English Premier League Sunday: Derbies in Birmingham, Tyneside Before Liverpool Visit Bolton

Aston Villa host Birmingham City in the first of Sunday's English Premier League matches. The Second City Derby features rivals separated by just a point, with Villa looking to regain a European place in the table, and Birmingham City trying to prove that they deserve to be fixtures in the Premier League. With the news announced that the Birmingham clubs will now face each other in the next round of the Carling Cup, with the tie taking place at the end of November, the derby will likely be feistier than ever.

Before the end of ninety minutes in Birmingham, the Tyne-Wear derby kicks off, with Sunderland traveling to St. James Park to face rivals Newcastle. Sunderland haven't won at St. James since 2000, but perhaps a bit of Halloween luck will be on their side, and the Magpies will suffer in the path of the Black Cats. After all, the team has lost just once in nine league matches, but then again, a win for the home side would put Newcastle over their rivals, an incentive the Toon will surely capitalize on.

Sunday ends with Liverpool traveling to Reebok Stadium to take on Bolton Wanderers. The Reds hope to build upon last week's win against Blackburn by stopping the marauding Trotters, another club that's only lost once this season. With Fernando Torres finally ending his scoring drought last weekend, the visitors may be able to break free of the draw that seems the forgone conclusion of a match with Bolton.