
Blackburn and Birmingham play at Ewood Park. Blackburn has gone three games without a win, but in comparison to Birmingham, both teams have met Chelsea and Middlesbrough – Blackburn with the better record (tie and win respectively). Record and standing position give Blackburn the advantage over Birmingham, but Blackburn did lose to Sunderland who are ranked below them.
Chelsea will travel to Reebok Stadium to play against Bolton, and despite Chelsea’s tumultuous past few weeks and the additional Champions league match v. Valencia (which they won 2-1), they have more in their favor. The same goes for Liverpool who great Tottenham at Anfield.
Man City plays Middlesbrough – taking into consideration how well Man City has been playing and with Sven-Goran Eriksson, reminding all of Premier League that his team is only getting better with each match and training session. Man City appears to be the obvious winner. Newcastle v. Everton also looks to be a close match. On paper Everton look like the more likely to win because they are ahead in the standings and has a slightly better record. In fact, when one takes into consideration the haphazard Newcastle defense, it seems all too likely that Everton could easily take the match if Newcastle come to the pitch and play the same game they did last weekend against Man City.
Lastly, Fulham hosts Portsmouth who is in sixth place, while Fulham are down at 18 and have not won since their second match of the season. It doesn’t hurt that Portsmouth outright spanked Reading last weekend 7-4, building confidence in the players and a desire for more wins, if not big wins.
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