The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsA preview of all the weekends action, including the eagerly awaited Manchester derby, West Ham host Chelsea and Saints travel to Anfield for Jürgen Klopp’s first home game in the league.
Aston Villa V Swansea, 15:00, Villa Park.
Villa host the Swans on Saturday lunch time and will be looking to pick up all three points. Both teams are currently out of form and come into the match on the back of two defeats, Chelsea and Stoke respectively. There’s been rumours that Tim Sherwood has only a few games to save his job, they’ll welcome the trip from the out of form Welsh side and look to pick up all three points.
Leicester City V Crystal Palace, 15:00, The King Power Stadium.
After last week’s salvaged point, the confidence within the dressing room will be high for the comeback kings. Jamie Vardy is in incredible form and has currently netted nine times in this seasons campaign, the way he’s playing it would not be surprising if he notched up a few more Saturday. Palace on the other hand will be feeling down. Dwight Gayle got himself sent off last week so he’ll be missing, before that sending off Palace would have fancied themselves to go on to win that game.
Norwich City V West Brom, 15:00, Carrow Road.
Norwich will be looking to respond in good fashion in front of their home fans Saturday. After last week’s humiliation they will want to show those fans that travelled to St James that it was only a minor blip and they’re here to stay in the league for the long run. West Brom have recently picked up some important points and see themselves currently sat in 13th in the league, the exact same points as last year’s winners, Chelsea.
Stoke City V Watford, 15:00, Britannia Stadium.
Stoke host Watford on Saturday afternoon with both teams needing a win, massively. Stoke have threw points away from winning positions too many times this season and will fancy themselves here. Watford played a very good game of football against Arsenal Saturday evening but fell short and tired legs cost them the points against the Gunners.
West Ham V Chelsea, 15:00, Upton Park.
West Ham’s away form is something else at the moment. Once again on the weekend they won away from home. Their home form is a little stuttering so Chelsea should fancy themselves here. The match against Villa last week was extremely ideal for the champions and if they don’t pick up all three points from here then it really is a crisis that Chelsea are going through.
Arsenal V Everton, 17:30, Emirates Stadium.
On paper you would think that this would be a tight encounter. If you take in mind Everton’s abysmal display against United last week and the heroics of the Arsenal team against Bayern midweek you can only see one winner. If Arsenal can keep that kind of football up all season then there’s surely no doubt they will be strong contenders to win the league, long time coming too.
Sunderland V Newcastle United, 12:00, Stadium of Light.
Sunderland host Newcastle in this bottom of the league clash. Newcastle will be high flying after last Sunday’s crushing victory. They recorded their first win and what a way to do it, netting six past Norwich City. Sunderland are still looking for their first win of the campaign, with big Sam now in charge they’ll be hoping their form can take a massive turn for the best.
Bournemouth V Tottenham Hotspur, 14:05, Vitality Stadium.
Bournemouth started the season with a team on a mission. Picking up points where they really shouldn’t have. Since then though, it’s been a bit of a repeat for the South coast boys. A win here would lift all the spirits, but Spurs should see this one off comfortably. Tottenham picked up a point when they hosted Liverpool last week and had chances to win the game outright.
Manchester United V Manchester City, 14:05, Old Trafford.
What a game this will be. The top two teams in England will face head to head for the first time this season. United played with pure elegance and skill last week to absolutely thrash Everton. If they can take that form into this match then we should see an outstanding game of football. City blew Bournemouth completely out of the water last week, Raheem Sterling was on fine form and Kevin De Bruyne’s magic midweek will give them even more confidence, whoever wins this one will have first blood in what appears to be a fascinating and close campaign.
Liverpool V Southampton, 16:15, Anfield.
With a new manager, and the quality of the man Liverpool will only climb and climb. If Klopp is given a few seasons to blend in and make his team I think Liverpool can finally win the league. This match on Sunday is a real test though, although Southampton have been inconsistent at stages this season they’re still a strong team. Both teams have similar quality and a draw would not surprise any critics.
