FA Barclays Premiership Report (15th - 16th January)

ANOTHER weekend full of drama and intrigue, as the race to be Barclays Premiership winner hots up.  Five still remain in the race and the bottom of the table continues to tighten up; here are the reports from the latest action.

Sunday 16^th January: Liverpool 2-2 Everton

BELIEF: The Liverpool fans got behind Kenny, but they didn't win, AGAIN!

KENNY Dalglish earnt his first point in his second spell as Liverpool manager, but Everton will be the happier of the two sides after a pulsating 214^th Merseyside Derby.  Liverpool dominated the first half, and had a deserved half-time when Raul Meireles drilled a shot past Tim Howard on the half hour, his first goal for Liverpool.  Howard had saved smartly twice from Dirk Kuyt and Fernando Torres smashed the woodwork early on.  Less than a minute into the second half, the visitors were level when Sylvain Distin climbed about Martin Skrtel to guide a header home at the back post.  Six minutes later and Everton were infront.  Leon Osman created it and Jermaine Beckford drove his shot past Pepe Reina. Kuyt converted an equalising penalty midway through the second half with aplomb, after Howard’s unnecessary challenge on Maxi Rodriguez.  A draw was a fair result on the balance of play, but Liverpool stay perilously close to the bottom three.

Sunday 16^th January: Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle United

NEWCASTLE controlled the Tyne & Wear derby throughout, but Asamoah Gyan scored a priceless equaliser to grab a fortunate point for Sunderland.  Newcastle captain Kevin Nolan scored his fourth goal in two games against the arch enemy this season.  His clever backheel from Joey Barton’s corner have the Magpies a deserved lead.  In the fourth minute of added on time, Phil Bardsley’s shot was only parried by Steve Harper and the ball rebounded off the Ghanaian Gyan, lifting the roof off the Stadium of Light.  Both sides remain in the top half, and can dream of European football.

Sunday 16^th January: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Manchester United

DESPITE training at White Hart Lane, David Beckham could only watch on as Manchester United extended their unbeaten run at Tottenham.  In a poor game that failed to live up to its top billing expectations, Peter Crouch blasted wide with Tottenham’s best chance.  Wayne Rooney forced two smart saves from Hereulho Gomes for the away side, who had young Brazilian Rafael sent off for two yellow cards; the second an unfortunate collision with Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Saturday 15^th January: Manchester City 4-3 Wolves

UNTIL their rivals point in North London, Manchester City had top spot for 24 hours, but they had to work very hard against Wolves.  Nenad Mijias struck to put the visitors infront with a scrappy goal, before Kolo Toure equalised for sleepy City.  Edin Dzeko came close on his debut, but the £27million was put in the shade by Carlos Tevez, who was magical again, scoring twice.  Yaya Toure put the game beyond Wolves, but they fought to the death at Eastlands.  Joleon Lescott bought down Kevin Doyle in the penalty area, the Irishman converted the penalty before an own goal from Nigel de Jong made it a very nervous finish.  City held on though, to keep the pressure on United at the top.

Sunday 16^th January: Birmingham City 1-1 Aston Villa

DESERVED: James Collins earnt Villa a share of the spoils

A POINT wasn’t ideal for both cities in the Second City derby, as local pride again remained intact.  Craig Gardner’s poor free-kick bounced off David Murphy, and fell into the path of Roger Johnson, who turned the ball into the net from seven yards soon into the second half for Birmingham, his first goal since August.  Villa, who created the more chances and hit the crossbar four times, earned their deserved point through their own centre-back.  James Collins struck via a deflection from Liam Ridgewell, enough to take them out of the bottom three. 

Saturday 15^th January: West Ham United 0-3 Arsenal

DIGNITY: Avram Grant keeps cool, even though his job remains on the line

ARSENAL kept on the coattails of the two Manchester clubs, on a day when Avram Grant was lucky to make it to kick-off.  Intense rumours of his departure can’t have helped the Hammers, who were ripped apart by the Gunners right from the outset.  With 13 minutes gone, Robin Van Persie had Arsenal infront and Theo Walcott made it 2-0 before half-time.  West Ham were outpaced and outclassed, as Jack Wilshire and Cesc Fabregas pulled the strings in midfield throughout.  Wayne Bridge, on loan from Manchester City, had a miserable debut at left-back and having been terrorised by Walcott’s pace all evening, hacked him down in the penalty area.  Van Persie duly scored the penalty to complete the scoring.  Grant threw his scarf into the crowd at the final whistle, whose dignity remains intact, although the West Ham board deserves to take some stick for the way they have treated the Israeli.  It felt like the long goodbye, but with Martin O’Neill pulling out of the race to be manager this morning, Grant now looks like he will stay on as manager until the end of the season at least.

Saturday 15^th January: West Brom 3-2 Blackpool

AN ABSOLUTE humdinger at the Hawthorns, which could easily have ended 10-10!  David Vaughan had Blackpool infront in the early exchanges, with his goal being cancelled out by the dangerous Peter Odemwingie.  James Morrison’s deflected effort had West Brom infront, but Gary Taylor-Fletcher scored his second goal of the week (he netted in Blackpool’s 2-1 win over Liverpool on January 12) to make it 2-2.  Odemwingie won it for the Albion, getting goal side of Craig Cathcart and bending an effort past Matt Gilks to give West Brom their first win in six matches.

Saturday 15^th January: Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn Rovers

CHELSEA returned to the top four in the league, recording only their second win in ten Barclays Premier League games against a resilient Blackburn side.  Despite Didier Drogba continuing to look a pale shadow of his former self, Chelsea scored twice in the second half, courtesy of Branislav Ivanovic and Nicholas Anelka.

Saturday 15^th January: Stoke City 2-0 Bolton Wanderers

STOKE moved upto eighth in the table, after recording a deserved victory against a Bolton side, that have now lost their last five matches away from home.  It was a miserable afternoon for Bolton keeper Juusi Jaaskelainen.  He scored an own goal in the first half, although Danny Higginbotham will claim it.  After Zat Knight pressed the self-destruct button by missing the ball and clattering into Matthew Etherington, the Stoke winger just about scored the penalty, despite Jaaskelainen getting two hands onto the ball.

Saturday 15^th January: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Fulham

DROUGHT: Ended for Andy Johnson

FOR the fifth year in a row, this fixture ended in a draw, leaving Wigan trapped in the bottom three.  Hugo Rodallega broke the deadlock for Wigan in the second half.  However, Fulham showed a lot of character to recover and despite Clint Dempsey having a goal ruled out correctly for handball, salvation for the Cottagers came from Andy Johnson.  It was a scrappy goal, but AJ couldn’t care less, as he scored his first Premiership goal since February 2009.  

Premiership festive football round-up

THE festive football period has bought its usual share of drama, controversy and spectacular action that is simply loved by passionate football fans in the Barclays Premiership.  Despite the best efforts of the weather, most of the matches went ahead, which saw the tussle at both ends of the table tighten up even more.

SOLE: Danny Wellbeck's goal beat Bolton on December 18

The final weekend before Christmas saw matches blighted and wiped out by the Big Freeze.  Just three out of the scheduled ten matches beat the weather, with Chelsea v Manchester United being the biggest casualty.  On Saturday December 18, Sunderland went up into sixth spot, with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers.  Danny Wellbeck scored the solitary goal and Craig Gordon pulled off several spectacular stop to deny the visitors.  Steve Kean’s first match in charge of Blackburn Rovers saw his side struggle to a 1-1 draw with bottom side West Ham United.  Despite Junior Stanislas late equaliser, the Hammers remained bottom of the league on Christmas Day, meaning that with regular patterns, they were written off by most experts and bookmakers.  Two nights later, Manchester City missed their chance to go top, slipping to a 2-1 loss against Everton.  The Toffees came to Eastlands with an excellent record in previous years and goals from Tim Cahill and Leighton Baines in the first twenty minutes helped them to a fourth successive victory over Mancini’s men.  Victor Anichebe and Kolo Toure both saw red in the second half.

HOLY: Fabregas looks to the skies, as he fires Arsenal to glory

Blackpool v Liverpool and Everton v Birmingham City fell by the wayside on Boxing Day, but the pick of the fixtures was Arsenal v Chelsea on Monday December 27.  Chelsea’s worst run in the Premiership for a decade continued at the Emirates, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side producing a limp attacking display and diabolical defending display, to lose 3-1 to their bitter London rivals.  West Ham climbed off the bottom of the table, producing a stirring 3-1 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Boxing Day.  Carlton Cole scored twice, his first brace ever in the Premier League.  That loss dropped Fulham into the relegation zone, replacing Wigan Athletic, who won the other six pointer clash with Wolves, 2-1 at Molineux.  Two horrible defensive misjudgements in the first ten minutes allowed Manchester City a comfortable 3-1 success at Newcastle United, while Tottenham kept the pressure up; Rafael van der Vaart’s double saw Spurs winning 2-1 at Aston Villa, despite playing for more than an hour with ten men after Jermain Defoe saw red for elbowing James Collins.

LATE: Lee Bowyer rescued a last-gasp draw for Birmingham

Two nights later, a controversial equaliser from Lee Bowyer earnt Birmingham City a priceless 1-1 draw with league leaders Manchester United.  Bowyer could have been penalised for a possible offside call, whilst Nikola Zigic looked to have handled and fouled Nemanja Vidic in the build-up to the goal.  Manchester City went level on points with United, hammering lifeless Aston Villa 4-0; Mario Balotelli hitting a hat-trick, although two of these strikes came through penalties.  The pressure intensified on Roy Hodgson after Liverpool crashed to a shock 1-0 loss at home to bottom side Wolves.  Despite earning another hard-fought point, 1-1 at home to Everton, West Ham sank to the bottom of the table again.  Arsenal missed the chance to hang onto the coattails of the two Manchester sides, drawing 2-2 at Wigan Athletic.  Arsene Wenger’s decision to make eight changes from the Chelsea game badly backfired on him.  Blackpool’s first match in sixteen days ended with a rewarding 2-0 triumph at Sunderland and lifting the incredible Tangerines into the top eight.

TIME: Joe Cole bought Roy Hodgson some much-needed time

On New Year’s weekend, Joe Cole scored his first Premiership goal for Liverpool, as they showed real fight and charisma to overcome Bolton 2-1 at Anfield, and lift some of the major pressure that had been placed on the beleaguered Hodgson.  Manchester United won 2-1 at West Brom to stay top; but lucky to survive not going down to ten men at the Hawthorns, when Gary Neville chopped down Graham Dorrans when the Scot was in on goal.  Wayne Rooney scored the opener, his first goal in open play this season.  For Chelsea, their struggles continued, after they were held to a 3-3 draw by Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.  Villa led 2-1 with eight minutes to go, but late strikes from Didier Drogba and Captain John Terry looked to have got the West London side’s season back on track.  However, a stoppage time equaliser from Ciaran Clark rescued a point for the Villains, and left Ancelotti fuming.  A solitary Adam Johnson goal beat brave Blackpool at the City of Manchester stadium and another strike from the outstanding Gareth Bale helped Tottenham to a 1-0 triumph over Fulham.  The main winners of the festive season were West Ham, who beat Wolves 2-0 at Upton Park to climb out of the bottom three for the first time this season.

So, there is a brief lookback at the festive action and there’s more this midweek.  Who will win the league and who will go down?  At this stage, no-one knows.

FA Barclays Premiership Report (23rd - 24th October)

ANOTHER weekend with plenty of action, even if that isn’t suggested in the scorelines.  Here is a round-up of this weekend’s action, which saw victories for all of the former ‘big four’ in the Barclays Premiership.

Sunday 24^th October: Stoke City 1-2 Manchester United

WHILST Wayne Rooney was nursing his injured ankle on a £17,000 holiday in Dubai, Manchester United did their talking on the pitch, recording their first away win of the Premiership campaign.  Rooney’s replacement in the team, Javier Hernandez furthered his credentials with two more goals.  The first, on 27 minutes was a brilliant twisting header from a Nemanja Vidic knock-on.  Stoke were poor by their standards, but a glaring error from Paul Scholes allowed Tuncay to equalise with just eight minutes to play.  His wonderful curling effort was cancelled out by Hernandez’s second just four minutes later, poking home from Patrice Evra’s mishit shot.  Although Gary Neville was exceptionally fortunate to stay on the field, after two poor challenges on Matthew Etherington in his 600^th appearance for the club, United were well worthy of their three points. 

Sunday 24^th October: Manchester City 0-3 Arsenal

MANCHESTER City’s unbeaten home record was smashed up by Arsenal at Eastlands.  For the neutral, the game was ruined when youngster Dredrick Boyata was sent off after only five minutes.  The Belgian bought down Marouane Chamakh when the Moroccan was bearing down on goal, and Mark Clattenburg had no option but to dismiss him.  After that, despite City’s brave efforts, Arsenal always looked in the driving seat and took the lead in the 21^st minute, when Samir Nasri opened the scoring.  Cesc Fabregas had a penalty saved in the first half by Joe Hart, but once Alex Song smacked a second past Hart midway through the second half, the result was never in doubt.  Niklas Bendtner returned to action in the dying stages, and completed the scoring, a crisp finish from Nasri’s pass with two minutes remaining.

Saturday 23^rd October: Chelsea 2-0 Wolves

CHELSEA went five points clear again, with a 2-0 win over Wolves, though the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story.  Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou scored the goals, one in each half, but Petr Cech was tested on several occasions by the visitors, which will give Mick McCarthy encouragement. 

Sunday 24^th October: Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn Rovers

THIS was a marked improvement from Liverpool; they remain in the bottom three, but recorded a priceless victory over an off-colour Blackburn.  A splendid goalkeeping display from Paul Robinson kept Rovers in the match, but they fell behind to a Sotiris Krygiakos header two minutes into the second half.  Illness prevented John Henry from attending his first match as new chairman at Anfield, and if he was watching, he would be shocked by awful defending from Liverpool that led to El-Hadji Diouf’s scuffed effort being cleared off the line by Paul Konchesky, rebounded off Jamie Carragher and creeping in.  Two minutes later, Liverpool’s more urgent attacking display got its rewards, when the Rovers defence went AWOL and left Fernando Torres unguarded from Joe Cole’s cross.  Torres couldn’t miss, his goal drought is now over and hopefully, the Reds have now turned the corner.

Saturday 23^rd October: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Everton

EVERTON’s unbeaten run extended to four matches with an excellent point at White Hart Lane.  Left-back Leighton Baines opened the scoring for the visitors, with a cracking free-kick after Yakubu had won the decision, despite no contact from the offender, Younes Kaboul.  Three minutes later, Rafael van der Vaart equalised, after Tim Howard missed a simple punch, allowing the Dutchman a free target.  A share of the spoils was a fair result in this lunchtime duel.

Saturday 23^rd October: West Brom 2-1 Fulham

THE Baggies came out on top against Fulham in a hard-fought encounter which saw them leap into the top four for 24 hours.  Ex-Albion player Zoltan Gera gave the visitors the lead, when his quality strike fortunately went in off Scott Carson.  Diomansy Kamara hit the post shortly afterwards, but the game was turned by an equaliser from Mulumbu for West Brom.  A debatable winner came from Marc-Antoine Fortune, who looked offside before half-time.  It is West Brom’s best start in Premiership history, whilst a second successive defeat for Mark Hughes’s men slips them into the bottom five.

Saturday 23^rd October: Sunderland 1-0 Aston Villa

SUNDERLAND moved into seventh place, but they got a massive slice of fortune off Aston Villa and Richard Dunne.  Dunne’s shocking attempted clearance ended up beating Brad Friedel from Steed Malbranque’s dangerous cross.  It was a daft misjudgement, Dunne’s 8^th own goal in Premiership history – which is the most by any player.  Stewart Downing, Emile Heskey and Marc Albrighton all went close for the visitors, whose poor away form continues, their fourth defeat in five games.

Saturday 23^rd October: West Ham United 1-2 Newcastle United

ON A week when Andy Carroll was bailed after a nightclub assault, he bailed the Magpies out of trouble with victory at Upton Park.  Carlton Cole opened the scoring with his first of the season from Frederic Piquionne’s cross.  Carroll’s new landlord Kevin Nolan equalised, after Joey Barton’s ball was missed by Carroll.  Carroll wrapped the points up in the second half, with a diving header, his first goal in two months.  A miserable David Sullivan could only look on as West Ham remain at the foot of the table.

Saturday 23^rd October: Birmingham City 2-0 Blackpool

BIRMINGHAM recorded only their second win of the Premiership season, but got a big slice of luck against Blackpool.  Ian Holloway, who had a strong viewpoint on the Wayne Rooney situation in midweek, was cursing the fact that Liam Ridgewell handled in his own penalty area.  Before half-time, the guilty party put the Blues infront with a very scrappy opener.  A rare mistake by Blackpool captain allowed Nikola Zigic to finish the match off and move Birmingham away from danger.

Saturday 23^rd October: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Bolton Wanderers

FOUR games unbeaten now for Wigan Athletic, though better defending could have given them a priceless win.  The match was overshadowed by a reckless challenge from Fabrice Muamba on James McCarthy.  It left McCarthy with a broken ankle.  Hugo Rodallega opened the scoring, before Johan Elmander equalised after a Matt Taylor cross wasn’t cleared away by Antolin Alcaraz.  

FA Barclays Premier League Preview 2010-11

Two days to go now until Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City get the ball rolling on the 2010/11 FA Barclays Premier League campaign, which could turn out to be the most compelling and competitive seasons in the league’s history.  Here is a brief round-up of what we can expect between now and the end of May.

The Leading Contenders

Chelsea won the double last season and starts the season as the favourites with most pundits and bookmakers.  Carlo Ancelotti has stuck with the same formula from last season, with the exception of acquiring Ramires and Yossi Benayoun.  The squad may be ageing considerably, despite getting rid of the likes of Deco, Belletti and Ballack.  I can’t see them being a main force in the Champions League, but they remain the best domestic side on paper, so don’t be too surprised if they become the team to beat.  Sir Alex Ferguson will be desperate to bring the title back to Manchester United.  Their impressive performance at Wembley last week in the FA Community Shield will have raised a few eyebrows.  United have a nice blend of experience and youth, which could see them become England’s most successful club for league titles this season.  Much will depend on the form of Wayne Rooney.  Can he bounce back from his miserable summer?  He should be supported really well by a formidable attack line of Nani, Ryan Giggs, Antonio Valencia, the returning Michael Owen and new signing Javier Hernandez, who could turn out to be a real surprise package.  They certainly have all the ingredients to snatch the Premiership back from West London.

The Challengers

Much will be expected of Manchester City this time around, so the pressure will be on Roberto Mancini from the word go.  He has spent £77million in the summer, desperate to end a very lean period of no silverware at Eastlands.  David Silva, Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng and Aleksandar Kolarov are the latest on the payroll and it will be interesting to see how Mancini can keep the squad all happy, especially with the new squad regulations for the Premiership.  The top four is a minimum requirement.  Arsenal need to show the real guile and spirit this season, otherwise it could be another frustrating season for the North London fans.  Arsene Wenger must get the best out of his youngsters and no excuses can be made now, especially as it has been six long years since any silverware made the Emirates trophy cabinet.  It has been a distracting summer for the Gunners, as Cesc Fabregas has dithered over his future.  Not the best preparation then, but if Marouane Chamakh can smash in the goals like Ian Wright and Thierry Henry used to, then Arsenal can never be discounted.  Liverpool had an awful time last season, and Rafa Benitez paid the price with his job.  This is Roy Hodgson’s big chance, as he finally gets a deserved shot at the big time.  Joe Cole’s signing is quality, especially on a free, as is the signature of hard-working Dane Christian Poulsen.  Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres have committed their future and the boardroom struggle could also be coming to a swift conclusion too.  The Reds are still probably slightly short of a title challenge, but they should be in the mix a bit more this season.  Their Merseyside rivals Everton have barely spent, but don’t have the injuries that crippled the beginning of last season for David Moyes side.  It will be interesting to see Jermaine Beckford perform at the top level, and with the likes of Louis Saha, Tim Cahill, Leon Osman, Yakubu, Maroualine Fellani and Mikel Arteta around to back him up, Everton could turn out to be a very formidable opponent this season.  Tottenham may have finished 4^th last season and deservedly so, but Harry Redknapp has really struggled to use his position of Champions League football to acquire new blood in the transfer market.  Although Tottenham are still a very dangerous side and can beat anyone on their day, I don’t see them being a title contender, as they still lack the modern consistency needed for a proper title tilt.  Aston Villa has been rocked by Martin O’Neill having walked out on the club just five days before the start of the campaign.  There is a lot of uncertainly around at Villa Park at the moment, they need a new manager and fast. 

Surprise Packages

If anyone can break into the European places, don’t look much further than UEFA Europa League finalists Fulham.  Mark Hughes has a chairman who loves him, the funds to splash and a managerial reputation to restore.  Fulham are serious dark horses to break into the top seven.  Birmingham City was a revelation last season and despite being very quiet in the summer, Nikola Zigic will cause fear and tremors through Premier League defenders, due to his towering height.  If Zigic can provide the cutting edge that Alex McLeish missed last season, then Birmingham could become the best of the Midlands sides.  This is Steve Bruce’s second season at Sunderland and improvements are required, as the Black Cats have underachieved massively for far too long.  They need support for Darren Bent in the goal scoring department to move up the order significantly, but should be luckier than they were last season with injuries.  Both Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City have solid sides, without many world-class players, but have lots of team spirit in abundance.  Both need major improvements in diabolical away records to reach the next level.  With Avram Grant onboard and a more settled approach from David Gold and David Sullivan, West Ham United must improve on last year’s narrow miss with relegation.  They should do so, with Grant having pulled off some impressive captures in the transfer market over the summer.

Relegation Candidates

Blackpool surprised everyone with their shock promotion last season.  Ian Holloway deserves a shot at the big time, but the club have not strengthened at all of note, and could be in for a very tough struggle at the basement of the Premier League.  West Brom returns to the top flight and is the biggest yo-yo club around.  Like Blackpool, they haven’t spent much and are relying on the side that got promoted last season, which I think shows some real naivety from Roberto di Matteo.  Their Black Country neighbours Wolves have added Steven Fletcher to their strike ranks and did well to beat the drop last season, but it could be tougher for Mick McCarthy this time around.  Unless they manage to shore up the leaky defensive that shipped a bunch of goals last campaign, it could also be a very tedious and frustrating campaign for Wigan Athletic.  I would expect these four to fight it out for the relegation places, though Bolton Wanderers & Newcastle United could also be in the shake-up at the wrong end of the table come the end of the season.  

FA Premier League TV Fixtures Confirmed

Tuesday saw the first set of live televised games for the 2010-2011 FA Barclays Premiership confirmed.  Sky Sports will kick off their biggest season yet, 115 games - all in HD and 3D, when Tottenham Hotspur entertain Manchester City on Saturday 14th August, at 12.45pm.


Defending champions Chelsea will kick-off their campaign on the same day, against newly-promoted West Brom at Stamford Bridge.  Their opener in at 5.30pm on ESPN, who will be showing 23 live games this campaign.  The first Super Sunday of the new season, sees Liverpool face Arsenal at Anfield, in a 4pm showdown.  Liverpool are under new management, whilst the Gunners will be desperate to win their first silverware in six seasons.  Monday Night Football makes a welcome return to our TV schedules on a weekly basis, with Manchester United v Newcastle United, moved to an 8pm slot on Monday 16th August.  United will want their title back, after being dethroned by Chelsea last season, and the Magpies will be hoping to make a successful return to the Premiership, after a season out.


See below for all the televised fixtures - (Up to 28th November 2010)

14 AUG 10	Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City	12:45
14 AUG 10	Chelsea v West Bromwich Albion	17:30
15 AUG 10	Liverpool v Arsenal	16:00
16 AUG 10	Manchester United v Newcastle United	20:00
21 AUG 10	Wigan Athletic v Chelsea	17:15
22 AUG 10	Newcastle United v Aston Villa	13:30
22 AUG 10	Fulham v Manchester United	16:00
23 AUG 10	Manchester City v Liverpool	20:00
28 AUG 10	Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal	12:45
28 AUG 10	Manchester United v West Ham United	17:30
29 AUG 10	Bolton Wanderers v Birmingham City	13:30
29 AUG 10	Aston Villa v Everton	16:00
12 SEPT 10	Everton v Manchester United	13:30
12 SEPT 10	Birmingham City v Liverpool	16:00
13 SEPT 10	Stoke City v Aston Villa	20:00
18 SEPT 10	Stoke City v West Ham United	12:45
18 SEPT 10	Sunderland v Arsenal	17:30
19 SEPT 10	Manchester United v Liverpool	13:30
19 SEPT 10	Chelsea v Blackpool	16:00
25 SEPT 10	Manchester City v Chelsea	12:45
26 SEPT 10	Bolton Wanderers v Manchester United	12:00
26 SEPT 10	Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa	14:05
26 SEPT 10	Newcastle United v Stoke City	16:10
03 OCT 10	Manchester City v Newcastle United	13:30
03 OCT 10	Chelsea v Arsenal	16:00
04 OCT 10	Wigan Athletic v Wolverhampton Wanderers	20:00
16 OCT 10	Aston Villa v Chelsea	17:30
17 OCT 10	Everton v Liverpool	13:30
17 OCT 10	Blackpool v Manchester City	16:00
18 OCT 10	Blackburn Rovers v Sunderland	20:00
23 OCT 10	Tottenham Hotspur v Everton	12:45
23 OCT 10	West Ham United v Newcastle United	17:30
24 OCT 10	Stoke City v Manchester United	13:30
24 OCT 10	Manchester City v Arsenal	16:00
30 OCT 10	Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur	17:30
31 OCT 10	Bolton Wanderers v Liverpool	13:30
31 OCT 10	Newcastle United v Sunderland	16:00
01 NOV 10	Blackpool v West Bromwich Albion	20:00
06 NOV 10	Bolton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur	12:45
07 NOV 10	Arsenal v Newcastle United	13:30
07 NOV 10	Liverpool v Chelsea	16:00
09 NOV 10	West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion	20:00
10 NOV 10	Manchester City v Manchester United	20:00
13 NOV 10	Aston Villa v Manchester United	12:45
13 NOV 10	Stoke City v Liverpool	17:30
14 NOV 10	Everton v Arsenal	14:00
14 NOV 10	Chelsea v Sunderland	16:10
20 NOV 10	Liverpool v West Ham United	17:30
21 NOV 10	Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur	13:30
21 NOV 10	Fulham v Manchester City	16:00
22 NOV 10	Sunderland v Everton	20:00
27 NOV 10	Aston Villa v Arsenal	12:45
28 NOV 10	Newcastle United v Chelsea	13:30
28 NOV 10	Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool	16:00