Premier League: Five things to look out for

JOE looks ahead to this weekend in the Premier League and considers what matches to watch and avoid, who might surprise and who probably won't.

By Conor Hogan

Surprise Package: Sunderland

As a manager, Steve Bruce has never been victorious against Manchester United. He is unlikely to have a much better chance than this weekend, however. His Sunderland team are currently unbeaten in four games, having defeated Manchester City and garnered draws against Liverpool and Arsenal.

Manchester United, meanwhile, are looking slightly vulnerable and have conceded seven goals in their last three Premier League games. Darren Bent is currently on fire and has scored all but two of the Mackems' seven league goals this season (their other scorers being Asamoah Gyan and a Stephen Carr own goal).

Whipping Boys: Newcastle

In a weekend with very evenly-matched fixtures, it seems very unlikely there will be too many trashings. The biggest mismatch should be Liverpool v Blackpool, but with the way the Reds are playing, and the Tangerines' penchant for surprises, it isn’t a foregone conclusion.

We have gone for Newcastle, not to be trashed, but to be defeated. Manchester City are good at home and in their last fixture had an excellent win against Chelsea, a side they did the double over last season. Newcastle, meanwhile, looked unimpressive last weekend when they suffered a home loss to Stoke City and have mixed the sublime (6-0 against Aston Villa) with the ridiculous (0-2 v Blackpool) so far this season.

Game not to miss: Chelsea v Arsenal

Arsenal suffered a setback to their title challenge last weekend with their shock 3-2 loss to newly promoted West Brom at the Emirates. Their defence was disastrous, while Manuel Almunia had one of the worst goalkeeping performances of the season so far.

They’ll be facing a Chelsea side who defeated them home and away last season, with an aggregate score of 5-0 to the Blues. Chelsea also had a setback last week, losing to Manchester City, but bounced back with a 2-0 victory against Marseille in the Champions League and are currently three points clear at the top of the league with a positive goal difference of + 19.

Game to miss: West Ham v Fulham

West Ham improved last week and had, as we predicted, an excellent victory over Tottenham Hotspur. There is an air of predictability about Mark Hughes' Fulham, however, as they have notched five draws from the opening six matches. Considering how he finished his reign with Manchester City - with eight draws in his final eleven matches - Sparky is getting a reputation as something of a draw specialist.

What about the rest:

In a match that might give us some indication of who will finish fifth, Tottenham, coming off a great victory over FC Twente in the Champions League, will take on Gerard Houllier’s Aston Villa, currently on a one-match unbeaten run. In a feast for direct football fans, meanwhile, Stoke City will take on Blackburn at the Britannia.

Everton will hope to get their first win of the season away to a Birmingham side who are unbeaten at St. Andrews for 18 matches. Wigan will face another struggling team beginning with W (Wolves) in what might be described as a good old-fashioned relegation dogfight. And an in-form West Brom will take on Bolton, who are also coming off a positive result against one of the notorious big-four.

Fixtures:

Saturday, 2 October 2010

Wigan v Wolverhampton, 12:45

Birmingham v Everton, 15:00

Stoke v Blackburn, 15:00

Sunderland v Man Utd, 15:00

Tottenham v Aston Villa, 15:00

West Brom v Bolton, 15:00

West Ham v Fulham, 15:00

Sunday, 3 October 2010

Man City v Newcastle, 13:30

Liverpool v Blackpool, 15:00

Chelsea v Arsenal, 16:00