What a statement of intent from the top two in the Premier League last Saturday. Having found it relatively difficult to impose themselves on their opponents early on in their matches, once they got their noses in front, they absolutely took Bolton and Aston Villa to the cleaners and demonstrated that they are fully focussed on not only regaining the title, but also on proving that they are capable of devastating the opposition even without their illustrious top scorers in the side. Surely history can’t repeat itself and leave Arsenal with another title challenge fading away after a further late equaliser at St.Andrew’s?

1) Man.U. v Chelsea: Arsenal will surely be hoping for a draw in this match to claw back their deficit from Saturday, but they may end up disappointed as both sides will no doubt be going for the throat in what promises to be an enthralling and feisty afternoon’s entertainment. Any examination of previous form, statistics or recent history of this fixture can usually be completely disregarded in this sort of match, and with Drogba and Rooney probably returning to the starting line-ups, the result may very well depend on which side can maintain their form and avoid individual errors under the most extreme pressure. Watch and enjoy.

2) Arsenal v Wolves: Talking of individual errors, what a shoddy and pathetic way to lose two points. A clearance that rebounds off an unaware striker’s face, followed by an inept, amateurish attempt at stopping the rebound by an error-prone goalkeeper. Arsenal may well need to win all of their remaining fixtures to take the title, and even this match, that had appeared a couple of months ago to be an obvious three point haul for the Gunners, now looks like a more tricky task given their visitors’ decent form at present. Two wins and two draws from their last four matches have taken Wolves tantalisingly close to safety, but on their last four visits to Arsenal, they have taken convincing beatings, and can expect to face an onslaught right from kick-off as their hosts look to make up for last week’s disappointment. I don’t think they will find it all going to plan, but Arsenal may just have enough to record a 1-0 or 2-0 victory here and restore a little confidence.

3) Bolton v Aston Villa: Anybody who still does the pools would have been salivating over the fixture lists while waiting for this match all season as the last four renewals have ended in score draws. In fact, it is quite rare for either side to fail to find the net in this fixture, as that has only happened once in the last nine meetings in League and Cup at the Reebok, and I see no reason why both sides shouldn’t find the net again on Saturday. That eventuality is priced at 5/6 with bet365.com, which seems to be decent value to me, but predicting the result is rather more tricky as both sides look to recover from maulings last Saturday. Villa were actually putting up quite a respectable display at Stamford Bridge on Saturday before collapsing in the second half, and Bolton were also holding their own before Jlloyd Samuel’s quite amazing own goal set Man.U. on their way to a convincing if slightly flattering scoreline. Could we have a fifth consecutive score draw? I think that could be the safest call.

4) Portsmouth v Blackburn: Ever heard of Leonard Sowah, Matt Ritchie or Joel Ward? I’d be surprised if you have, but they were the three unused subs for Portsmouth at Spurs on Saturday, and further injuries to David James and Herman Hreidarsson incurred during that match mean that one or more of those trainees may have to play this weekend. With Blackburn having finally struggled their way into the top ten, and having won their last two matches, the result here may be inevitable.

5) Stoke v Hull: Having done for West Ham last weekend, can Stoke return the favour by beating the Hammers’ most obvious rivals for the final relegation slot? They have been relatively reliable at home to the weaker sides in the League so far this season, but Hull will be brimming with confidence heading to the Britannia, even though the 2-0 scoreline they recorded over Fulham last weekend was slightly misleading as their visitors had several good chances to have taken at least a point from the match, and also rested a couple of key players ahead of their European match on Thursday. The last three times this fixture has been played, it has ended 1-1, and indeed it took an injury time winner following Abdoulaye Faye’s red card for Hull to beat Stoke 2-1 in the reverse fixture in November. Another 1-1 draw is available at 13/2 with skybet.com.

6) Sunderland v Tottenham: Sunderland will be relieved to be back at home following their trouncing at Anfield on Sunday, where they could easily have become the first side to concede double figures in one match this season. They have actually lost only one of their last eighteen home matches in League and Cup, and this coming Saturday, they welcome a Spurs side who haven’t enjoyed visits to the SOL recently, having gained just two points from their last four visits. This is one of many potential banana skins that Spurs face over the next few weeks in their quest for fourth place, and they cannot afford to lose many more players to injury if they are to be successful. The players who have come into the side recently have certainly taken their chances to prove their worth, and in particular, Bentley, Bale and Gudjohnsen have been most impressive. However, with Darren Bent most keen to put one over his old teammates here, I can see a battling draw being played out to continue not only Sunderland’s impressive home run, but also Tottenham’s disappointing recent record on Wearside.

7) Burnley v Man.City: Burnley certainly didn’t get the benefit of some of the major refereeing decisions in Sunday’s controversial defeat to Blackburn, but their Premier League days look numbered anyway despite all the unconvincing bluster from Brian Laws. I do, however, see this match as a decent opportunity for the Clarets to at least halt their run of three consecutive defeats as City, even with all the undeniable attacking flair available to them, are having difficulty in turning that flair into away victories, which may ultimately cost them fourth place. The key to this one for City will be whether they can score first, in which case I expect them to hold on for a narrow victory. If Burnley get the early advantage, though, we may see a repeat of City’s struggle away to Sunderland, where they battered away at their hosts until finally grabbing a very late equaliser. 

8) Birmingham v Liverpool: Without the fluke that handed Kevin Phillips his goal on Saturday, Birmingham would surely have suffered their first home defeat in thirteen matches last Saturday, but if Liverpool can find the sort of form here that devastated Sunderland on Sunday, City’s unbeaten home run would be in grave danger anyway. It is, however, a rarity for Liverpool to turn on that sort of performance away from home at the moment as they have failed to win any of their last six away in the League, and have scored just twice in the process. Even Bolton, Wolves and Wigan have scored more away goals than the Reds’ tiny total of 13 so far, and with Birmingham still boasting the third tightest home defence in the Premier League, this could be a very low scoring contest indeed. 1-0 to Liverpool with Torres scoring the goal? At 19/1 with stanjames.com, it might be worth a pound or two.

9) Fulham v Wigan: As usual, Wigan crumbled on Monday at Eastlands once Man.City had finally broken down their determined defence, but it did take yet another harsh red card from the unbearable FA’s pet poodle Stuart Attwell to tilt the scales in City’s favour after 55 minutes of huffing and puffing. That was the eighth time this season that Wigan have completely collapsed as soon as they have gone behind, and with goal difference possibly being needed to settle the relegation question, that is an issue they need to address as a matter of urgency. As for this match, we need to wait and see what sort of side Fulham are willing to put out as they will be halfway through their Europa Cup quarter final with Wolfsburg, but I have a feeling that if they are even slightly understrength, Wigan may be able to grind out a point in a low scoring encounter.

10) Everton v West Ham: West Ham may well be in the bottom three by the time this match kicks off, and if they are, I don’t rate their chances of being out of the drop zone by the final whistle. There may have been more effort in Saturday’s defeat to Stoke, but the result was just as damaging as in their previous five matches, and inspiration needs to come very soon indeed. I’m not sure that the manager flying to Italy and giving the players three days off is necessarily the solution I would have chosen, but frankly anything different is worth a try at the moment, particularly as Everton have won their last seven home League matches, and West Ham have won just one of their last thirteen trips to Goodison. Home win.

Two red cards for Montrose with their match against Berwick poised at 1-1 saw off last week’s treble, but I’ve got two suggestions this week, one for the nervous and one for the bold. First, a successful £10 treble on Newcastle, Dundee and Inverness CT would return £37.04 with bet365.com, or if you add Norwich and Motherwell into the mix, the potential payout is an enticing £105.56 with williamhill.com. 

Good Luck!