Hello everyone. Apologies for the lack of blog last week â there was an incident involving bears, trees and Mansfield Town. But weâÂÂre back now, and to mix it up weâÂÂre using full team names in the title of each game. ThatâÂÂs right! WeâÂÂre crazy! It does knacker brevity in the Spurs-WBA prediction a bit though.
SATURDAY
Manchester United FC v Everton FC (12.45pm, Sky Sports 2, HD2 & 3D, 5 Live Radio)
Everton are in a tidy bit of form, having not lost in the league since February. But if statistics matter â and we all have to pretend they do, or Opta will start fading from the picture like that scene in Back To The Future â theyâÂÂre up against a team with some ridiculous home record this season.
ItâÂÂs mysterious, is Manchester UnitedâÂÂs home/away dichotomy. Winning just five away games out of 17 (no more than Newcastle or Blackpool) is distinctly crap, but 15 wins from 16 at home is an incredible effort bordering on the faintly ridiculous. Rumour has it the United tour bus is haunted by the ghost of Massimo Taibi.
Tim Cahill may return from an ankle injury, which would be a massive boost for the visitors, but Mikel Arteta will not, which will not be.
What wonâÂÂt happen: Everton overtake Liverpool in the table
What will happen: Everton overtake a Mini on the M62 home. United win
Aston Villa FC v Stoke City FC (3pm)
Gary McAllister may take charge for Aston Villa in lieu of Gerard HoullierâÂÂs sad hospitalisation. McAllister is VillaâÂÂs assistant manager â itâÂÂs not just a random appointment for one game. But that wouldnâÂÂt be a bad rule for some teams. Mick McCarthy rushed to A&E for shouting until his lungs collapse? WeâÂÂll have The Special One for a game, please, say Wolves: Gary Megson.
McAllister does, at least, have a fully fit squad to choose from, while Tony Pulis is minus Higginbotham and giant lump trio Sidibe, Faye and Carew. ThatâÂÂs Abdoulaye Faye, by the way: former team-and-name-mate Amdy Faye is a free agent after Leeds let him go this year. One for Wenger to think about.
What wonâÂÂt happen: Stoke allow themselves to be distracted by a looming FA Cup final â as their performance against Bolton showed, they donâÂÂt let pressure or expectation affect them or their play
What will happen: A few more Stoke fans creep out of the woodwork, and Nick Hancock finds himself back on TV again. Draw
Blackpool FC v Newcastle United FC (3pm, Absolute Radio)
It may sound scandalously like sarcasm â something this blog obviously deplores â but this could be a cracking match. Well done, you boys at Vodka FM: this is a very good pick. Potentially, anyway. WeâÂÂve obviously cursed it now.
Blackpool finally find themselves in the bottom three after a descent as distasteful as following a botty-problemed child down the slide. A metaphor for the kids there. And with Newcastle boosted by a good home draw against the league leaders, youâÂÂd be a fool to bet on a home win here. A fool! Especially as Tangerine talisman Charlie âÂÂGlass Anklesâ Adam could miss most of the rest of the season...
Speaking of which, Alan Pardew is playing down his chances but weâÂÂre expected to see Hatem Ben Arfa back before the summer, which would be nice to see. Until he has his other leg broken, of course. Newcastle face Birmingham in a few weeks: our moneyâÂÂs on Lee Bowyer to do the damage.
What wonâÂÂt happen: Blackpool take the lead and hold on, much to everyoneâÂÂs amazement
What will happen: Blackpool take the lead, only to throw it away. Newcastle win
Liverpool FC v Birmingham City FC (3pm)
LiverpoolâÂÂs new strikers have weird ears. Suarez has bat lugs, while Andy CarrollâÂÂs make him look like the Count from Sesame Street. That is all.
Actually, thereâÂÂs a bit more. Fun fact! If Birmingham win, theyâÂÂll have defeated Liverpool as many times (30) as theyâÂÂve drawn against them. The Reds beat the Blues almost 50% of the time, on 56 out of 115 occasions. So there you go.
What wonâÂÂt happen: Birmingham win
What will happen: They grab an unexpected draw to bring them closer to wrapping up safety
Sunderland AFC v Wigan Athletic FC (3pm)
Seven points from 12 doesnâÂÂt sound impressive, but itâÂÂs been enough to take Wigan off the bottom spot and out of the relegation zone for the first time since 2007. They wonâÂÂt mind facing Sunderland at the moment either, Fraizer Campbell-less for up to a year â A YEAR â and currently on a worse run than... than...
OK, you can choose your own end to that sentence. ItâÂÂs interactive journalism! Like citizen journalism, but not exploitative. So, take your pick. Sunderland are on a worse run than...
a) Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National
b) Derek Redmond in the 1992 Olympics
c) An amputee chasing an eight-legged unicorn thatâÂÂs stolen his crutches
What wonâÂÂt happen: Sunderland lose and make their recent haul one point from ten games
What will happen: Probably, even more bad luck for Sunderland, whoâÂÂll be without Campbell and Craig Gordon for some of next season as well as this one. For now, though, a home win gets the Black Cats back on track
Tottenham Hotspur FC v West Bromwich Albion FC (3pm, 5 Live Sports Extra)
ItâÂÂs probably for the best to just ignore Harry RedknappâÂÂs ramblings about Stoke throwing their league game against Manchester City in order to gain a European spot.
There are too many permutations for it to be considered now, and as usual he's simply distracting his own men from the job in hand â and not in a good way, a la Mourinho relieving pressure, but in a bad way, a la Uncle Albert in Only Fools And Horses.
Still, his Spurs did well to recover from 3-1 down against Arsenal, even if they will be slightly miffed they didnâÂÂt turn it around completely. SzczesnyâÂÂs superb leg-block of Modric's shot could have huge repercussions.
West Brom have finally lost under Woy after eight games but could be fairly confident here: for a start, they know the pressure is on Spurs. With their tough run-in on the road, games such as this and home fixtures against Blackpool and Birmingham are absolute must-wins.
Furthermore, Bale and Corluka may miss out after sustaining injuries against Arsenal, though, oddly enough, not as a result of some blatant hacking, which was directly largely at Modric.
What wonâÂÂt happen: Much attacking intent from the Baggies in this game. Nevertheless...
What will happen: West Brom are boosted by Dorransâ return from injury and manage to claim a draw
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC v Fulham FC (3pm)
Fulham generally donâÂÂt really believe in winning away from home, as itâÂÂs awfully vulgar. But that even more vulgar (vulgarer?) Michael Jackson statue awaiting them for every home game might persuade the Cottagers to get away and enjoy their time on the road a little more.
Wolves, as per, are missing Irish pair Hunt âÂÂnâ Doyle (werenâÂÂt they 19th-century detectives?), and also Mouyokolo and Zubar, which was slightly less successful as a TV show.
What wonâÂÂt happen: Fulham take the MJ statue with them as a good luck charm, strapping it to the roof of the team coach and scaring young people on aeroplanes
What will happen: Draw
Chelsea FC v West Ham United FC (5.30pm, ESPN & ESPN HD, TalkSPORT Radio)
This blog doesnâÂÂt like to pretend it knows better than Champions League-winning managers, but surely the Torres solution, which Carlo Ancelotti has now reached after slowly crawling towards it like Scooby-DooâÂÂs Velma searching for her specs, was obvious all along. Keep the 4-3-3 thatâÂÂs worked. Play Drogba. Have Torres on the bench. Playing 4-4-2 with them both doesnâÂÂt work, and if you take the pressure off the Spaniard heâÂÂll score over time.
Then sell Drogba in the summer while heâÂÂs still worth something: the Ivorian is 33 now and his value is declining, plus his contract is up next summer. Torres, 27, will be of greater value in the long run and will play much better next season.
West Ham donâÂÂt have the enviable âÂÂdisasterâ of having two world-class strikers to choose from, but they do have the very impressive Demba Ba, who may help them to avoid a fourth straight defeat. That recovery didnâÂÂt last long, then.
What wonâÂÂt happen: Roman Abramovich approaches Avram Grant in the away dressing room, bringing a bunch of flowers and a placard reading, âÂÂCome back, Avram, all is forgivenâÂÂ
What will happen: Chelsea make it 35 league victories to West HamâÂÂs 34 in this fixture with a comfortable win to nil
SUNDAY
Bolton Wanderers FC v Arsenal FC (4pm, Sky Sports 1 & HD1, 5 Live Radio)
Following the 189th Old Firm derby of the season is a much more interesting game, as Jack Wilshere reminds Bolton why he was so useful for them last season.
We could talk about how Arsenal keep bottling chances but you all know that already. Bet you donâÂÂt know that Arsenal have won their last four games at the Reebok, though, did you?Oh, you did? You donâÂÂt need this blog at all, really, do you?
What wonâÂÂt happen: Home win
What will happen: Arsenal stick one to their critics with a dominating win over a Bolton side still crushed from last Sunday
MONDAY
Blackburn Rovers FC v Manchester City FC (8pm, Sky Sports 1, HD1 & 3D, 5 Live Radio)
Oh, hello, itâÂÂs Blackburn vs Man City in glorious technicolor 3D! What a thriller thisâÂÂll be! Break out the disorientatingly low camera angles! Someone should invent black-and-white 3D TV. That would really mess with viewersâ heads.
In team news, NzonziâÂÂs banned and Balotelli's dead. (One of these may statements not be true.)
What wonâÂÂt happen: Blackburn record their first win since January, at the 11th attempt
What will happen: Manchester City record their first away win of 2011, at the 11th attempt
