Matchday 14 of the Premier League features three outstanding fixtures: Aston Villa v Spurs on Saturday and two derbies on Sunday - Everton v Liverpool and Arsenal v Chelsea. Villa and Spurs are two teams who many tip to challange for a Top Four finish and the late kick-off on Saturday sees fifth placed Villa take on fourth placed Spurs. Tottenham's confidence should be sky high after their 9-1 demolishion of Wigan last time out, while Villa's form has been patchy in recent weeks (full match preview here).
9th placed Stoke travel to 12th placed Blackburn, who have started to pick-up points recently. Fulham, fresh from a 3-0 mid-week win over Blackburn which lifted them up to 10th, host a struggling Bolton who have dropped down to the relegation zone in 18th place. Manchester City, who have drawn their last 6 matches, are at home to Hull City who came out on top of a five goal thriller against Everton in mid-week. City's run of draws has seen them drop to 6th place while the Tigers are up to 15th. Bottom placed Portsmouth, who have just sacked their manager Paul Hart, must face second-placed Manchester United at Fratton Park.
West Ham have climbed above the drop zone and are in 17th place and face Burnley, a side who have only picked-up one point in their travels this season. Burnley's home form has been good enough to keep them in 11th place though. The side with the worst defensive record in the League, Wigan Athletic, are at home to 8th placed Sunderland. Wigan were on the receiving end of a 9-1 thrashing at White Hart Lane last weekend, which included 8 second-half goals for Spurs. Sunderland had a great 1-0 win over Arsenal to keep them in touching distance of the European places.
The early Sunday kick-off sees Woves, deep in trouble in 19th place, at home to local rivals Birmingham City who are 13th. Wolves went down 4-0 to Chelsea last weekend while Birmingham picked-up the points at home against Fulham. The Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool follows with both clubs some way off their best form. Everton lost 3-2 to Hull mid-week while Liverpool shared 4 goals at home to Manchester City. The two clubs are 14th and 7th in the standings respectively.
The final match of the weekend is perhaps the one most eagerly anticipated - third placed Arsenal at home to League leaders Chelsea. Arsenal slipped-up badly at Sunderland last time out while Chelsea's form continues to impress after a solid 4-0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Saturday, 28th November 2009
Blackburn Rovers v Stoke City, 15:00
Fulham v Bolton Wanderers, 15:00
Manchester City v Hull City, 15:00
Portsmouth v Manchester United, 15:00
West Ham United v Burnley, 15:00
Wigan Athletic v Sunderland, 15:00
Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur, 17:30
Sunday, 29th November 2009
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Birmingham City, 12:00
Everton v Liverpool, 13:30
Arsenal v Chelsea, 16:00
The League (Carling) Cup has reached the Quarter Final stage with a very strong field of eight Premier League clubs remaining, including every team currently in the Top 6. The four matches will be played on Tuesday 1st & Wednesday 2nd December. The pick of the round is a repeat of last year's Wembley Final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, which finished goalless after extra time. United went on to win the penalty shoot-out (previous League Cup Finals here).
Full details of the 2009-10 Football League (Carling) Cup competition can be found here.