A view on the weekends action

This week is a big week for teams chasing the title.

Arsenal travel to Stamford bridge to play Chelsea in what is arguably the most important game so far. Arsenal and Chelsea both had mid-week succes and that should boost them after last weekends defeats. The big talking point is who gets the number one slot for the game. Personally I think Fabianski should get the nod. Almunia made big blunders against WBA and although he saved a penalty so did Fabianski and frankly he didn't have the blunders to go with it. In fact I thought he was rather solid and that is always good for confidence. Injury wise Lampard is out and Fabregas is yet to be passed fit but for Arsenal it does look like they might have to take on their rivals without their captain [ at least not for 90 minutes anyway]. Earlier this week Ancelotti's father died and that started rumours that he would not be attending the game but the Chelsea staff have said that he would be back in time to take charge. Difficult one to call this.I hate to say it but Arsenal will have a tough job getting 3 points but I can see a respectable draw.

Man Utd will be all out to win at Sunderland because the other major title contenders play each other. It is a good chance for them to gain a lot of ground on one of them or a little ground on them both. But Sunderland is not easy in the slightest. They have proved they will fight for the death to get something from a game so Utd will have to get goals quick and then defend better than they have been. I think Utd will win based on quality but I said that about Arsenal and WBA and look who won that one.

Man City's next 2 games are vital if they want to stay in the hunt for the title. They host Newcastle this week and then travel to Blackpool the week after. They need maximum points from these games so they can stay in touch. Newcastle have not been what I hoped for this season. They have fizzled out since their 6-0 win over Villa and are yet to put down their mark as a long term premier league team. It would be a great place to get moving again. I mean The City of Manchester Stadium is a great place to win. I'll bet on City for this one because I think they will just out perform Newcastle.

Liverpool need to keep up the trend of thrashing Blackpool at home that Arsenal and Chelsea have already set. If I was a Liverpool fan then I would be wondering how they would get back into Europe. Gerrard is doing well but he is not a one man band he needs support[looking at you Torres] so that they can carry out results. But Blackpool have been alright on their travels. Lets not forget who won on the opening day with 4 goals. Yes they got thrashed by Arsenal but they had chances until they went down to ten men. And they kept Chelsea quiet for 45 minutes. If liverpool don't step it up then there could be an upset on the cards.

Villa sit 5th in the league at the start of the weekend but if they lose to Tottenham then they would be leap frogged by the london club. After a dodgy start Villa have found their feet and are starting to play again. I'm a bit clueless on Tottenham's team news but I do know that the red card Van Der Vaart picked up in mid-weed will not count for this game as it happened in Europe. Draw for the safe better but either team could win.

Wigan and Wolves has to promise goals. I mean they don't have he best defences so slip ups might happen often. Their might be a few bad challenges so I don't expect a flowing game but there could be talking points. Hard to call so i'll say draw.

It is starting to get a bit silly at Everton they still can't get a win and Birmingham isn't a nice place to have to go and do it. Birmingham are strong at the back at home and that is a major blow for Everton as they just can't find a way through defences right now. I like Everton and don't want to see them do badly but if you can't deliver the goods then what fun is it be in the top division. Stalemate.

Stoke and Blackburn will be a game of the ball over the top. Stoke are the tallest team in the league and I don't think Blackburn are far off. It won't have much action individual skill but it might have a goalmouth scramble or 2 which is nice for neutrals. If this is going to be won it is going to be won by a long throw 30 seconds from time if not then it'll be a draw.

WBA host Bolton and they will be over the moon with last weeks result. Bolton held Man Utd to a draw last week and that is also impressive. So what I'm saying is that it won't be dull and could go either way.

Last it's another all London clash at Upton Park with Fulham being the vistors. Fulham have the upper hand in terms of points because whatever happens they will remain on top of the hammers by the end of the week. Things are starting to look up at West ham last week they beat Tottenham and the week before that they saved a point at Stoke. Fulham are weak up front with Dembele and Zamora out so you wonder if Mark Hughes will change his formation. I'm going to bet on the Hammers for this one and hope it's a good game.