I would imagine that all of us have at some time had cause to complain about one or two players in the teams we support not giving their all or failing to get involved at times, which was certainly true of Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda in Sunday's surrender at Liverpool. That charge can certainly not be aimed at Cheltenham's Damian Spencer, though. Brought on at half time on Saturday with his side already 0-3 down at home to MK Dons, he managed to score a second half hat-trick to reduce the deficit to 3-5, and was then promptly sent off for a foul on Dean Lewington! Martin Allen has an unenviable task in trying to work out how to deal with that performance.

Assuming the weather relents, we have another full Premiership programme this weekend, but as there are international friendlies lined up for next Wednesday, you can expect a host of phantom injuries to be announced after these matches:

1) Man.City v Middlesbrough: OK, we all know that playing against 10 men can be very frustrating if the short-handed side are content to sit back and just defend, but the disgraceful lack of adventure and imagination shown by City's players at Stoke on Saturday was quite embarrassing and resulted in yet another away defeat. What better tonic could there be for them than to receive a visit from a side who appear to be preparing for Championship football. Only some superb saves from Brad Jones allowed Boro to avoid defeat on Saturday, but no side has scored more goals at home in the Premiership than City this season, and they can be fancied to take the points here.

2) Blackburn v Aston Villa: Blackburn's survival prospects are being seriously threatened by their current inability to kill teams off despite having straightforward chances to do so. Four of their last five League matches have been drawn, and they now face a visit from a side who haven't lost since that unlikely home defeat to Middlesbrough three months ago. Villa have also won on their last two visits to Ewood Park, including a 4-0 thrashing last season when even Marlon Harewood managed to get on the scoresheet. I can't see Villa getting beaten here, but could this be their first away draw of the season?

3) Chelsea v Hull: By the time you read this, the result of Frank Lampard's appeal against his red card at Anfield will be known. It really was a quite mystifying decision as, if his challenge was deemed high and dangerous, then Xabi Alonso should also have been sent off in the same incident. Either way, for the officials not to have sent off Jose Bosingwa for a disgraceful kick in the kidneys meted out to Yossi Benayoun right in front of the linesman was scandalous, and should result in sanctions from the FA for the player and the officials (don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen).
As for this fixture, Hull will never have a better chance to gain their first ever win at

Stamford Bridge as some of Chelsea's players are quite clearly just marking time before they can leave the club or force the manager out. Even their recent victories have been decidedly unconvincing, and if this continues, a Champions League place for next season may even be in doubt. Odds of around 16/1 for Hull or 11/2 for the draw may not be as unlikely a bet as you may think.

4) Everton v Bolton: Despite their lofty position in the table, I still find it incredible that no side has won fewer home Premiership games than Everton, who have finally addressed their lack of forwards with the loan signing of Jo, even though he has yet to show his real potential in the English game. Visitors Bolton coped very well against Spurs on Saturday despite the loss of Kevin Nolan, but may find the Everton defence a little harder to break down, and on a ground where they have lost three of their last four matches, I think they will struggle to get any reward this time around.

5) Sunderland v Stoke: Not a fixture to set the pulses racing for the neutral (or for the partisan, either, come to think of it), but both sides edged a little closer to safety with their performances last weekend. The signing of James Beattie seems to have been a wise one for Stoke, and they have now added Henri Camara to bolster what had previously been an underperforming front line. Sunderland meanwhile missed chances to bury Newcastle on Sunday before conceding a late and extremely dubious penalty.
They will now be nervously awaiting a decison on the fitness of Djibril Cisse prior to this match, but whether he makes it or not, Stoke have not only conceded far more away goals than anybody else in the Premiership, they have also failed to win at Sunderland since 1994. Narrow home win.

6) West Brom v Newcastle: Another basement battle for both sides following disappointing draws last weekend, and the Baggies will be glad to be at home for this encounter as they have now won three of their last four at the Hawthorns, while Newcastle can still only boast one away win so far this season. There was nothing in the Tyne Wear derby to suggest that Newcastle have the ability in their injury ravaged side (or in their risible manager) to drag themselves away from danger, and the fact that West Brom also have numerous injury worries is the only factor that prevents me from confidently tipping a home win. Tony Mowbray will undoubtedly rest a number of players in thier FA Cup replay at Burnley to have his squad relatively fresh for their first attempt to beat Newcastle at the Hawthorns since 1984. What a battle it promises to be.

7) Wigan v Fulham: A side who haven't lost at home since October against a side who are so poor away, they should be offering free travel and tickets to their long suffering travelling fans (that wouldn't cost the club very much anyway). Fulham's record at Wigan is very similar to their away record in general as they haven't won there since 1992 and have only scored twice in their last six visits in League and Cup. The desperate, almost suicidal blocks, tackles and clearances performed by Wigan's players at Villa on Saturday showed just how much spirit Steve Bruce has managed to instill in his side, and I can't imagine that Charles Nzogbia will mind what names his new manager calls him. Surely Wigan will not waste all the hard work they put in last week by allowing Fulham to take anything from this match? 1-0 (bet365, skybet).

8) Portsmouth v Liverpool: This match comes at a very bad time for Portsmouth, as Liverpool's stuttering title challenge was brought back to life by the events of the last few minutes at Anfield on Sunday. Pompey have not won in the League since late November, and despite the addition of two members of Greece's interntaional squad, with defending like they displayed at Fulham last week, they won't be winning this one either. 0-2 is generally available at 6/1.

9) Tottenham v Arsenal: In a fixture that has recently contained a ridiculous number of goals (33 in the last 7 League and Cup meetings at White Hart Lane), the possible debuts of Robbie Keane and Andrei Arshavin can only add to the potential for another high scoring encounter on Sunday. Harry Redknapp must be so frustrated that his players can raise their game so dramatically for certain matches, as Spurs did in their impressive comeback in the 4-4 draw at Arsenal earlier this season, only to fold tamely in what are the really important games, such as those at Bolton and West Brom. This is sure to be an open, entertaining match which may well play straight into the hands of Arsenal as Spurs look to win this fixture for the first time since 1999.

10) West Ham v Man.U.: Not many teams can boast two consecutive home wins over Man.U., but the affable Gianfranco Zola's team can, and if you are trying to decide who will be the side to break the Reds' 12 match run of clean sheets, look no further, as the last time the Hammers failed to score at home to Man.U. was in 1998. Time and again, West Ham have been a thorn in the side of Sunday's visitors in League and Cup, so the 11/2 on offer at bluesq.com and skybet against a Hammers victory may look very generous come Sunday evening.

I like the chances of Liverpool, Scunthorpe and Brentford winning their matches this weekend, and a successful £10 accumulator would return £36.91 with skybet.com. If you want a healthier return, you could try adding Reading and Peterborough to bump up the possible payout to £96.32 with either skybet or Paddy Power.

Good luck!