05-02-2011 16:00 Newcastle United - Arsenal

Life after Carroll

Newcastle begin life at St James' Park without their local hero Andy Carroll after the youngster completed his record breaking £35 million transfer to Liverpool on transfer deadline day.

Add to the fact that Shola Ameobi is out for up to six weeks with a fractured cheekbone, Newcastle are suddenly short of strikers and alarmingly only six points clear of the relegation zone.

Leon Best scored a hat-trick in a recent 5-0 home win against West Ham, and will have to find that form for the remainder of the campaign to ensure Newcastle are a Premier League outfit next season.

Gunners looking to continue title momentum

The north London side will be hoping to pile the pressure on Manchester United with a win as they will go just two points behind Sir Alex Ferguson's side, who face Wolves at Molineux in the day's late kick-off.

The form guide suggests a draw though as six of the last 10 league meetings at St James' Park have ended all square.

The most recent fixture occurred in March 2009, when goals from Nicklas Bendtner, Abou Diaby and Samir Nasri sealed a comfortable 3-1 win for Arsene Wenger's men.

TEAM NEWS

Newcastle

The Magpies are without striker Shola Ameobi, who fractured a cheekbone against Fulham in midweek and looks set to be out for six weeks.

Ameobi's absence along with the sale of Andy Carroll leaves manager Alan Pardew very short of striking options, with Nile Ranger, Leon Best and Peter Lovenkrands the only three fit forwards to choose from.

Cheick Tiote returns from suspension and will start in the centre of midfield alongside Kevin Nolan, with Danny Guthrie likely to drop to the bench.

Alan Smith is out for the rest of the season whilst Dan Gosling, Steven Taylor, Hatem Ben Arfa and new signing Stephen Ireland are still a few weeks away from fitness.

Possible starting XI: Harper; Simpson, Coloccini, Williamson, Jose Enrique; Barton, Nolan, Tiote, Gutierrez; Best, Ranger.

Arsenal

Arsene Wenger will be unable to call on the services of Alex Song after the midfielder was forced to come off at half-time in Tuesday night's victory over Everton.

Abou Diaby replaced the defensive midfielder and looks set to start as Arsenal attempt to keep the pressure on Manchester United at St James' Park.

Theo Walcott also picked up a knock against Everton, but the England winger has shrugged off his ankle problem and will start on Saturday.

Samir Nasri remains out with a hamstring problem and Thomas Vermaelen is still a long way away from fitness with his never-ending Achilles problem.

Possible starting XI: Szczesny; Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy; Fabregas, Song, Wilshere; Walcott, Van Persie, Arshavin.

Prediction

Newcastle looked awful against Fulham on Wednesday night, and with Ameobi unfit and the sale of Carroll dampening the atmosphere on Tyneside, Saturday is a fantastic opportunity for Arsene Wenger's men to go two points behind Manchester United.

Theo Walcott's pace destroyed Newcastle in the League Cup fixture earlier in the season, and with his speed going forward, twinned with the creativity of Fabregas and Wilshere in the middle, they should cruise to a comfortable victory.

Newcastle 1-3 Arsenal

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05-02-2011 16:00 Everton - Blackpool

Week Of Rumours Does Nothing To Help Inconsistent Toffees

Rumours regarding the departure of David Moyes earlier in the week were quashed with a defiant immediacy but no matter what the Scot says, his side are struggling to find any consistency this season and their disappointing position in the league is living proof of that. Only one win in five games, with that coming against Scunthorpe in the FA Cup, the Blues will need a win at Goodison or may find themselves in the relegation dogfight.

Struggling Seasiders Looking To Improve

Ian Holloway's side have lost their way somewhat after a remarkable first half of the season, having lost their last four games, making that six defeats in seven. Their only win in that period was against the Toffees' city rivals Liverpool and the travelling Seasiders will be hoping that proves to be a good omen or the Premier League new boys' season threatens to unravel into disarray.

TEAM NEWS

Everton

David Moyes' side will be boosted by the return of the talismanic Tim Cahill, who has been on international duty with Australia at the Asian Cup since late December. The club's top scorer with nine goals this season, his return will no doubt be welcomed by Moyes.

The Everton boss is also set to welcome back Tony Hibbert, who missed out on the club's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday due to illness, though Phil Neville is more likely to get the nod at right-back. This leaves Moyes with a complete squad to choose from, an enviable position to be in from the eyes of Ian Holloway.

Possible starting XI: Howard; Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Coleman, Cahill, Fellaini, Arteta; Beckford, Saha.

Blackpool

David Carney, having returned from the Asian Cup to play against West Ham in midweek, will potentially line up alongside Andy Reid and James Beattie, after the duo joined Ian Holloway's side on transfer deadline day.

However, Blackpool's injury list is longer than that of their hosts on Merseyside, with long term injuries to Matt Gilks, Stephen Crainey, Chris Basham and Billy Clarke leaving all four players unavailable for selection at Goodison Park.

Possible starting XI: Kingson; Eardley, Cathcart, Evatt, Baptiste; Reid, Adam, Vaughan; Beattie, Campbell, Harewood.

Prediction

Everton were incredibly unlucky not to take anything out of their game against Arsenal and are looking stronger every week. They should prove too strong to a Blackpool side looking a little out of sorts.

Everton 3-1 Blackpool

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05-02-2011 16:00 Aston Villa - Fulham

End Of A Long Wait

Fulham will bid to end a disastrous run that hasn't seen them win at Villa Park in the league for over 25 years.

The last time Fulham won at Villa Park in the league was March 1973, where the Cottagers came out 3-2 victors.

Since that fixture the two teams have met 11 times, with Villa winning six of those ties. The remaining five were draws.

Not So Mid-Table

Both teams are currently sat mid-table in the Premier League at the minute but the way that things are going it could instantly change.

In the worst case scenario Villa could be just one point above the drop zone following the weekend's games and Fulham just two points clear.

Just a few weeks ago Villa found themselves in the bottom three and in a precarious position, but a run of results has seen them rise the league.

Both teams will be anxious to avoid defeat and prevent them being dragged into the scrap once again.

TEAM NEWS

Aston Villa

Villa don't have any fresh injury concerns ahead of their clash with Fulham.

Defender Luke Young has been sent to see a specialist to try and solve his back problem.

Fabian Delph and Stephen Warnock also miss out through injury, whilst Nathan Baker is suspended.

Possible starting XI: Friedel; Walker, Collins, Dunne, Clark; Albrighton, Petrov, Downing, A Young; Bent, Agbonlahor.

Fulham

Philippe Senderos and Dickson Etuhu are expected to return to first team action within the next few days and will face late fitness tests.

Bobby Zamora is to return in the next couple of weeks from a broken leg but the game will come too soon for the striker.

Aaron Hughes will definitely miss the game with a hamstring injury.

Possible starting XI: Schwarzer; Pantsil, Baird, Hangeland, Salcido; Duff, Murphy, Sidwell, Dempsey; Dembele, A Johnson.

Prediction

Both teams are desperate for a win and will do everything they can to gain three points.

Gerrard Houllier and Mark Hughes will undoubtedly be looking towards their attacking players for their input but I can see them cancelling each other out.

This game will either be won or lost in midfield and I can't choose between the two sides so I'm opting for the draw.

Aston Villa 1-1 Fulham

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05-01-2011 15:30 Koln - Bayern Munchen

Faulty Fax Machines and Flailing Form

Lets not beat around the bush, it's been a very bad week for Koeln. A 3-0 defeat to fellow strugglers St Pauli last weekend leaves the club in 16th position, relegation being very much on the cards if consistency isn't found.

A bad week was made a whole lot worse on Monday when the transfer of Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting from Hamburg broke down. The reason? A faulty fax machine.

The dodgy fax connection resulted in the DFB receiving the necessary paperwork 12 minutes after the deadline with a later appeal from the club being rejected.

Die Geissboecke will ultimately be disappointed on missing out on the young Cameroonian international, especially as the proposed transfer was an attempt to resurrect the club's flailing attack, there 22 goals this season being the lowest in the whole of the league.

What is for certain is that Frank Schaefer's men will need to discover the kind of form that has seen the team defeat the likes of Hamburg and Werder Bremen.

Recent form against Bayern indicates the Bundesliga strugglers certainly have a chance against the champions with eyes in particular being on ex-Bayern players Michael Rensing and Lukas Podolski who will be keen to frustrate their former employers.

With or without Choupo-Moting, Koeln are going to have to find their form, and fast.

Ottl And Co Looking To Stop The Rot

Last week's impressive 3-1 victory over Werder Bremen made it five games unbeaten for Louis van Gaal's men as the champions continue in their trail of leaders Dortmund. The Bavarian giants now sit in third place, the first time this season the club have been in the champions league qualification positions.

So it is fair to say that things look decidedly rosey in Munich at the moment as die Roten head to North Rhine-Westphalia for a showdown with 16th-placed Koeln.

It would appear that given their good form Bayern should make light-work of defeating a team who are embroiled in a relegation battle. However, recent form may prove otherwise.

Bayern have failed to beat Koeln in their last four outings with three draws and a defeat indicating that despite their good form, the champions will need to approach the game with an air of caution.

Yet Andreas Ottl appears very confident about Saturday's encounter. "We've got a good run started. We're playing fluid football and creating a lot of chances. We're in good shape and Koeln aren't a bogey team for us," the midfielder told the Bundesliga official website.

Ottl has been a peripheral figure at the Allianz Arena over the years but has become an important member of the first team in recent weeks and Mark van Bommel's recent departure will surely strengthen his position in Bayern's starting line-up.

The holding midfielder has played an important role in Bayern's last two victories which has given the 25-year-old a much needed confidence boost.

"We won them both, which also speaks in my favour. The coach believes in me and I'm hopeful of keeping my place."


TEAM NEWS

Koeln

Frank Schaefer is expected to ring the changes after last week's disappointing 3-0 defeat to St Pauli. Miso Brecko and Geromel are expected to come into the defence in place of Andrezinho and Tomoaki Makino respectively. Youssef Mohamad will start alongside Geromel in place of attacker Slawomir Peszko in what will be a defensive reshuffle. Petit has shrugged off a hamstring strain and is expected to take the place of Martin Lanig in the centre of the field. Koeln continue to be without Kostas Giannoulis (ankle), Kevin McKenna and Sebastian Freis who are both back in training but short of match fitness.

Probable Starting XI: Rensing - Brecko, Geromel, Mohamad, Eichner - Petit, Matuschyk - Clemens, Podolski, Ehret - Novakovic

Bayern Munich

Bayern have no fresh injury concerns and are expected to name the same line-up that defeated Werder Bremen last Saturday. Franck Ribery continues his spell on the sidelines with the knee injury that is likely to keep him out until mid-February. Diego Contento (stress fracture), Toni Kroos (foot) and Ivica Olic (knee) also miss out.

Probable Starting XI: Kraft - Lahm, Tymoshchuk, Badstuber, Luiz Gustavo - Ottl, Pranjic - Mueller, Schweinsteiger, Robben - Gomez

Prediction

FC Köln 2-2 Bayern Munich

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05-01-2011 13:45 Stoke City - Sunderland

The Old Boys' Clubs

Stoke and Sunderland don't just share red and white striped shirts, but players too.

For several years Potters boss Pulis picked up the castaways from the Stadium of Light, with Liam Lawrence, Danny Higginbotham, Dean Whitehead and club record signing Kenwyne Jones all trading the north-east for the Midlands as Stoke built up a side for promotion to and then stability in the Premier League.

But last month the relationship was turned on its head as Bruce tried, ultimately in vein, to sign Stoke forwards Tuncay Sanli and Ricardo Fuller. The former eventually left for Wolfsburg while the latter was held onto after Icelandic outcast Eidur Gudjohnsen left the club on deadline day.

And how Bruce must wish he had picked up at least one of the Midlands side's tricky forwards, with Welbeck out for another month and Fraizer Campbell out until May, he is left with just Asamoah Gyan as an out-and-out forward.

Breaking The Britannia Duck

Sunderland battered Stoke all out of shape when the sides met earlier in the season at the Stadium of Light.

That 2-0 victory saw Shawcross sent off for two bookable offences with Asamoah Gyan netting twice.

Bruce's side head to the Britannia with a strong away record. Despite winning just three times on the road, they're netting a goal a game on their travels, but have failed to score in their last two trips to the Potteries, where they have been beaten in the last two seasons.

TEAM NEWS

Stoke

Tony Pulis should ring the changes after opting for a bizarre 5-4-1 shape in defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, featuring just one true winger and no Rory Delap. Captain Ryan Shawcross should return after completing his suspension for the red card picked up at Fulham.

Expect Kenwyne Jones to start up front with John Carew, with Ricardo Fuller – whose proposed move to Saturday's opponents fell through last month – likely to figure from the bench.

Possible starting XI: Begovic; Wilkinson, Huth, Shawcross, Higginbotham; Pennant, Delap, Whitehead, Etherington; Carew, Jones.

Sunderland

Steve Bruce remains without striker Danny Welbeck, who will be absent until mid-to-late March after undergoing surgery to cure a hamstring injury.

Lee Cattermole is also expected to be absent, with an estimated return date of February 12 following his knee injury.

Bruce may opt for the same side that was beaten by Chelsea, when Kieran Richardson operated effectively as a second striker.


Possible starting XI: Gordon; Onouha, Bramble, Ferdinand, Bardsley; El Mohamady, Henderson, Malbranque, Sessegnon; Richardson; Gyan.

Prediction

Both sides were defeated in midweek, yet only Pulis has the luxury of chopping and changing his side, with Sunderland shorn of key men through injury and a lack of enterprise in the transfer market. But the Black Cats weren't abject in their loss, which is less than can be said of Stoke's pitiful display at Anfield. A score draw would be a safe bet.

Stoke 1-1 Sunderland

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