PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH PREVIEWS SATURDAY OCTOBER 24 – SUNDAY OCTOBER 25

Aston Villa v Swansea City – Saturday 1500

Positions: Aston Villa 19^th, Swansea 14^th

Form:

Aston Villa

(last six League matches – earliest first): DLLLLL (1pt)

Swansea

WLDLDL (5pts)

• Things remain pretty dismal for Villa, but a home match against a Swansea side who are hardly setting the league alight could provide the ideal opportunity to bag what would be just their second win.

Leicester City v Crystal Palace – Saturday 1500

Positions: Leicester 5^th, Crystal Palace 6^th

Form:

Leicester

DWDLWD (9pts)

Crystal Palace

WLLWWL (9pts)

• Another comeback earned Leicester a draw at Southampton to maintain their excellent league position. Jamie Vardy will become only the sixth player in Premier League history to score in seven successive matches if he finds the target here. Palace meanwhile continue to enjoy life in the top six, but have a poor record against the other sides near the top. Palace are one of only two sides yet to record a draw this year, the other being leaders Man City.

Norwich City v West Bromwich Albion – Saturday 1500

Positions: Norwich 16^th, West Brom 13^th

Form:

Norwich

LWDDLL (5pts)

West Brom

WDWLLW (10pts)

• So how will Norwich react after their pummelling at Newcastle? They may be grateful for the fact they are facing a West Brom side who have scored just seven goals in nine matches, however good their recent form might appear.

Stoke City v Watford – Saturday 1500

Positions: Stoke 11^th, Watford 15^th

Form:

Stoke

LLDWWW (10pts)

Watford

LWWLDL (7pts)

• After not winning any of their first six, things may be changing dramatically for Stoke. They will certainly be confident going into this game, even if their three wins have all been by a single goal. Watford are however still unbeaten when not playing a top six team.

West Ham United v Chelsea – Saturday 1500

Positions: West Ham 4^th, Chelsea 12^th

Form:

West Ham

WWWDDW (12pts)

Chelsea

LLWDLW (7pts)

• 10 points adrift of Man City, have Chelsea’s realistic chances of retaining their title already gone? Few expect them not to finish higher than they stand at the moment, and will last week’s win kick start their season? Chelsea undoubtedly have the players to win this match, but the trip to a buoyant West Ham could present a stiff test.

Arsenal v Everton – Saturday 1730

Positions: Arsenal 2^nd, Everton 9^th

Form:

Arsenal

WWLWWW (15pts)

Everton

DWDWDL (9pts)

• Arsenal are enjoying a fine winning run, and are scoring goals for fun. In addition to their excellent League form, they enjoyed a superb Champions League win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Everton face another very tough match – they took a five match unbeaten run into last weekend’s home game with Man Utd, but were still well beaten.

Sunderland v Newcastle United – Sunday 1200

Positions: Sunderland 20^th, Newcastle 18^th

Form:

Sunderland

DLLLDL (2pts)

Newcastle

LLLDLW (4pts)

• The first of today’s derby matches sees both sides in the relegation zone. Can Newcastle carry on where they left off the previous week, when they doubled their goal tally for the season in beating Norwich 6-3? The match saw Newcastle score from all of the six attempts they had on target! There could certainly be goals here given both sides’ defensive records. Sunderland are now the only Premier League side without a win.

Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur – Sunday 1405

Positions: Bournemouth 17^th, Tottenham 7^th

Form:

Bournemouth

DLWLDL (5pts)

Tottenham

DDWWDD (10pts)

• A tough task for Bournemouth as the entertain Spurs, unbeaten since the opening day at Man Utd. Spurs will however hope to start converting draws into wins, and for Harry Kane to start scoring like he did last year.

Manchester United v Manchester City – Sunday 1405

Positions: Man Utd 3^rd, Man City 1^st

Form:

Man Utd

LWWWDW (13pts)

Man City

WWLLWW (12pts)

• The Manchester derby could potentially be a superb match, with both teams amongst the goals lately. City’s two league losses this year occurred just a few games ago, yet it doesn’t seem that way, with Pellegrini’s side having scored 11 in the two Premier League matches since. Man Utd also scored three without reply last time out in what on paper looked a tricky match at Everton.

Liverpool v Southampton – Sunday 1615

Positions: Liverpool 10^th, Southampton 8^th

Form:

Liverpool

LLDWDD (6pts)

Southampton

WDLWWD (11pts)

• Liverpool remain desperately short of goals, with just eight so far, and face a tricky home game here.