Sky Sports.com

GRAND SLAM SUNDAY EXPERTS
Awesome foursome
Andy Gray on the big four
United they stand
Le Tissier on L'pool-Man Utd
Machine Gunned
Le Tissier on Arsenal-Chelsea

Related links

Teams

• Arsenal
• Aston Villa
• More Teams Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Chelsea Derby County Everton Fulham Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Portsmouth Reading Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wigan Athletic

Also see

• Andy Gray on the big four
• Le Tissier on L'pool-Man Utd
• Le Tissier on Arsenal-Chelsea

As the cold snap descends and the high street becomes a demonic vision of frenzied wide-eyed shoppers, Sky Sports has the ideal tonic, so sit back and indulge in the festive treat that is Grand Slam Sunday.

Get the Christmas shopping out of the way on the Saturday, maybe even invite the in-laws round for supper, for on Sunday (the day of rest), you'll not want to bother with any of that.

All you need is the TV and a well stocked fridge.

Coverage begins on Sky Sports 1 at 1pm from Anfield, as Manchester United make the short trip to face North West rivals Liverpool.

Rafa Benitez's future has been the subject of conjecture for much of the campaign but their display in Marseille should earn the Spaniard breathing space and if he chalks up a first league win over United since 2004, then his status may be as elevated in the boardroom as it is on the Kop.

That said, United have shown no desire to relinquish their title and with Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez forming a triumvirate that is envied across Europe, Liverpool will have to be en guard for a full 90 minutes.

Merseyside will still be emptying by the time things get underway in the capital, as Arsenal face Chelsea at Emirates Stadium determined to put a recent domestic blip firmly to bed.

For the first time this season question marks are being raised over whether Arsene Wenger's band of precocious starlets have the experience needed for a sustained title tilt; so what better way than to answer their detractors than a win against old foes Chelsea?

Avram Grant's quiet but effective tenure this term has impressed the most demanding of paymasters and the ordinary one will be eager to celebrate a new long-term deal by putting Chelsea back to the forefront of a title race many feel is beyond them.

Didier Drobga's absence will be sorely felt by the usurped former champions and in stark contrast, Arsenal are able to welcome back a striking talisman of their own: Robin van Persie.

Saturday's fixtures may pale in comparison but that's not to say a number won't wash down well as tantalising aperitifs for Sunday's main course.

For those that frequent Upton Park on a regular basis the visit of Everton will provoke a sense of deja vu as it was only on Wednesday that David Moyes brought his side to West Ham; coming away with a place in the Carling Cup semi-final courtesy of Yakubu Aiyegbeni's winner.

Alex McLeish appears to have made a favourable impression since taking the reins at St Andrews and while the Scot is still in his honeymoon period, the visit of Reading nonetheless has the look of a proverbial 'six-pointer'.

The same could perhaps be said of Paul Jewell's first home game as Derby boss, with Middlesbrough travelling to the Midlands in buoyant mood following their shock win over Arsenal last weekend.

Manchester City are riding the crest of Sven Goran Eriksson's wave (via Thaksin Shinawatra's chequebook) at present and while away from home they are as useful as a chocolate fireguard, Eastlands remains a fortress that a rejuvenate Bolton will do well to come away from with anything other than defeat.

Portsmouth are another side that are usually majestic at home and miserable away but this term has seen a reverse for Harry Redknapp's men. With the African Cup of Nations peeping over the horizon ominously, Redknapp will be demanding as many maximum hauls as possible, before several of his key men swap domestic chores for international exertions - starting at the weekend against a consistently inconsistent Tottenham side.

If reports are to believed then Martin O'Neill spurned the FA's flirtatious overtures over the England job and the quick-witted Ulsterman will be hoping his loyalty to ambitious Aston Villa will be rewarded with victory over a Sunderland side still adjusting to the demands of top flight football.

Steve Bruce described his Wigan side's defending last week at Bolton as being 'pub-like' so after a week on the training ground, it will be interesting to note whether he has ironed out any problems or whether he'll be reaching for a drink following the visit of Blackburn.

Saturday's late kick-off sees a beleaguered Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce take his charges to Craven Cottage, to face a Fulham side that are great at taking a lead but useless at keeping hold of it.

Birmingham City v Reading

The two sides have not met in the league since January 1998 in the Championship when Birmingham won 2-0 on home soil. Reading have lost their last six away matches in a row, but they have scored in the last five.

Derby County v Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough have won three and drawn one of their last five away trips to play Derby in all competitions. There have been 41 goals in 10 Premier League meetings between Derby and Middlesbrough.

Manchester City v Bolton Wanderers

Man City are the only team in the Premier League with a 100% home record -eight games, eight wins. Nicolas Anelka has twice scored braces in this fixture - in October 2003 he scored twice in a 6-2 win for Manchester City against Bolton and in December last year he netted two in a 2-0 win for Bolton at Eastlands.

Portsmouth v Tottenham Hotspur

Pompey have lost four and won none of the last five Premier League meetings with Spurs. Jermain Defoe has scored in three of his last four appearances against Portsmouth and four out of seven in the Premier League overall.

Sunderland v Aston Villa

Villa have won the last three Premier League meetings with Sunderland. The Black Cats have won only one of the last nine meetings with Villa.

West Ham United v Everton

West Ham have won four, drawn four and lost four of their home Premier league games against Everton. Bobby Zamora has scored the winning goal in two of his three starts against Everton.

Wigan Athletic v Blackburn Rovers

Wigan have won none of their last 13 Premier League outings and have taken just one point from the last 30 available. Rovers have kept just one clean sheet in their last 11 league outings.

Fulham v Newcastle United

Fulham have won the last three meetings with Newcastle by a one-goal margin and last season both results were 2-1 to the Cottagers. Brian McBride has scored in three of his last four outings against Newcastle.

Arsenal v Chelsea

Chelsea have only ever won once away at Arsenal - a 2-0 win on December 18 2005. There have been four red cards in the last two meetings in all competitions between Arsenal and Chelsea - two per team.

Liverpool v Manchester United

United have won on more occasions (8) at Anfield in the Premier League era than any other team - five more times than any other team. Liverpool have failed to score in their last five Premier League games against Man Utd and the only goal they have scored against the Red Devils under Rafa Benitez in six meetings was an own goal in a 2-1 defeat in September 2005.