Home Premier League Arsenal Preview: This weekend’s Premier League action

Preview: This weekend’s Premier League action

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Seven matches take place on Saturday whilst the other three will be held on Sunday

Crystal Palace vs West Bromwich Albion – KO 12:45pm (BT Sport)

The Baggies make the trip down to London to take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

West Brom manager Tony Pulis will be looking for a big response after he saw his side lose 3-2 at home to Everton in a game which they were leading 2-0.

A win for Albion would be just their third in the last 11 meetings in all competitions.

Palace go into the game as favourites – The Eagles have won three out of their last five games, most recently securing a 1-0 win away at Vicarage Road against Watford.

There are no fresh injuries for Palace manager Alan Pardew to worry about – Connor Wickham, Mile Jedinak, Damien Delaney and Joel Ward are set for a return to action after the international break.

Meanwhile, Jonas Olsson (groin), Gareth McAuley (calf) and Salomon Rondon (back) are likely to be unavailable for Pulis – the three have not trained since the Everton defeat.

Aston Villa vs Stoke City – KO 3pm

Pressure continued to mount on Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood following their 3-2 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield last Saturday.

Sherwood told BBC Sport: We need to stay in the division and if we do we will be stronger next year.”

Those words seemed to confirm the fears of many Aston Villa supporters that this season is likely to be another battle to avoid the drop.

Potters manager Mark Hughes knows his side have underperformed so far this season but is confident they can do great things this year.

He might also be confident of a win tomorrow looking at the head-to-head stats – Stoke have only lost once during seven Premier League visits to Villa Park.

Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri looks unlikely to feature after pulling up with a thigh strain during last weekend’s victory against Bournemouth.

Also doubtful for tomorrow’s match is defender Marc Wilson (calf) whilst Villa could be without Gabby Agbonlahor, who missed the defeat to Liverpool because of a problem with his calf.

Adama Traore won’t play any part in the match tomorrow because of an ankle problem.

Bournemouth vs Watford – KO 3pm

A clash between two of the newly-promoted sides which could prove pivotal in deciding which team stays up at the end of the season.

Both teams have made encouraging starts, notching up early wins, suggesting they will not simply go straight back down into the Championship.

The Cherries looked to have salvaged a point against Stoke City last weekend only for substitute Mame Biram Diouf’s header to seal victory for the Potters.

Meanwhile, Watford suffered a slender 1-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, Yohan Cabaye scoring the only goal from the penalty spot.

The visitors will be without midfielder Valon Behrami who is serving the last of his three-match suspension.

Joel Ekstrand will also miss out because of a knee injury but Obbi Oulare could make a return to the bench.

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe was dealt a huge blow this week when it was announced striker Callum Wilson would be out for six months after rupturing his cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Howe will also be without Max Gradel and Tyrone Mings for tomorrow’s match, whilst Harry Arter is also unavailable.

Manchester City v Newcastle United KO 3pm

The importance of victory is massive to both managers tomorrow, though perhaps more so to Newcastle boss Steve McClaren who has yet to win a game this season.

Only once in their history, in 1898-99, have the Magpies failed to win any of their opening eight league matches.

After making a flying start to the season, winning their first five matches, conceding no goals and scoring 11 in the process, City have since suffered back-to-back defeats.

The last time they suffered three consecutive defeats in the league was back in November 2008 against Middlesbrough, Bolton followed by Tottenham.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini will be unable to call on Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure whilst Fabian Delph, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri are also unavailable.

Wilfried Bony, Kelechi Iheanacho and Eliaquim Mangala could however be called upon if Pellegrini chooses to do so.

Newcastle midfielder Jack Colback remains doubtful for tomorrow’s match after picking up a calf injury but Cheik Tiote is in contention as a possible replacement.

Gabriel Obertan, Rolando Aaarons and Massadio Haidara are also out of the game at the Etihad stadium tomorrow afternoon.

 Norwich City v Leicester City – KO 3pm

The Canaries, who are unbeaten in four games in all competitions, will be hoping to inflict further misery on high-flying Leicester City after they were thrashed 5-2 by Arsenal.

Norwich manager Alex Neil will be hoping England U-21 striker Nathan Redmond can add to his tally of six goals in his last 11 appearances.

Excluding last weekend, Leicester have made a great start to the season, currently sitting in 8th place.

Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri will be hoping to upset the odds tomorrow and pull off a victory – Leicester have won just once in the last 10 league meetings.

The Italian coach will have to do it without winger Nathan Dyer who is still returning to full fitness after a knee injury but will be able to field the in-form Jamie Vardy.

The England international will feature in tomorrow’s line-up at Carrow Road despite two broken bones in his wrist.

Youssouf Mulumbu and Gary Hooper will be unavailable for the home side but Norwich will be able to field Matt Jarvis, who was ineligible to face his parent club West Ham last week.

Sunderland v West Ham United – KO 3pm

Anything other than a West Ham victory seems unlikely tomorrow with Sunderland yet to win a game this season.

Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat will be desperate to stop the rot tomorrow and try to lift his team off the foot of the table.

In contrast, Hammers boss Slaven Bilic will be looking to keep the pressure on the two Manchester teams with his side currently in 3rd place.

West Ham have secured maximum points on the road this season, winning at the Emirates, Anfield and the Etihad.

Andy Carroll could make his first start since January after returning from a long-term injury off the bench last weekend.

Angelo Ogbonna and Alex Song will be unavailable for West Ham whilst Winston Reid’s chances of appearing remain slim after he picked up a hip problem.

Jermain Defoe could start for the hosts as the Black Cats seek their first league win of the season whilst Jack Rodwell could play a part after overcoming an ankle injury.

Chelsea v Southampton – KO 5:30pm (Sky Sports)

The Blues have made a poor start to the season, winning just two out of seven games, and sitting 14th in the table.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will take some encouragement from the fact that his side are unbeaten against the Saints in the last six home league meetings.

Southampton will be looking to build on their impressive 3-1 victory against Swansea last weekend.

Victory for the Saints tomorrow would be just their second of the last 14 meetings.

Manager Ronald Koeman is boosted by the return of summer signing Jody Clasie to training whilst Ryan Bertrand looks set to start against his old club after overcoming a knee injury.

In the opposite dug-out Mourinho will be without striker Diego Costa who is serving the final game of a three-match suspension.

Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao will be the two strikers in contention to replace the Spain international tomorrow.

Everton v Liverpool – KO 1:30 (Sky Sports)

Winning the Merseyside derby is important to both sides for obvious reasons but greater attention will be drawn to Liverpool and manager Brendan Rodgers.

The Reds have won just three out of seven league games and have looked desperately bare going forward prior to Daniel Sturridge’s return last weekend.

Toffees manager Roberto Martinez was thrilled with his side after they earned a hard-fought victory on Monday night, coming from behind to beat West Brom 3-2.

The win moved Everton into 5th place and they will be confident they can cause an upset tomorrow and pull off a victory after failing at the last nine attempts.

Martinez could be handed a big boost in the heart of defence with John Stones and Seamus Coleman nearly over respective knee and hamstring injuries.

Muhamed Besic is unlikely to return from a hamstring injury whilst Kevin Mirallas is still suspended.

Meanwhile, Christian Benteke will face a late assessment on his fitness, after missing the last three matches due to a hamstring injury.

Also unavailable for the 225th Merseyside derby are Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson and Dejan Lovren.

Arsenal v Manchester United – KO 4:00 (Sky Sports)

The Red Devils currently sit at the top of the Premier League table after a comprehensive 3-0 victory against Sunderland last weekend.

A match in which striker Wayne Rooney scored his first goal this season, ending his run of 1,000 minutes without scoring in the league.

Arsenal are only three points behind United in 4th place and manager Arsene Wenger will be looking for back-to-back victories in the league after an emphatic 5-2 victory away at Leicester City last time out.

United manager Louis Van Gaal will feel confident going into the game, safe in the knowledge his time haven’t lost at the Emirates in the last four league outings.

The only player unavailable for United tomorrow is Ander Herrera but Michael Carrick is fit again after sitting out the midweek victory over Wolfsburg.

Arsenal will be boosted by the return of striker Olivier Giroud after his Champions League suspension but defender Laurent Koscielny is still out with a hamstring injury.

Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini are also unavailable for tomorrow’s match at the Emirates because of a dead leg and a hamstring injury respectively.

Swansea v Tottenham – KO 4:00

Everyone was left stunned by Tottenham’s 4-1 demolition of Manchester City and Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping for a repeat performance against Swansea.

Following an unfortunate opening loss to Manchester United, a run of six games without defeat has moved Spurs into the top six.

Swansea currently occupy 11th place in the table and manager Garry Monk will be hoping to end a run of three leagues games without a win.

Victory for the Swans against Tottenham tomorrow would be their first in eight matches since their promotion to the Premier League.

Monk will go into tomorrow’s match with all his players available for selection.

The loss of summer signing Son Heung-min will be a big blow for Spurs – the striker suffered a foot injury during last week’s victory against Manchester City.

Danny Rose could also miss out injuring his hand against Monaco but Nabil Bentaleb, Mousa Dembele and Ryan Mason could all be involved.

Written by Jack Wynne – @JackRobertWynne

 

 

 

 

 

 

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