Premier League preview

United do battle with Liverpool in colossal Old Trafford clash

By James Dall   Last updated: 19th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Premier League preview

Utd v Liverpool: Fierce rivalry

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Saturday
Aston Villa v Wolves
Everton v Bolton
Portsmouth v Hull
Stoke v Tottenham
Sunderland v Birmingham
Wigan v Burnley
Arsenal v West Ham
Sunday
Man Utd v Liverpool
Fulham v Man City
Blackburn v Chelsea

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Manchester United and Liverpool lock horns on Sunday with the outcome of such a saliva-inducing fixture set to affect both the title race and the battle for a fourth-placed finish in the Premier League.

Elsewhere on a weekend that boasts a full programme of top-flight matches, Aston Villa host Midlands rivals Wolves, manager Iain Dowie makes his Hull City debut at Portsmouth, Arsenal tackle London neighbours West Ham while Chelsea make the trip to Blackburn Rovers.

Where else to start but Sunday lunchtime at Old Trafford as Manchester United meet Liverpool, live on Sky Sports HD1 & 1. The champions head into the match-up occupying pole position by two points as they boast a game in hand over Chelsea. Sir Alex Ferguson's men are eyeing a fourth league win on the bounce but will be very wary of their opposition. Liverpool, despite their poor season, beat United 2-0 earlier this campaign while they recorded an emphatic 4-1 success at the Theatre of Dreams last term. Rafa Benitez's side sit fifth in the table after returning to winning ways with a convincing scalp of Portsmouth on Monday, although Albert Riera's blast of the boss has hardly made for ideal preparation for this vital encounter.

On the same day and the same television channel, Blackburn Rovers welcome Chelsea to Ewood Park. Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti will demand an immediate response from his players after they departed the UEFA Champions League against Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan this week. How said defeat will affect Chelsea remains to be seen, with confidence potentially low or instead fire in their bellies to prove the critics wrong. Perhaps surprisingly, Chelsea are eyeing a first set of back-to-back league wins since the end of January. For Blackburn there is hope. Indeed, their home form has been positive, with the club victorious in each of their last four matches on their own patch, while of course the Blues have not travelled well this campaign.

The weekend's action starts on Saturday lunchtime when Aston Villa go head-to-head with Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, also live on Sky Sports HD1 & 1. Villa are well within the hunt for the much-coveted final Champions League berth as they sit three points behind Tottenham with a game in hand. While Martin O'Neill's men are unbeaten in eight league matches, that statistic somewhat masks the matter of just three games won from those outings. Wolves head into the fixture at Villa Pak boosted by their victory at Burnley, a game when finally Mick McCarthy's men found their shooting boots. Wolves have not coped favourably against their foes, with the club failing to beat Villa in their last 15 attempts in all competitions.

Dowie debut

In one of five Saturday 3pm kick-offs, Portsmouth face Dowie's Hull City. Pompey are now surely playing their remaining matches just for pride after their nine-point penalty was confirmed during midweek. The punishment leaves them rooted to the foot of the division, 17 points adrift of safety with nine games remaining. Portsmouth, though, are now likely to be a dangerous animal, such is the lack of pressure the players will now play under. For Hull, Phil Brown was relieved of his duties earlier this week, paving the way for new boss Dowie. The former Charlton, Coventry and QPR manager finds Hull in the bottom three having lost their last four matches.

Arsenal play out another evening kick-off as they entertain West Ham United. A late goal from Nicklas Bendtner last week at Hull kept the Gunners' title hopes alive as they claimed a fifth successive victory. With United and Chelsea both playing the next day, this fixture is a chance for Arsene Wenger's men, who are boosted by the return of Cesc Fabregas, to go top of the table. West Ham's form, meanwhile, has nose-dived of late, with the club losing their last three games. Gianfranco Zola's team sit 16th in the table and the Italian will likely seek damage limitation against Arsenal ahead of, what is in truth, a far more winnable 'six-pointer' versus Wolves next Tuesday.

Fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur face a difficult trip to Stoke City. Spurs have strung together three wins in succession, jet-powered by the reinvigorated Roman Pavlyuchenko, and would be loath to see their rhythm disturbed. Revenge might be on their minds too after they were beaten by the Potters at home earlier this season. The Britannia Stadium remains a tough place to visit while Stoke have only lost one of their last 10 Premier league matches. Furthermore, Tottenham's consistency on the road has been their Achilles' heel this campaign. Indeed, Harry Redknapp's charges last won back-to-back away games in August.

Wigan Athletic do battle with relegation rivals Burnley in a huge clash at the wrong end of the table. Four points separate the North West pair, with the latter in the relegation zone at present. While Wigan have been hugely inconsistent, their odd victory or shock result has ensured they have so far escaped being sucked into the bottom three. Burnley, though, remain in the thick of it, due to their horrid away record, and the club have achieved just one three-point haul in their last 19 attempts. Such is Burnley's plight that rumours surfaced during the week suggesting manager Brian Laws, who took over from Owen Coyle in January, could be set for the sack - rumours that have since been rejected.

Corner turned

Steve Bruce faces his former club Birmingham City as Sunderland aim to keep their improved run going. Having gone 14 games without a win, the Black Cats have accrued five points from their last three matches. Bruce, who spent six years as manager of Birmingham, will be hoping a corner has been turned as his team aim to put further distance between them and the relegation zone. There are no such issues for Alex McLeish, whose side continue to lie in the top half of the table. Consolidating eighth position will likely be Birmingham's target for the remainder of the season, and such a feat would be worthy of acclaim.

Everton tackle Bolton Wanderers at Goodison Park with the latter eyeing back-to-back league victories. The Toffees were denied three points in their last outing as they threw away a two-goal lead while Bolton were rampant 4-0 winners against Wigan. That success for the Trotters handed them some much-needed breathing space in their bid to beat the drop, with eight points now separating them and the strugglers. Interestingly, and to highlight Everton's dramatic season transformation, if the Premier League had started on 1st January, Everton would be third.

Completing Sunday and the weekend's action is Fulham's home match-up with Manchester City. The Cottagers are currently in the midst of a crazily hectic fixture schedule and manager Roy Hodgson will hope that Thursday's thrilling Europa League exertions against Juventus will have given his side a major shot in the arm for their clash against City. The fixture sees a tale of one side boasting decent home form and the other poor on their travels. Indeed, Fulham have only lost one of their last 11 Premier League games at Craven Cottage while City have only won two of their last 13 Premier League away matches. Roberto Mancini's men are currently unbeaten in five outings, but three of those results have been draws. The Italian will be aware that more victories are essential if they are to claim fourth place.