TOTTENHAM v CHELSEA 12:45
You might have heard that AVB and Mourinho don’t really get on anymore. Fascinating stuff, and seeing whether or not they shake hands before the match will surely overshadow anything that happens on the pitch. Those of you who can tear yourself away from that gripping sub-plot should know that the home side will make plenty of changes from the side that beat Villa in the cup, and Danny Rose is fit again.
Ramires is doubtful for Chelsea, and Marco van Ginkel is out for 6 months after knacking his cruciate against Swindon. Juan Mata, David Luiz and Fernando Torres all impressed in that match, but have they done enough to force themselves in to Mourinho’s thoughts for this one?
ASTON VILLA v MAN CITY
City have been scoring goals for fun this last week and though Sergio Aguero and David Silva will sit out the trip to Villa Park (with one eye on next weeks visit of Bayern Munich) they’re not short of options going forward.
Villa are likely to welcome back Gabriel Agbonlahor, Fabian Delph, Ciaran Clark and Antonio Luna after they sat out the heavy cup defeat to Spurs in midweek. Christian Benteke remains sidelined though.
FULHAM v CARDIFF
These sides are both hovering around the drop zone and will view this as the ideal opportunity to kick-start their seasons. Martin Jol is especially feeling the pressure after Fulham’s poor start and the fans are getting restless, anything less than a win here will only see that intensify. He’s got quite the injury list to contend with too. Aaron Hughes and Bryan Ruiz face late fitness tests but Maarten Stekelenburg, Ashkan Dejagah and Matthew Briggs are all definitely out.
Cardiff could hand a first league start to Peter Odemwingie after he netted against West Ham during the week, but Andreas Cornelius remains sidelined.
HULL v WEST HAM
The Hammers finally found their shooting boots last weekend but still ended up losing at home to Everton. Hull, on the other hand were impressive in fighting back against Newcastle and have had the brighter start of these two sides. A win here would see their points tally reach double figures and the return of Maynor Figueroa will provide a boost. Paul McShane and James Chester are unavailable though.
The Hammers welcome Mark Noble back after his one-match ban and Stewart Downing is fit again, however Joe Cole still hasn’t recovered from his hamstring injury.
MAN UTD v WEST BROM
West Brom at home, the ideal fixture for United as they look to get their league campaign going. The midweek win over Liverpool and the return of Robin van Persie should boost them, and Tom Cleverly’s back too...
The Baggies have improved of late and with Victor Anichebe, Nicolas Anelka and Claudio Yacob available again, are looking in reasonably good shape.
SOUTHAMPTON v CRYSTAL PALACE
The Saints will be hoping to make it 3 wins in a week when they face a struggling Palace side at St Marys. Mauricio Pocchetino made 11 changes for the cup game against Bristol City so the regular starters should come back refreshed. Gaston Ramirez impressed in that match but may not get the opportunity to press his claim here as he limped off late on. Other than that it’s a clean bill of health for Southampton.
For Palace, Damien Delaney misses out with an ankle injury but any defensive concerns will be eased by Kagisho Dikgacoi’s return from suspension.
SWANSEA v ARSENAL
The Swans were embarrassed by Birmingham in the week but Michael Laudrup’s team selection for that game suggests his priorities lie elsewhere. It’ll be back to full strength for this one, however Pablo Hernandez is out and Ashley Williams is doubtful.
Arsene Wenger also made a host of changes in the cup, so both sides should be fresh for Saturday’s late kick-off. Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini are doubtful for the Gunners but they don’t have any other new injury concerns.
Previews for Sunday and Monday's fixtures to follow...
Predictions?
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