Premier League preview

Manchester City will aim to derail the Chelsea juggernaut when the two mega-rich sides do battle at Eastlands in the Premier League on Saturday.

Table-toppers Chelsea look seemingly unbeatable in the league at present while City are in dire need of ending a remarkable run of draws. Each side had differing fortunes in the Carling Cup in midweek, but now attention returns to England's top flight.

Elsewhere, Arsenal will look to end a miserable week on a high note, second-placed Manchester United visit lowly West Ham United, bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth host troubled travellers Burnley, Liverpool take on North West neighbours Blackburn while out-of-form Everton lock horns with high-flying Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea barely broke sweat as they swept aside supposed title rivals Arsenal last weekend, but a much-changed XI was dumped out of the Carling Cup on penalties against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday. Carlo Ancelotti is unlikely to be too ruffled by the defeat and will be confident of a response from his charges. The Blues have faired well against Manchester City - winning their last eight league meetings - so history favours the leaders. Mark Hughes' City did at least return to winning ways, albeit in cup competition, in midweek, but a current run of seven straight draws has left them mere top-four pretenders than genuine contenders.

Arsene Wenger witnessed his Arsenal side come up short (literally) against Chelsea last Saturday before his young Gunners were given a schooling against City in the Carling Cup. Furthermore, attention has surrounded his failure to shake Hughes' hand come the final whistle on Wednesday. But Wenger, who will oversee his 500th Premier League game in charge of Arsenal, will care little about the latter. Of more pressing concern is his team's form: back-to-back league losses. For Stoke, their physical power could be enough to unsettle the Gunners, although they did lose their last visit to Emirates Stadium 4-1.

Manchester United make the trip to the ground where most goals have been on show this season. Onlookers at West Ham's Upton Park have seen 30 strikes hit the back of the net, and therein lies the reason for the Hammers' struggles. West Ham have conceded at least two goals in nine of their last 10 Premier League games. A recent second home win of the season, however, did help to restore some confidence. United are eyeing a third successive victory after making light work of Portsmouth in their last outing. Sir Alex Ferguson could again rely on his wise heads; it was at Upton Park that Ryan Giggs shone so impressively last campaign, the display arguably helping him win the PFA Player of the Year award.

On Saturday lunchtime you can see Portsmouth's crunch match with Burnley live on Sky Sports 1 & HD1. This is Avram Grant's first realistically winnable game in charge of Pompey. Defeat against United last weekend on his debut was expected, while their Carling Cup exit versus Aston Villa came as no huge surprise. But a clash against promoted outfit Burnley, a side that has travelled poorly this term, is a must-win fixture. Grant can hope that Burnley's poor performances on the road continue, with the Clarets accruing just one point to date. Failure to win for Pompey, though, would shatter any optimism on the South Coast.

Buoyed by their penalty shoot-out scalp of Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers host Liverpool at Ewood Park on Saturday. Blackburn's home record has assisted the club in moving away from the relegation places, with a five-point gap currently separating them from their position in 13th and third-from-bottom. Meanwhile, Liverpool's unconvincing victory over rivals Everton was only their second three-point haul in seven matches. The Reds must now put a run together, and there is no question that the return of star striker Fernando Torres could help spearhead such a revival.

Carling Cup semi-finalists Aston Villa lock horns with Hull City in the Midlands. Cup run aside, Villa's form is not the best; they have managed just two wins in their previous nine league fixtures. Tigers manager Phil Brown, meanwhile, deserves credit for leading his men to a four-game unbeaten run, with his position in charge of Hull the subject of fierce conjecture only a few weeks ago. The clash is also a tale of two sides that start games entirely differently: Villa typically strong starters and Hull open to conceding early goals. Those travelling to Villa Park should be sure not to be late for the opening 15 minutes.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are in worse form than Portsmouth, having gone eight outings without a success. Their encounter with fellow strugglers Bolton Wanderers could be as good a chance as any to halt their decline. Clean sheets have been the major issue for Wolves; they are yet to keep one at Molineux on their return to the top-flight this season. If the home club are to record a shut-out, then beware of Bolton's danger from set-pieces. Seventy-five per cent of the goals the Trotters have scored have come from set-plays. The match-up is also a chance to leapfrog Bolton, who only lie two points above their opponents.

The league's most unpredictable team, Wigan Athletic, go head-to-head with Birmingham City. The Latics are actually on a decent run at home, having gone without defeat in their last five Premier League games at the DW Stadium. But Wigan supporters will be wary that a Mr Hyde performance is just around the corner. Birmingham must rightly be feeling quite positive after their eventual switch to a more attacking system has paid dividends. The Blues are up to 11th in the table, and Lee Bowyer is their in-form man with the midfielder bagging twice in his last two matches.

At 3pm on Sunday, Fulham and Sunderland meet at Craven Cottage. The Cottagers are chugging on nicely at present with Clint five-goals-in-his-last-six-games Dempsey helping them nestle into mid-table. The next target for Roy Hodgson will be to replicate last term's top-seven finish. That is something Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is aiming for, but that seems an unrealistic ambition when considering their recent run of results. The Black Cats have won just two of their last seven clashes, and, oddly, those two victories came against Arsenal and Liverpool. As an obiter dictum, watch out for referee Mike Dean, who has awarded six penalties this season, more than any other official.

Lastly, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur conclude the weekend's action, live on Sky Sports 1 & HD1. The Toffees have been performing way under their usual high standards this campaign, although they did seal qualification to the knockout stages of the Europa League on Wednesday. But the threat of falling into the bottom three remains a real one. Everton have lost their last three Premier League games; they have not lost four in succession since December 2005. Tottenham, meanwhile, are sitting pretty in third and would loathe to relinquish that position to their rivals Arsenal, who play 24 hours earlier.

Saturday, 5 December 2009
Arsenal v Stoke, 15:00
Aston Villa v Hull, 15:00
Blackburn v Liverpool, 15:00
Man City v Chelsea, 17:30
Portsmouth v Burnley, 12:45
West Ham v Man Utd, 15:00
Wigan v Birmingham, 15:00
Wolverhampton v Bolton, 15:00

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Sunday, 6 December 2009
Everton v Tottenham, 16:00
Fulham v Sunderland, 15:00