I’m struggling to get excited this week, I really am (apologies for any disturbing images that might conjure up for you). Routine victories for Arsenal, United and Everton in the League, four relatively nondescript FA Cup quarter-finals with no surprise outcomes, no Sam Allardyce besmirching our TV screens, Johan Elmander once again displaying his lethal, predatory skills to maintain his pathetic record of two League goals all season, and Aruna Dindane didn’t even play on Saturday. So, there wasn’t much at all to raise my hackles (wherever they are) last weekend, but I’m hoping that with a full League programme to look forward to, normal service can be resumed in due course.

We kick off the weekend’s festivities at White Hart Lane (please note this column was written prior to the midweek fixtures):

1) Tottenham v Blackburn: While Rovers have already accumulated nearly enough points to stay in the Premier League for another year, their away performances have contributed frighteningly little to the effort, and I fear that situation will not improve on Saturday. They have still managed only nine goals in fourteen road trips so far, and with Spurs having been defeated just once at home in their last thirteen outings, I don’t believe that this is the sort of match in which Spurs will falter in the increasingly frantic pursuit of fourth place.

2) Birmingham v Everton: Here are two teams whose fortunes have changed during the course of the season, and last weekend’s victory over Hull actually took Everton above City into eighth place. Birmingham certainly don’t have the same solidity that propelled them on a long unbeaten run earlier in the campaign, while Everton look far more like the side that qualified for Europe since the return of key players like Arteta, Saha and Neville. This isn’t a fixture that Birmingham have excelled in recently, with just one win in the last seven renewals, and in what is very often a low scoring encounter, you can make that one win in eight at the final whistle on Saturday.

3) Bolton v Wigan: Recent results have given these two a bit of breathing space towards the bottom of the table, although both managers will be fully aware of how quickly they can slip back if their concentration slips at all. I always find it particularly surprising how a side like Wigan can beat Chelsea, Villa and Liverpool, only to struggle against teams closer to them in the table, but I suppose the new pitch at the DW assisted in some measure with Wigan’s valuable win over the Reds on Monday. These sides met just three weeks ago and played out a hard-fought 0-0 draw, and while both managers will be going all out for a win on Saturday, I don’t believe either would be too disappointed with another draw, so I’ll plump for a 1-1 here.

4) Burnley v Wolves: Many commentators have cited Burnley’s home form as the factor that may save them from the drop this season, but the fact is that they have won just one of their last seven home matches (prior to Wednesday’s visit from Stoke), and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to see them surviving. Saturday’s visitors may live to fight another day thanks to the poor form (and shocking goal difference) of the three sides below them rather than any significant upturn in their own results, and last weekend’s awful late miss by Sam Vokes summed up just why they are struggling, with only 21 goals to their name this season, which is lower than any other Premier League side. They will therefore be relieved to hear that one goal has been enough to win this fixture on three of the last four occasions on which it has been played, but personally, I don’t believe there will be a winner. 1-1.

5) Chelsea v West Ham: West Ham don’t take a caning at Stamford Bridge as often as you might imagine, and last season they actually came away with a creditable draw, but if they defend with as little concentration as they did against Bolton last weekend, a caning is exactly what they will get. No doubt John Terry will be receiving the usual treatment from the away fans, but the effect seems to have worn off judging by Sunday’s performance against Stoke, and I fancy a 3-1 home win here.

6) Stoke v Aston Villa: I was interested to find out that no side has lost fewer Premier league away games this season than Villa, which can be attributed in no small measure to the fact that they have only conceded eleven goals on the road all season. This will no doubt be a tricky test for them, though, as they seek to catch up on their rivals for fourth spot, and it is worth noting that they were one of several illustrious names to have been defeated at the Britannia last season. Various Cup commitments mean that this is only the third away League match that Villa have faced in 2010, but the previous two gained them four points with no goals conceded, and similar defensive strength here could well see them gain revenge for last season’s setback.

7) Hull v Arsenal: The embarrassment that Hull inflicted on several Premier League opponents (including Arsenal) last season is a distant memory now, and three consecutive defeats have plunged the Tigers into deep trouble. You don’t really want to face Arsenal when you are having defensive problems, but Hull go into this match having conceded eight goals in two games, and even if Cesc Fabregas doesn’t make it back for this one, a repeat of last season’s 3-1 away win is a distinct possibility. Incidentally, a Bendtner hat-trick is 25/1 at William Hill.

8) Man.United v Fulham: Many of Fulham’s away games so far have been utterly tedious, and the fact that they have avoided defeat in half of them despite having scored just eleven goals speaks volumes. This, however, will be an entirely different kettle of fish. United have won the last six renewals of this fixture in League and Cup, scoring 17 goals in the process, and if they can make an early breakthrough, I see no reason why they shouldn’t add significantly to that total against a side who will be in the middle of a tough looking Europa League tie against Juventus.

9) Sunderland v Man.City: This will be the third in a run of four consecutive home fixtures for Sunderland that will go a long way towards deciding their fate this season. Judging by the last four results in this fixture, their fate looks grim as City have won all of them. By all accounts, even though a 4-2 win at Chelsea looks like an outstanding achievement, City could have been dead and buried well before they even got their equaliser, but the fact remains that with talented forward players like Tevez and Bellamy available to them, they are more than capable of taking whatever chances come their way, and that may be the decisive factor here, especially considering how few of their own chances Sunderland have taken recently, having scored just twice in six games prior to their midweek match with Bolton. Narrow away win.

10) Liverpool v Portsmouth: The air of exuberance surrounding Portsmouth since they went into administration and started winning games could be about to come crashing down around them. Monday night’s match takes Pompey back to the scene of many a heavy defeat, and I fear a similar result this time around, particularly as the Reds will be seething following their defeat to Wigan on Monday. Often when discussing a certain event that hasn’t happened for some time, people quote who was top of the music charts at the time the event last occurred. Unfortunately, at the time of Pompey’s last win away to Liverpool, the charts hadn’t even been invented, so I’ll have to make do with informing you that Sting was still a couple of months away from being born into a life of boring us rigid with his wailings. 2-0 or 3-0 Liverpool.

I’ve struggled to reduce the selections to a manageable number this week, but my four strongest fancies are Northampton, Inverness CT, Livingston and Man.U. Combined in a successful £10 accumulator, these sides would return £40.98 with skybet.com.

Good Luck!