The standard of defending appears to have plummeted in the Premiership this season, with even formerly reliable players like Jamie Carragher and Rio Ferdinand adding to the mayhem. The positive side of this has been that we have witnessed many outrageously entertaining matches so far, notably those at Upton Park and Old Trafford last weekend. This season as a whole, there have been 159 goals scored in 56 matches, providing an average of nearly three per game. If only Birmingham would join in the fun, imagine how high that figure could rise. One player whose performances have really surprised me this season is Ben Foster. During his season on loan at Watford, he displayed all the hallmarks of a superb goalkeeper, and fully merited his place in Man.United's starting line-up when Edwin van der Sar picked up a long term injury. This season, though, he has looked completely out of his depth and has been personally responsible for a number of the goals that his side have conceded. In a World Cup year, and with the position of England goalkeeper wide open, this represents extremely poor timing, and one can only wonder whether the extra pressures placed on his shoulders this year are simply proving too much to bear.

Speaking of Premiership defending, I am of the opinion that Mark Hughes would have been better served by concentrating on that aspect of his team's performance last Sunday, rather than spending so much time berating the officials for the lengthy period of added time (which was in fact entirely justified). It strikes me that it is not so much the quantity of time added that comes to the rescue of the more successful sides, but how effectively they use it that wins them trophies. Indeed, Chelsea have already grasped two victories from their six League games this season with goals scored deep into added time. The fact that players at the top sides seem able to concentrate and give maximum effort right up to the final whistle helps to secure the rewards that they have become used to, while City's defenders, who allowed Michael Owen a ridiculous amount of space to score the winner on Sunday, were guilty of a fatal lack of concentration.

As we prepare for the coming weekend's fixtures, let's start with the Saturday lunchtime match featuring one of the two sides left with 100% records:

1) Portsmouth v Everton: After a poor start to the season, Everton seem to have turned the corner with two thumping victories over AEK Athens and Blackburn in the space of a few days. After a poor start to the season, Portsmouth are still rubbish. With a side populated by players unable to break into other Premiership teams, it really is becoming more and more difficult to see where Pompey's points are going to come from, and there appears to be a real lack of leadership and direction within the club, both on the pitch and in the boardroom. The fact that nothing can now be done until January to strengthen the team, even if substantial new funding is found, means that Portsmouth may well be cut adrift by the end of October, and despite the fact that Everton have failed to win on their last three visits to Fratton Park, the rejuvenated Toffees are more than capable of sticking the knife in further on Saturday.

2) Birmingham v Bolton: Blimey, I'm even getting bored writing about Birmingham. That's now four 1-0s and a 0-0 in their six League games so far. What happened the last two times these sides met at St.Andrew's? That's right, 1-0 to Birmingham. It's 6/1 generally if you fancy that outcome again, but I'd rather just move on to the next match.

3) Blackburn v Aston Villa: How refreshing it was to hear Sam Allardyce criticising his players for a poor performance at Everton on Sunday rather than blaming the referee, linesmen, pitch, FIFA or the Government. His side's task isn't any easier this weekend when they entertain a Villa team who have enjoyed victories on their last three visits to Ewood Park, and who have also won all four of their League matches since their opening day defeat to Wigan. This match should suit Villa's quick-fire attacks on the break down to the ground, and they could win this one comfortably.

4) Liverpool v Hull: Phil Brown would be advised to purchase suits of armour for his defenders for this one. Just for your reference, no team has managed to score more than nine goals in a Premiership match. Yet.

5) Stoke v Man.United: It took a very late Carlos Tevez goal against ten-man opponents to win this fixture for United last season, and nothing I have witnessed this time around leads me to believe that this season's clash will be any easier for the visitors. Other than their very late defeat to Chelsea, Stoke have won both of their other home matches so far, and will certainly make things difficult for United, but you always have the nagging feeling that the top sides will find a way through in the end. The problem is that if the underdogs score early, as Stoke did against Chelsea, the more powerful visitors have ample time to regroup and hit back, which Chelsea did eventually with an impressive and persistent display of strength. If the visitors score first, it could become a massacre as the nominally weaker side have to come out of their shell and try to equalise, leaving gaps in their defensive ranks. If, however, the match enters its final stages level, the temptation is always present for the underdogs to sit back and try to hold on for a point, which is always a very dangerous game to play, and proved to be Stoke's downfall against Chelsea. So where does that leave us? Another narrow away win seems the likeliest outcome.

6) Tottenham v Burnley: Tottenham's 100% start seems a distant memory as two lessons from Man.U. and Chelsea have soured the mood at White Hart Lane, as have injuries to four central defenders. There is a valid argument that Spurs have beaten everybody outside the title favourites so far, but it did take an injury time goal to beat Birmingham, and Burnley will surely benefit this season from a masterstroke in the transfer market by the astute Owen Coyle. The return of David Nugent to the North West, together with a return to his preferred centre-forward role, paid instant dividends on Saturday with two stunningly well taken strikes helping the Clarets to victory over Sunderland. Nugent didn't become a poor player overnight, but a lot of damage can be done when players are played out of position and perhaps join the wrong club, so the move to Burnley could not have come too soon. For those of you looking for recent formlines, Burnley took a 4-1 caning at White Hart Lane in the League Cup in January, having taken the lead, but they very nearly turned the tie around in the second leg before losing in extra time. I wouldn't want to take too short a price about a home win here.

7) Wigan v Chelsea: Chelsea have made hard work of this fixture in the past, twice needing last minute goals to take the points, but the fact remains that they have won all four League visits to the DWJJBSPLQPR Stadium. They'll win this one with a bit more to spare, I think.

8) Fulham v Arsenal: Now, this should be a match to raise the Premiership goals average even further. Looking at previous results, Arsenal either don't turn up and lose this fixture by one goal, or they absolutely thump their hosts. On current form, you would have to fancy the latter this time around. Many people wondered whether Fulham's tame defeat at Wolves on Sunday was a result of their trip to Bulgaria the previous Thursday. That was until Roy Hodgson helpfully pointed out that only one of the players starting against Wolves even travelled to Bulgaria. Arsenal, meanwhile, used their midweek trip to Belgium to get back on scoring track, even if there was a large element of fortune about two of their goals. The goals kept coming against Wigan last weekend, and I fancy that they will keep coming at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

9) Sunderland v Wolves: Sunderland were in complete control of last Saturday's match at Burnley until the completely over-rated Anton Ferdinand committed one of the latest and clumsiest tackles I've ever seen to hand Burnley a penalty from which they took the lead. The defeat that ensued shouldn't mask the fact that Sunderland have certainly improved this season, and only Chelsea have denied them victory at home so far. Wolves will travel to Sunderland and work hard, and will probably nick a goal, so much will depend on the chances that their hosts create. In fact, both sides have scored in this fixture the last four times it has been played and, despite the fact that Wolves haven't won at Sunderland since 1993, it remains a tricky one to call. If pushed, and taking into account Darren Bent's fine form, I would favour a 2-1 home win at 15/2 with sportingbet.com.

10) Man.City v West Ham: This week's fixtures are rounded off on Monday night with Man.City beating West Ham and Craig Belllamy tormenting one of his many former clubs.

A 93rd minute deflected shot from Scunthorpe's Grant McCann denied a big payout from last week's suggested treble, but let's have another go this week by combining Liverpool, Chelsea, Charlton, Hearts and Peterhead in a £10 accumulator that would return £64.17 with bet365.com if all of them won their matches.

Good luck!.