Soccer4life Previews the matches to be played this weekend, bearing in mind the battle of Manchester which will take place on Sunday between Manchester City and Manchester United.
It will interest you to know that all games today Saturday kicks off at 15:00 GMT and 4 pm Nigeria Local Time.
Arsenal vs West Brom
Arsenal welcome West brom to the Emirate, this might not be a good for the North Londoner to welcome the Baggies who are currently enjoying their best start to a premier league season in a very long time.
The Baggies have also won two of their last three away games, was common between both teams is that they are both looking for a win.
Arsenal will be without forwards Lukas Podolski (hamstring) and Theo Walcott (calf). Defender Bacary Sagna (foot) is a major doubt, but Laurent Koscielny (thigh) is definitely out. Full-back Andre Santos (stomach muscle) and midfielder Abou Diaby (thigh) continue their rehabilitation.
Steve Clarke has virtually a full squad to choose from. Goalkeeper Ben Foster is the only absentee as he continues his rehabilitation work after undergoing a second groin operation, with Boaz Myhill again deputising. Clarke has to decide whether to recall the likes of striker Peter Odemwingie and midfielders James Morrison and skipper Chris Brunt, who were rested for last weekend's encounter with Stoke.
Aston Villa Vs Stoke
Aston Villa winger Charles N'Zogbia has returned to training after a six-week absence with a knee problem but manager Paul Lambert is still to decide whether he will be involved tomorrow. Skipper and centre-back Ron Vlaar remains a major doubt with a calf problem which ruled him out of the last two games with Reading and QPR. Left-backs Enda Stevens (ankle) and Joe Bennett (knee) are still sidelined as Villa look to extend their unbeaten run to four matches.
Provisional squad: Guzan, Given, Lowton, Clark, Vlaar, Lichaj, Baker, Ireland, El Ahmadi, Herd, Westwood, Bannan, Delph, Holman, Bent, Agbonlahor, Benteke, Bowery, Weimann, Burke, Johnson, Williams, N'Zogbia.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis is hopeful striker Peter Crouch will be able to return to action. Crouch, who missed last weekend's 1-0 victory at West Brom having lost some teeth in a collision with Newcastle's Fabricio Coloccini in the previous match, has had a mouth guard fitted and is being monitored in training, while Pulis is also optimistic forward Cameron Jerome will be fit for selection after an ankle injury kept him out of the Baggies contest. It remains to be seen whether or not fellow frontman Michael Owen, sidelined for the last few weeks by a hamstring problem, is ready to feature again, and the Potters will definitely be without midfielders Charlie Adam, who serves a one-match suspension, and Rory Delap (hernia), along with defender Marc Wilson (broken leg).
Provisional squad: Begovic, Sorensen, Huth, Shawcross, Cameron, Upson, Shotton, Wilkinson, Whelan, Etherington, Palacios, Jones, Jerome, Crouch, Walters, Kightly, Edu, Nzonzi, Ness, Whitehead, Owen.
Referee: R East; Assistants: G Beswick, H Lennard; Fourth official: C Foy.
Southampton Vs Reading
Southampton will be coming into this game with so much confidence after recording a recent series of victory and will be hoping to inflict more injuries to Reading after they lost to United last weekend despite leading on two occasions.
Southampton manager Nigel Adkins: "You are looking to pick your points up at home, especially against the teams that are in and around you in the division."
Gaston Ramirez will be available for Southampton tomorrow despite spending the week in Uruguay. The 22-year-old returned to his homeland last Sunday on compassionate leave but will be in the squad to face the Royals. Richard Chaplow and Frazer Richardson are back in training after injury, although the latter is not yet ready for a first-team return.
Provisional squad: K Davis, Gazzaniga, Boruc, Butterfield, Stephens, Clyne, Fox, Shaw, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Fonte, Reeves, Ward-Prowse, Do Prado, Cork, Chaplow, De Ridder, Lallana, Ramirez, Schneiderlin, Lee, Puncheon, S Davis, Lambert, Rodriguez, Mayuka.
Reading manager Brian McDermott: "We know what they are about and we have to make sure we go there and do what we have to."
Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak is a doubt for tomorrow after sustaining an unspecified injury while on reserves duty.
Danny Guthrie should return from a thigh problem, but his fellow midfielders Jimmy Kebe (groin) and Jem Karacan (knee) are definitely out.
Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy has undergone shoulder surgery, but manager Brian McDermott is refusing to set a date for his return.
Provisional squad: Federici, Taylor, Gunter, Cummings, Gorkss, Pearce, Morrison, Mariappa, Shorey, Harte, McAnuff, Guthrie, Leigertwood, Tabb, McCleary, Pogrebnyak, Le Fondre, Hunt, Robson-Kanu, Roberts.
Referee: J Moss; Assistants: D C Richards, J Brooks; Fourth official: M Naylor.
Sunderland Vs Chelsea
Suderland may feel so unlucky to be facing the eliminated European Champions at this time of the year when interim Manger Rafa Benitez seems to have found the right ingredient to making Chelsea a winning team and with Torres now looking more like a striker which he hasn't been in a long time.
Sunderland themselves haven't found life easy this season as they seem to be loosing to any team they meet despite their very good performances.
Sunderland - Martin O'Neill: "We would take winning over the performance"
Defender John O'Shea and striker Steven Fletcher are both in contention for tomorrow's match. O'Shea is the more likely to feature having trained this week following a calf injury while leading scorer Fletcher will be assessed later today. The Scot was forced off at half-time in last weekend's defeat by Norwich with an ankle problem and saw a specialist this week. Captain Lee Cattermole is expected to be out for another two months after damaging knee ligaments.
Provisional squad: Mignolet, Westwood, Bardsley, Kilgallon, O'Shea, Cuellar, Bramble, Rose, Gardner, Colback, McClean, Larsson, Sessegnon, Saha, Fletcher, Campbell, Wickham, McFadden.
Chelsea - Rafael Benitez: "It's just a question of time that we can understand eachother really well and then do things that we want to on the pitch."
Frank Lampard will return from his calf injury for the match. Defender John Terry and striker Daniel Sturridge are still sidelined with knee and hamstring problems respectively. Midfielder John Obi Mikel will not feature as he begins a three-game ban.
Provisional squad: Cech, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Bertrand, Romeu, Ramires, Mata, Oscar, Lampard, Hazard, Moses, Marin, Piazon, Torres, Turnbull.Referee: M Halsey; Assistants: R Ganfield, M Wilkes; Fourth official: C Pawson.
Referee: M Halsey; Assistants: R Ganfield, M Wilkes; Fourth official: C Pawson.
Swansea Vs Norwich
This definitely will be an interesting fixture, with both teams playing above expectations. I won't be mistaken to call this a clash of the giant killers.
Norwich this season have taken maximum point from Arsenal and Liverpool this season, while Swansea have also dished out a defeat to Arsenal and also offered a helping hand to the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo at Chelsea.
Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup: "We are playing against a team who are even in better form than we are."
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup will not rush Michel Vorm and Pablo Hernandez back into his starting line-up. Goalkeeper Vorm is back in training following a groin injury but is not ready to return to first-team action, while Hernandez is still struggling with a thigh problem. Wayne Routledge could return from an ankle knock which may see top scorer Michu again moved up front.
Provisional squad: Bartley, Flores, Williams, Britton, Lita, Michu, Graham, Dyer, Cornell, Routledge, Monk, Shechter, Moore, De Guzman, Tiendalli, Rangel, Ki, Tremmel, Agustien, Gower, Richards, Davies.
Norwich City manager Chris Hughton: "Swansea are probably playing as well as anybody in this division."
Norwich defender Sebastien Bassong will be fit for Saturday. The 26-year-old looked to be struggling towards the closing stages of the 2-1 win over Sunderland but Norwich boss Chris Hughton has revealed the centre-half is available for selection. England goalkeeper John Ruddy has undergone a thigh operation and faces up to three months out while defender Michael Turner (shoulder) and on-loan striker Harry Kane (metatarsal) are also missing.
Provisional squad: Bunn, Rudd, Whittaker, Garrido, R Bennett, Bassong, Barnett, Tierney, Martin, Tettey, Howson, Johnson, Hoolahan, E Bennett, Pilkington, Surman, Snodgrass, Jackson, Holt, Morison.
In their last meeting Norwich defeated Swansea 3 - 2 at the Liberty Staduim, and they will be hoping to repeat that again this season.
Wigan Vs QPR
The clash of the struggle rs, QPR come into this match bearing in mind that there won't be any form of Celebration during this Christmas, and only a victory will be acceptable to the club owners and fans alike.
Wigan also will be hoping to take their own share of three point from fellow struggle rs QPR after loosing to Newcastle on Monday and going down to 10 men after two of their players were shown a red card.
Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez: "In many ways it is a must-win game for both sides."
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez is set to be without four central defenders for the match. Antolin Alcaraz (groin) and Ivan Ramis (hamstring) are injured while captain Gary Caldwell and Maynor Figueroa are both suspended after the Football Association rejected Wigan's appeal against the latter's red card in Monday's 3-0 defeat by Newcastle. The Latics also have other injury problems, with midfielder Ben Watson (broken leg), wingers Albert Crusat (knee) and Ryo Miyaichi (ankle) and playmaker Shaun Maloney (groin) all sidelined.
Provisional squad: Al Habsi, Pollitt, Beausejour, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Kone, Boselli, Gomez, Jones, McManaman, Fyvie, Lopez, Stam, Di Santo, Golobart.
Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp: "I could not be more pleased with the effort and commitment the players have shown, we just need a win now."
Goalkeeper Julio Cesar is a doubt for QPR as he is still struggling with the groin injury he suffered at Sunderland two weeks ago. Stephane Mbia and Samba Diakite have recovered from the neck and ankle injuries they suffered in last weekend's 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. Long-term absentees Bobby Zamora (hip) and Andrew Johnson (knee) remain sidelined.
Provisional squad: Green, Cesar, Onuoha, Hill, Nelsen, Ferdinand, Mbia, Fabio, Bosingwa, Traore, Derry, Diakite, Park, Granero, Taarabt, Hoilett, Faurlin, Wright-Phillips, Ephraim, Mackie, Cisse.
Referee: P Dowd; Assistants: J Collin, L Betts; Fourth official: M Dean.
SUNDAY FIXTURES
MANCHESTER CITY VS MANCHESTER UNITED. (13:30GMT 2;30 Nigerian Time)
The ground is already being heated up with both managers playing the off the pitch mind games.
The actual clash will be taken place at the Etihad stadium Manchester.
United didn't find favour from the fixture last season, they will be hoping the signing Robin Van Persie will prove the difference.
United have conceded 21 goals from 15 games already, while City have conceded the lest in the League with 11.
This clash sees the League's best attack take on the League's best defence.
Manchester City's main injury problems lie in defence, but Gael Clichy (ankle) is set to return for the Premier League champions, with fellow left-back Aleksandar Kolarov (groin) also close to full fitness.
James Milner (hamstring) and Micah Richards (knee) are likely to miss out for the home side, while Jack Rodwell (hamstring) should be available for selection for Roberto Mancini.
David Silva (hamstring) is a worry for the hosts, and could be replaced by Javi Garcia in the centre for a more defensive formation.
The visitors have injury problems in midfield, with Anderson (hamstring) likely to miss the festive period after picking up a knock against Reading, and Tom Cleverley (calf) also a doubt.
Antonio Valencia (thigh) and Nemanja Vidic (knee) could both be available for selection, although Sir Alex Ferguson has said he feels the game will come to soon for the Serbian captain after a second long spell out.
Nani (hamstring) is almost certainly out of the game, while Shinji Kagawa (knee) could take a place on the bench after time on the sidelines.
PROBABLE LINEUPS
Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy, Barry, Nasri, Y Toure, Silva Tevez, Aguero
Man utd; De Gea, Rafael, Evans, Ferdinand, Evra, Carrick, Scholes, Valencia, Rooney, Young, Van Persie
Everton Vs Tottenham (15:00GMT 4Pm Nigerian Time)
Everton could have Kevin Mirallas and Seamus Coleman available. David Moyes says forward Mirallas, who has missed four games due to a hamstring injury, and full-back Coleman, sidelined for three by an unspecified problem, have "outside chances'' of featuring. Victor Anichebe (hamstring) and Phil Neville (knee) remain on the casualty list.
Tottenham defender Michael Dawson has only a slim chance of recovering from his hamstring injury. Winger Gareth Bale is out with his hamstring problem while Hugo Lloris is expected to replace Brad Friedel in net after the American started the Europa League win over Panathinaikos. Midfielder Scott Parker (Achilles) and left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto (knee) are a week away from full fitness and defender Younes Kaboul (knee) is also unavailable.
West Ham United Vs Liverpool (16:00GMT, 5PM Nigerian Time)
Sam Allardyce will welcome Yossi Benayoun back into his squad after he was ineligible to appear against his parent club, Chelsea. Andy Carroll (knee) could be missing for two months but would not have been able to feature against Liverpool due to the Premier League loan regulations, whilst Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder), Alou Diarra (thigh) and Jack Collison (knee) are all definitely out.
Luis Suarez is suspended after accumulating five bookings. Manager Brendan Rodgers has played midfielder Jonjo Shelvey in a 'false nine' position before and could do so again as a stop-gap with no other senior strikers fit. Captain Steven Gerrard, left out of the Europa League squad which beat Udinese in Italy because of illness, will be restored at Upton Park as will the rested Daniel Agger and Lucas Leiva.
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Fulham Vs Newcastle (19:00GMT 8PM Nigerian Time)
Newcastle United seem to have found this monday Night football favorable to them, they come into another Monday night fixture just 1 week after thrashing Wigan by 3goals to nothing.
Fulham welcome back captain Brede Hangeland from a three-match suspension and he is likely to return, while Alex Kacaniklic is back after a hamstring injury. Bryan Ruiz faces a further month on the sidelines with a hamstring complaint of his own, while right-back Sascha Riether has to overcome a minor knee sprain if he is to feature.
Alan Pardew could have several of his big guns back from injury. Pardew was expecting full-back David Santon (groin), midfielders Cheick Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa (both hamstring) and Gabriel Obertan (toe) and striker Demba Ba (also hamstring) to train on Friday, while Jonas Gutierrez (knee) is in line to resume on Sunday. That would leave Steven Taylor (hamstring) and Yohan Cabaye (groin surgery) on the long-term casualty list.
With all this Tantalizing fixtures lined up for the weekend i doubt anything will be much better than staying glued to your Television set so you don't miss any of the action.
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