Premier League preview

The Premier League returns after a busy midweek of European action, with three matches live on Sky Sports.

City go to QPR; Magpies host Toffees; Chelsea play Blackburn

The Premier League returns after a busy midweek of European action, and Manchester City have the opportunity to build on a 3-0 victory against Villarreal in the UEFA Champions League when they travel to the capital to face Queens Park Rangers. City are currently five points clear and go to Loftus Road on the back of five consecutive league wins, although QPR recently disposed of Chelsea on their home patch and will be fired up for the challenge. Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool all have home matches that they will expect to take maximum points from, while Chelsea face lowly Blackburn. Tottenham, along with City and Liverpool, are the in-form side in the top flight and they lock horns with London rivals Fulham on Sunday as Wolves play Wigan earlier in the afternoon - with both games shown live on Sky Sports 1 and HD1. Still basking in the glory of their derby triumph, Manchester City are sitting pretty at the top of the league table and appear to be getting stronger with each week. Having accustomed themselves to life in the Champions League, Roberto Mancini's charges have won every match since their defeat to Bayern Munich in September. It all sounds very ominous for Neil Warnock and QPR, who host City in Saturday's evening kick-off. However, Rangers are tough to beat at home.

Magpies flying high

The weekend's first game sees high-flying Newcastle play Everton at St James' Park, with the Magpies still on a remarkable run - third in the table and unbeaten this season. Few would have predicted such form at the beginning of the campaign, and praise must go to Alan Pardew and his players who have been the real surprise package this term. They beat Stoke in their back yard in front of the Sky cameras on Monday night and will be confident of a similar result against Everton, who, despite some impressive displays, have not been consistent enough and find themselves in 16th. Watch the action live on Sky Sports 2 and HD2 from 12.45pm. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson played Wayne Rooney in midfield during the Champions League meeting with Otelul Galati on Wednesday night, and while he described the attacker as United's 'best player', Rooney is likely to be back in attack for the clash with Sunderland at Old Trafford. Steve Bruce returns to the club where he made a name for himself as a player and he has seen an upturn in form for the Black Cats in recent games. A much-needed win over Bolton was followed by a draw against Aston Villa last weekend, although anything from this weekend's match will be seen as a bonus. Ferguson has been celebrating 25 years at United this week and a win would cap off the milestone in fitting fashion. Andre Villas-Boas is certainly making his mark at Chelsea, but the Blues' attempts to be more adventurous going forward have somewhat backfired of late. A 5-3 defeat to Arsenal last weekend was a stunning result which was in no small part down to some woeful defending from Chelsea. While the John Terry-Anton Ferdinand race row continues, with the Metropolitan Police having launched a formal investigation into the incident, Villas-Boas must focus his side on dragging themselves out of a mini-rut. They go to Blackburn, where Steve Kean appears to be leading a charmed life, and