The Premier League this weekend pits teams together that should make another excellent weekend of Football in Britain. For example, Newcastle host Chelsea, Everton travel to Manchester City and on Monday night Manchester United travel to Southampton.

Newcastle vs Chelsea

Chelsea's unbeaten run will face another big test as they face Newcastle at St James' Park. The big away games that Chelsea have faced so far, they have come through in the style of champions and I don't see that changing against the Toon. Newcastle will take into account that their rivals Sunderland held the Blues to a draw last week, so they are stoppable.

In terms of team news, Fabricio Coloccini is out for the black and whites with both Moussa Sissoko and Jack Colback returning to action. Chelsea will be without midfield stalwart Nemanja Matic who picked up a fifth yellow card against Tottenham in mid-week but both Diego Costa and Gary Cahill return to give the away side a huge boost.

Newcastle have won their last three home games without conceding a single goal, however in the three before that they conceded first on every occasion. 
Chelsea are undefeated in fourteen games and haven't conceded in three. They have also scored the first goal in four of their seven away games so far this season, 57% of those games. 

Chelsea to win and make it fifteen games undefeated.

Liverpool vs Sunderland 


Liverpool have, what they will consider to be, an excellent chance to make it three successive league wins in a row. If successful, it will be the first time they have achieved that since April last season. Steven Gerrard will no doubt be under the microscope again; with rumours he may be on the bench again as Rodgers looks towards more important games over the next fortnight. Jose Enrique may start for the Reds as he recovers from injury. Sunderland are set to receive a boost with the returns of Adam Johnson and Wes Brown. Steven Fletcher could be ruled out again as he picked up a knock against Manchester City, which could see midweek goal scorer Connor Wickham given a central striking role. 

Liverpool have won their last two games and have scored the first goal in five of their seven home games so far (71%). However, the Reds have only won three of those games, scoring just seven goals in the process (that's just a goal per game at home). 
Sunderland have only lost two of their last six away fixtures, but are winless from their last four games. The Black Cats will come on strong, as they have scored 38% of their goals in the final quarter of an hour of games. 

Liverpool to win

Queens Park Rangers vs Burnley 


Games like this are important for two teams who will be fighting down the wrong end of the table for the season. As the home team, Queens Park Rangers will be hoping to get all three points and will look to build on their home victory against fellow promoted side Leicester last time out. Burnley will hope to continue to battle in the league as they look to extend their four game unbeaten streak. Bobby Zamora will be a boost for Rangers as he returns from injury, whilst Burnley are without Stephen Ward and Michael Duff for the trip to London. 

Queens Park have not lost in the last three home games, but have suffered nine defeats in fourteen of their games so far. The Rangers have also conceded first in four of their seven home games. 
Burnley on the other hand have not lost in their last four games (two wins, two draws) and are on a roll in terms of picking up Premier League points. 

Queens Park Rangers, based on the fact they will be on a high after last week's win.

Hull City vs West Bromwich Albion

Hull managed what will be classed as a great point away to Everton in midweek and will look to build on that against West Brom, who are struggling at the moment. West Brom took the lead in midweek, before throwing it away to lose at home to West Ham, keeping the pressure on the squad. Abel Hernandez returns to action for Hull, which will be a huge boost, however Mohamed Diame is out with a knee injury.

Chris Brunt, who was injured last time out against West Ham, will miss the weekend fixture with Hull. James Morrison's return will be a huge boost after losing their captain.

Hull have scored first in four of their six home games, which is 66% of those games, however they have only turned one of those home games into three points. They have also failed to win any of their last seven games to add more pressure to the squad and staff. 
West Brom are another team who are struggling at the moment, losing their last four games, whilst only scoring once over that duration. 

Hull look best bet for the win, although it could easily end up a bore draw.

Stoke City vs Arsenal 


Stoke will be aiming to end a three match losing streak this weekend, but will have no easy task in facing Arsenal, who are in good form at the moment. The Potters were unlucky against both Liverpool and Manchester United, narrowly losing both games. Their advantage is that Arsenal have found it difficult when travelling to the Brittania Stadium in the past. Stoke are suffering from a number of injuries, including Victor Moses, Steve Sidwell and Peter Odemwingie. Jonathan Walters is a doubt, but may still feature depending on a late fitness test. Arsenal will have pretty much the same side that played against Southampton in mid-week, but will be without Nacho Monreal and may face losing Laurent Koscielny to an ankle knock. 

Stoke are not in the greatest form, losing their last three games. Granted two of those were against Liverpool and Manchester United and it gets no easier with a home fixture against Arsenal tomorrow. 
Arsenal have won their last two games without conceding a goal and have also scored in thirteen of their fourteen fixtures so far this season. They have also scored fifteen of their twenty two goals in the second half of games. 

Arsenal should continue their run of form and beat Stoke comfortably.

Tottenham vs Crystal Palace

Tottenham suffered a rather humiliating loss to Chelsea in midweek, but they will not be the first team that will happen to this season. In terms of home form, Spurs were victorious last time out against Everton, but there is still room for improvement in front of their own fans. Palace have struggled since their win against Liverpool, but have the second best attacking threat in the bottom half of the Premier League table. In terms of the teams themselves, Joe Ledley looks to miss out with a hip problem, whilst defenders Damien Delaney and Adrian Mariappa are out with injury. Kyle Walker will continue his return for Spurs with an appearance for Spurs under-21's with Danny Rose possibly returning at left-back.

Tottenham have won two of their last three games, only losing to Chelsea in mid-week, which is no embarrassment this season. They have however, lost four of their seven home games so far this season and have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven. Crystal Palace have not been losing at half-time in their seven away games so far, but Spurs have scored seven of their nine home goals in the opening forty-five minutes. Palace have also conceded at least once in their last eight games, so goals looks an option in this game between two London sides.

Tottenham to continue their solid home form with a win against struggling Palace.

Manchester City vs Everton

Saturday night football see's out-of-form Everton travel to the Etihad Stadium where they will face the daunting task of trying to stop Sergio Aguero and the defending champions.

City are coming into the game on the back of two commanding away wins against Southampton and Sunderland, with Everton picking up just the single point in their last two games. The Blues will be able to rest 0players on Thursday in the Europa League, as they have qualified top of the group already, so expect all the big stars to start on Saturday night. Edin Dzeko could return for City, although he is looking unlikely to start, whilst Aleksandar Kolarov could also return at left-back. Vincent Kompany and David Silva will not feature, with Stevan Jovetic rested due to a knock. Everton will have Antolin Alcaraz back, but will be without key players Steven Naismith and James McCarthy.

City are on a three game winning streak at the moment and have not failed to score in their last eleven games.

They have however conceded first in three of their six home games so far this season. Everton on the other hand have scored first in four of their seven away games, but have only won a single game from their last five.

Manchester City should continue their good run, at the expense of Martinez's Blues.

West Ham United vs Swansea City

West Ham will be looking to continue their recent winning run, whilst Swansea will pose a strong opponent for the Hammers. The home side will most likely be favourites for the game; however, ruling out Swansea for an away win would be risky for punters. Diafra Sakho and Alex Song will return for West Ham, which is a massive boost for the side, whereas Neil Taylor being suspended represents the only player missing from the Swansea squad.



West Ham have won their last two games to continue their strong start to the season, whilst they have also won four of their last five at Upton Park. In terms of defence, they have conceded just one goal in their last four home games, so Swansea will have their work cut out. Swansea however, have scored first in four of their six away games so far this season, whilst they have also scored in each of their last four home games, so this game should be another that has goals from both sides.

West Ham to win the game, with both teams to find the target.

Aston Villa vs Leicester City

Villa will look to build on the fact that they managed a victory last time out, on a tricky away trip to Palace too.

The return of Christian Benteke has been a massive boost to the Villains and manager Paul Lambert will hope the Belgian can start firing some goals for his side. Leicester on the other hand are struggling and have picked up just a single point in their last six league matches. Wes Morgan will be suspended for the trip to Villa after he was sent off against Liverpool and manager Nigel Pearson could find himself in trouble after an apparent bust-up with a supporter on Tuesday night.

Aston Villa have not lost in their last four games and finally got themselves a win in mid-week. That was their only win in their last ten matches however and they have also conceded in their last five home games, which is a worry for their defence.

Leicester on the other hand are not having a great run at the moment and it seems to be getting worse with supporters starting to turn on manager and club. They have won just two games in the fourteen they have played and have failed to win an away game in their last five attempts.

Aston Villa to edge the three points.

Southampton vs Manchester United

The game of the week (in terms of Premier League fixtures) is Monday Night Football's fixture Southampton vs Manchester United. The Saints are facing their third straight top Premier League side and it will only add to the test about whether they can handle themselves in the company that they currently hold. Manchester United on the other hand are on a roll, winning their last four games and have the added bonus of welcoming back both Wayne Rooney and Radamel Falcao, giving manager van Gaal a headache that any manager would welcome.

In terms of injuries, Angel Di Maria looks likely to miss out again, whilst Southampton's injury list worsens, now including Toby Alderweireld after he limped off with what seemed to be a hamstring injury on Wednesday night against Arsenal.

The Saints have won five of their seven home games this season and have the best ranked defence in the Premier League, conceding just ten goals in fourteen games. That defence will be thoroughly tested on Monday against the Red Devils, especially with the attacking power United possesses. On a bad note for the Saints, they have not scored in their last two games against top opposition. Manchester United have won their last four games to push themselves into the top four in the league, whilst they have scored first in three of their six games away from home this season. The only disappointment for van Gaal is that they have won just one away game out of the six they have played.

Draw, I cannot separate the two sides based on the season as an overall.