BOTTOM OF THE table, Sunderland have been woeful on the road this season but have shown signs of improvement under new manager Gus Poyet with wins over derby rivals Newcastle, Southampton and Manchester City in recent weeks.
Villa showed fighting spirit to come back from two early Shane Long goals to draw 2-2 with West Brom on Monday night and Paul Lambert could restore Gabi Agbonlahor, Andreas Weimann and Fabian Delph to the starting line-up after all three came off the bench at the Hawthorns.
Bet: Aston Villa @ 21/20
Cardiff v Arsenal
City of Cardiff Stadium, 3pm, Saturday
Cardiff continued to show their ability to trouble the top sides at home after an encouraging 2-2 draw against Manchester United last weekend. Bluebirds boss Malky Mackay faces an even toughest prospect this afternoon in the shape of Premier League leaders Arsenal, however.
After a victory over Southampton, the Gunners did the double over Marseille in the Champions League in midweek with Jack Wilshere scoring both goals.
Bet: Arsenal @ 21/10
Everton v Stoke
Goodison Park, 3pm, Saturday
On the back of their entertaining 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, Everton host a Stoke side unbeaten in their last four league outings but with just one win in eight – coming last weekend against Sunderland.
The Toffees are yet to lose at home in this calendar year and with Romelu Lukaku in form having scored two in his last game, they will fancy their chances against the Potters.
Bet: Everton @ 8/13
Norwich v Crystal Palace
Carrow Road, 3pm, Saturday
Tony Pulis takes charge of Crystal Palace at Carrow Road having watched the Eagles secure three points away to Hull last time out.
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Four points separate 19th-placed Palace and the Canaries, sitting three placed higher, and while Pulis is aiming to get off to a winning start to kick-start a surge out of the drop zone, Chris Hughton has worries of his own and injuries to Anthony Pilkington and Robert Snodgrass aren’t helpful.
Bet: Draw @ 5/2
West Ham v Fulham
Upton Park, 3pm, Saturday
Two more clubs at the wrong end of the table meet in an all-London six-pointer at Upton Park.
Neither West Ham nor Fulham are playing with much confidence at the moment and while they sit level in the table, Martin Jol is undoubtedly under the most pressure after admitting that back-to-back defeats here and against Spurs in midweek could lead to his sacking.
Bet: West Ham @ 19/20
Newcastle v West Brom
St Mary’s, 5.30pm, Saturday
Newcastle’s woes earlier in the season seem a distant memory thanks to three wins on the bounce. Up to eighth in the table, another three points could see them finish the day as high as fourth.
For the Baggies, Shane Long finds himself in a good run of form after his superb double in the Midlands derby followed on from goals against Chelsea and Latvia. His opposite number Loic Remy, meanwhile, took his tally to eight two minutes into their defeat of Norwich.
Bet: Draw @ 21/20
Tottenham v Manchester United
White Hart Lane, 1.30pm, Sunday
The early kick-off on Sunday afternoon sees Manchester United travel to North London to take on Tottenham.
It will be seven days since the other Manchester club put six unanswered goals past Spurs on an embarrassing day for Andre Villas Boas and although they overcame Tromso in Europe on Thursday, the Portuguese boss needs a big performance.
United were well below par in the draw with Cardiff but they showed vast improvements against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. Both teams are likely to recall a number of players while Ryan Giggs could be involved two days after turning 40.
Bet: Draw @ 23/10
Hull v Liverpool
KC Stadium, 2.05pm, Sunday
Daniel Sturridge came off the bench to score against Everton. Credit: Barrington Coombs/EMPICS Sport
Goal shy Hull host free-scoring Liverpool on Sunday.
The Reds, currently second behind Arsenal in the table, will look to deadly strike duo Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge to add to their combined tally of 18 league goals.
Contrastingly, the Tigers have only managed 12 goals in total so far and last weekend saw them relinquish their unbeaten league record at the KC Stadium.
Bet: Liverpool @ 8/13
Chelsea v Southampton
Stamford Bridge, 4.10pm, Sunday
Third takes on fifth at the Bridge with both sides looking to bounce back from defeats.
Southampton went down to Arsenal at the Emirates and Chelsea saw off West Ham but surprisingly lost out to Basel for the second time this season in the Champions League.
Jose Mourinho, who has insisted that he won’t be splashing cash on a new striker in January, is without the injured Samuel Eto’0. The Saints, meanwhile, are boosted by the return of Croatian defender Dejan Lovren.
Bet: Draw @ 3/1
Manchester City v Swansea
Etihad Stadium, 4.10pm, Sunday
If Swansea are to come away from the Etihad with anything other than defeat, they will have to end Man City’s 100% home record in the process.
They have been superb on their own turf and have also been scoring freely in recent weeks – clocking up 22 goals in their last five games in all competitions.
Swansea’s form has been up and down, as their mid table position suggests, and they will miss attacking pair Michu and Wilfried Bony – both injured.
Bet: Man City @3/10
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Aston Villa v Sunderland
Villa Park, 3pm, Saturday
BOTTOM OF THE table, Sunderland have been woeful on the road this season but have shown signs of improvement under new manager Gus Poyet with wins over derby rivals Newcastle, Southampton and Manchester City in recent weeks.
Villa showed fighting spirit to come back from two early Shane Long goals to draw 2-2 with West Brom on Monday night and Paul Lambert could restore Gabi Agbonlahor, Andreas Weimann and Fabian Delph to the starting line-up after all three came off the bench at the Hawthorns.
Bet: Aston Villa @ 21/20
Cardiff v Arsenal
City of Cardiff Stadium, 3pm, Saturday
Cardiff continued to show their ability to trouble the top sides at home after an encouraging 2-2 draw against Manchester United last weekend. Bluebirds boss Malky Mackay faces an even toughest prospect this afternoon in the shape of Premier League leaders Arsenal, however.
After a victory over Southampton, the Gunners did the double over Marseille in the Champions League in midweek with Jack Wilshere scoring both goals.
Bet: Arsenal @ 21/10
Everton v Stoke
Goodison Park, 3pm, Saturday
On the back of their entertaining 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, Everton host a Stoke side unbeaten in their last four league outings but with just one win in eight – coming last weekend against Sunderland.
The Toffees are yet to lose at home in this calendar year and with Romelu Lukaku in form having scored two in his last game, they will fancy their chances against the Potters.
Bet: Everton @ 8/13
Norwich v Crystal Palace
Carrow Road, 3pm, Saturday
Tony Pulis takes charge of Crystal Palace at Carrow Road having watched the Eagles secure three points away to Hull last time out.
Four points separate 19th-placed Palace and the Canaries, sitting three placed higher, and while Pulis is aiming to get off to a winning start to kick-start a surge out of the drop zone, Chris Hughton has worries of his own and injuries to Anthony Pilkington and Robert Snodgrass aren’t helpful.
Bet: Draw @ 5/2
West Ham v Fulham
Upton Park, 3pm, Saturday
Two more clubs at the wrong end of the table meet in an all-London six-pointer at Upton Park.
Neither West Ham nor Fulham are playing with much confidence at the moment and while they sit level in the table, Martin Jol is undoubtedly under the most pressure after admitting that back-to-back defeats here and against Spurs in midweek could lead to his sacking.
Bet: West Ham @ 19/20
Newcastle v West Brom
St Mary’s, 5.30pm, Saturday
Newcastle’s woes earlier in the season seem a distant memory thanks to three wins on the bounce. Up to eighth in the table, another three points could see them finish the day as high as fourth.
For the Baggies, Shane Long finds himself in a good run of form after his superb double in the Midlands derby followed on from goals against Chelsea and Latvia. His opposite number Loic Remy, meanwhile, took his tally to eight two minutes into their defeat of Norwich.
Bet: Draw @ 21/20
Tottenham v Manchester United
White Hart Lane, 1.30pm, Sunday
The early kick-off on Sunday afternoon sees Manchester United travel to North London to take on Tottenham.
It will be seven days since the other Manchester club put six unanswered goals past Spurs on an embarrassing day for Andre Villas Boas and although they overcame Tromso in Europe on Thursday, the Portuguese boss needs a big performance.
United were well below par in the draw with Cardiff but they showed vast improvements against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. Both teams are likely to recall a number of players while Ryan Giggs could be involved two days after turning 40.
Bet: Draw @ 23/10
Hull v Liverpool
KC Stadium, 2.05pm, Sunday
Goal shy Hull host free-scoring Liverpool on Sunday.
The Reds, currently second behind Arsenal in the table, will look to deadly strike duo Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge to add to their combined tally of 18 league goals.
Contrastingly, the Tigers have only managed 12 goals in total so far and last weekend saw them relinquish their unbeaten league record at the KC Stadium.
Bet: Liverpool @ 8/13
Chelsea v Southampton
Stamford Bridge, 4.10pm, Sunday
Third takes on fifth at the Bridge with both sides looking to bounce back from defeats.
Southampton went down to Arsenal at the Emirates and Chelsea saw off West Ham but surprisingly lost out to Basel for the second time this season in the Champions League.
Jose Mourinho, who has insisted that he won’t be splashing cash on a new striker in January, is without the injured Samuel Eto’0. The Saints, meanwhile, are boosted by the return of Croatian defender Dejan Lovren.
Bet: Draw @ 3/1
Manchester City v Swansea
Etihad Stadium, 4.10pm, Sunday
If Swansea are to come away from the Etihad with anything other than defeat, they will have to end Man City’s 100% home record in the process.
They have been superb on their own turf and have also been scoring freely in recent weeks – clocking up 22 goals in their last five games in all competitions.
Swansea’s form has been up and down, as their mid table position suggests, and they will miss attacking pair Michu and Wilfried Bony – both injured.
Bet: Man City @3/10
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