Bolton Wanderers v Chelsea FC – 13.30
At the start of this weekend, Bolton sat at the bottom of the table and Chelsea were sitting (relatively) pretty in third place, does anyone expect those positions to be different once all the games are played out this weekend, I’m pretty sure Chelsea will leapfrog Newcastle back into third and Bolton will remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
Chelsea are improving as a side under Andre Villas-Boas and although they don’t yet look as fluid as they did at times under Ancelotti, there are definite positive signs. Torres’ suspension will mean he will miss this match and Drogba will probably take his place for this match, his strength will prove a test for Gary Cahill and their will be many interested observers of that particular match-up, can Cahill cope against one of the best forwards of recent years, does Drogba still have a few years left in him?
I’m predicting a Chelsea win here but the odds will be short so if you’re betting on this one, you’ll need to look away from the match odds market.
Fulham v Queens Park Rangers – 15.00
If you had offered Q.P.R fans the chance to be in ninth place, above the likes of Fulham, Arsenal, Blackburn and Sunderland at the start of the season, I doubt there would have been much of you hand left, after an iffy start Q.P.R have started to rack up the points and provide effective opposition to established Premier League sides, of course it’s far too early in the season to talk in definites but they are looking good for Premiership survival this season even if they are a little light in the goalscoring department, not an unusual feature in this seasons division.
Fulham fans early season optimism must be fading fast, their new forward signing Bryan Ruiz looks as though he’s going to need more time to settle but at least Zamora and Dembele look as though they will feature in this game, having shaken off illness since midweek. With Fulham having travelled to Denmark in midweek, fatigue could be a factor in this one but need can often outweigh want when two teams are very similar and in this case, Fulham need the points more.
Home win.
Swansea v Stoke – 15.00
The last time these two clubs met in the league was in 2001, at the time both sides were in Division 1 and had long journeys ahead of them before they reached their current positions in the Premier League, Stoke are now part of the established group of Premier League teams whilst Swansea are still newcomers, perhaps just here for the season, nevertheless, this game could provide an intriguing clash of styles. Swansea like to play football that is pleasing on the eye and attack teams with neat passing triangles and try to dominate possession, Stoke on the other hand are happier to mix things up a bit and although their style has improved over the last couple of seasons, they still know how to resort to the long ball when needs be.
Swansea are unbeaten at home and Stoke are inconsistent away, so, by the book, this game looks like either a home win or a draw, my gut instinct tells me different though and I’m plumping for an
away win here.
Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal FC – 16.00
This game has been covered in it’s own article, which you can find here.]]>
