Arsenal looks to rebound after their loss at Chelsea and now have to play Liverpool who are closing the gap for third place. Manchester United have a tough test to play Aston Villa at Villa Park. Villa have been a consistent side and are one of the teams (along with Man City and Tottenham) who will be challenging for fourth place.

Predictions and USA/UK TV Listings

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

Arsenal v Liverpool, 19:45 – 2-2 Draw – Setanta Sports (USA), Sky Sports 2 (UK)

Aston Villa v Man Utd, 19:45 – Aston Villa wins 2-1 – Fox Soccer Channel (USA)

Blackburn v Hull, 20:00 – Hull City wins 1-0

Everton v Chelsea, 20:00 – Everton wins 1-0

West Ham v Birmingham, 19:45 – Birmingham wins 2-0

Wolverhampton v Tottenham, 19:45 – Tottenham wins 3-1

Previews

SkySports.com English Premier League Section

Predictions and USA/UK TV Listings (times listed are GMT aka local UK time)

Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Fulham v Burnley, 20:00 – Fulham wins 1-0 – Fox Soccer Channel (USA)

Man City v Bolton, 19:45 – Man City wins 3-1 – Sky Sports 2 (UK), Setanta Sports (USA)

Portsmouth v Sunderland, 19:45 – Sunderland wins 2-1

Wigan v Stoke, 19:45 – 1-1 Draw

Previews (courtesy of the official EPL website – www.premierleague.com)

MANCHESTER CITY V BOLTON

These sides fought out a thrilling 3-3 draw the last time they met, with Carlos Tevez and Ivan Klasnic both netting a double.

Bolton have won just once in five league matches under new manager Owen Coyle, but he has been pleased with his side’s defensive displays of late, with three clean sheets in four matches in all competitions.

New City manager Roberto Mancini has now suffered two league defeats after Saturday’s 2-1 setback at Hull City. That is as many as his predecessor Mark Hughes.

PORTSMOUTH V SUNDERLAND

Portsmouth are seven points adrift of safety, with 14 matches to play.

Avram Grant has vowed that his team will battle on, but they have not won in the league since 19th December when they defeated Liverpool 2-1.

These two met in the fourth round of the FA Cup last month, with two John Utaka goals helping Pompey to a 2-1 win.

WIGAN V STOKE

Roberto Martinez’s side have won just once in their last nine league matches and the Spaniard will hope that the January additions can address his team’s slide down the table.

The reverse fixture saw Wigan earn a 2-2 draw at Stoke, with Maynor Figueroa scoring one of the goals of the season from his own half.

Stoke have put an end to their poor pre-Christmas form and are now unbeaten in six matches in all competition.

The 3-0 defeat of Blackburn Rovers last time out was their biggest win of the campaign.

FULHAM V BURNLEY

Injury-ravaged Fulham sit 10th in the table, and earned a creditable 0-0 draw at Bolton Wanderers last time out.

They face a Burnley side who are yet to win away from home in the current season.

However, their defeat of West Ham United on Saturday lifted them out of the relegation zone and handed Brian Laws his first win as manager.

The reverse fixture ended 1-1 at Turf Moor, with Bobby Zamora putting Fulham ahead and Wade Elliott equalising.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Click on the fixtures below to view the match previews

Manchester City v Bolton Wanderers (Referee: Mike Jones)

Portsmouth v Sunderland (Kevin Friend)

Wigan Athletic v Stoke City (Andre Marriner)

Fulham v Burnley (Chris Foy)

Everton v Chelsea – 20:00 GMT

Arsenal v Liverpool – 19:45 GMT

Aston Villa v Manchester United – 19:45 GMT

Celtic v Hearts – 19:45 GMT

Motherwell v Rangers – 19:45 GMT

Manchester City v Bolton Wanderers – 19:45 GMT

Carlisle United v Leeds United – 19:00 GMT

UEFA 2010 European Championships Qualifying Draw Predictions (order of predicted finish in parentheses)

GROUP A: Azerbaijan (6), Kazakhstan (5), Belgium (3), Austria (4), Turkey (2), Germany (1)

Germany is the clear favorite in Group A but the battle for second place should be very close. Belgium and Austria could surprise but Turkey should edge both of them out.

GROUP B: Andorra (6) , Armenia (5) , Macedonia (4), Republic of Ireland (2), Slovakia (3), Russia (1)

A group that does not have a clear cut winner although Russia will be expected to take first. Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland could win but will likely end up battling it out for second place. Ireland had bad luck in the World Cup (Thierry Henry’s handball) and could make up for it if they can qualify for the tournament.

GROUP C: Faroe Islands (6), Estonia (6), Slovenia (3), Northern Ireland (4), Serbia (2), Italy (1)

Italy are the favorites but could be challenged by Serbia or Slovenia for first. Northern Ireland don’t have enough to win the group and will have to overachieve to make a play-off of second place teams.

GROUP D: Luxembourg (6), Albania (4), Belarus (5), Bosnia (2), Romania (3), France (1)

France lead Group D which contains several weak sides. The battle for second place is up in the air but Bosnia is the front-runner at this point.

GROUP E: San Marino (6), Moldova (5), Hungary (3), Finland (4), Sweden (2), Netherlands (1)

The Dutch are a cut above the rest of the teams but second place will be extremely competitive. Sweden on paper is the second best team but Finland and Hungary have a decent chance. San Marino and Moldova have virtually no chance at anything better than fourth in the group.

GROUP F: Malta (5), Georgia (6), Latvia (4), Israel (2), Greece (3), Croatia (1)

Group F lacks one of the traditional powerhouses in UEFA but is one of the most even groups. Croatia, Greece, and Israel are all capable of winning the group. Greece had an incredible run in 2004 but will probably miss out on making the final tournament just behing Israel and Croatia. The three teams could be separated by only a few points at the end of the qualifying.

GROUP G: Montenegro (5), Wales (4), Bulgaria (3), Switzerland (2), England (1)

After the disappointment of not qualifying for the 2008 tournament, England should have little trouble winning Group G. Wales, Montenegro, and Bulgaria will probably not take a point off England and are three of the weaker sides in all of Europe. The Swiss should get second place but don’t have the quality to push England.

GROUP H: Iceland (3), Cyprus (5), Norway (4), Denmark (1), Portugal (2)

One of the weaker groups as there’s not a top team but several solid countries. Portugal has talent but doesn’t have the depth and consistency of the Danes. Norway, Cyprus, and Iceland are all too weak to compete with Portugal and Denmark.

GROUP I: Liechtenstein (5), Lithuania (4), Scotland (3), Czech Republic (2), Spain (1)

Spain and Czech are a level above the other sides and should have a tough fought campaign to win the group. In the end, Spain has too much depth and talent for the Czechs. Scotland are the only other team with a realistic shot at second place but the odds of them qualifying are less than 50/50.