It's a full slate of matches this weekend, but everyone will be talking about the mouth-watering clash between Manchester United and Arsenal on Sunday. It's not the only top-of-the-table duel, however. On Saturday, second-place Chelsea host fifth-place Tottenham in a game at least as important to the title race (and potential Champions League spots). If the relegation battle is more your cup of tea, Birmingham City's match against Wolverhampton might stir your blood (and the players'), while Wigan, Blackpool, West Ham, and Blackburn will all be scrambling for points against the drop. We've only got four weekends of league football left, and things are starting to get tense.
Premier League Preview, Week 35: Manchester United Vs. Arsenal Big Attraction
Saturday
Blackburn Rovers vs. Bolton Wanderers
3:00 PM GMT, 10:00 AM EST
Relegation-threatened Blackburn Rovers have a tough ask in beating an inconsistent Bolton side, who dealt with the shock of losing 5-0 in their FA Cup semifinal against Stoke City by beating Arsenal at home. The sad truth of the matter is that despite the lovely gesture made towards aesthetics by firing Sam Allardyce, Blackburn haven't changed their style much. What they have done is gotten worse. Uh oh.
Pick: 2-1 Bolton
Blackpool vs. Stoke City
3:00 PM GMT, 10:00 AM EST
Tony Pulis’ Stoke City pulled off an astounding display of free flowing football to demolish first Bolton at Wembley and then Wolves in midweek. Now they travel to Bloomfield Road to face relegation-battlers Blackpool, who despite a strong start to the season are in real trouble now. We’ve seen Stoke play some exquisite football as of late - but the question is whether or not they can pull it off on a cold afternoon in Blackpool. It’s easy to play on the Wembley turf.
Pick: 2-2 Draw
Sunderland vs. Fulham
3:00 PM GMT, 10:00 AM EST; ESPN 2
Sunderland finally broke their miserable run of one point in 27, leaving them with.... four from their last thirty. That's still absolutely terrible, for those counting. Sunderland managed to score three goals in about four seconds by using a strikerless formation following the injuries of Danny Welbeck and Asamoah Gyan against Wigan last weekend, and they'll probably have to do without forwards again here. If they fail, it will just go to show that tactics is a silly pseudo-intellectual fad, right?
Pick: 1-0 Sunderland
West Bromwich Albion vs. Aston Villa
3:00 PM GMT, 10:00 AM EST; Fox Soccer Channel
Aston Villa are finally on a little bit of a roll, extricating themselves from the relegation battle, but don’t underestimate West Brom at the Hawthorns. They’ve been almost unbeatable there thanks to manager Roy Hodgson’s focus on defensive organisation and team discipline, and with Peter Odemwingie they have a striker who can hit hard on the counterattack. With Hodgson’s ability to get the most out of his teams, it’s a wonder a big club hasn’t picked it up yet. Arsenal need some defensive help.
Pick: 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
Wigan Athletic vs. Everton
3:00 PM GMT, 10:00 AM EST
Mid-table Everton travel to the fortress DW as Roberto Martinez and Wigan Athletic look to pull off a miraculous escape. Let’s be honest here - Wigan deserve to go down for having the gall to try to play attractive, free-flowing, foreign-looking football while at the same time not being very good. The Premier League doesn’t want or need your type around here, Roberto. Give us more Blackburn!
Pick: 3-1 Everton
Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur
5:30 PM GMT, 12:30 PM EST; Fox Soccer Channel
Fernando Torres hasn't scored a goal in almost ten minutes of football for Chelsea and the situation is getting desperate. Chelsea must win against Tottenham in order to keep their faint title hopes alive, and pinning their hopes on a man mired in yet another extended goal drought seems foolish. As for Tottenham - they always win at Stamford Bridge, don't they? No problem at all. Wait...
Pick: 2-0 Chelsea
Sunday
Birmingham City vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
12:00 PM GMT, 7:00 AM EST
This is a game that's not going to get any love thanks to all of Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City being in action on Sunday, but you shouldn't ignore it. Why? Because in a very real sense, this is the Premier League. Birmingham against Wolves? Blood and thunder with no little skill? It's how football should be, right?
Pick: 1-1 Draw
Liverpool vs. Newcastle United
12:00 PM GMT, 7:00 AM EST; Fox Soccer Channel
Liverpool are making a concerted push for fifth place, but the story's more likely to be about Andy Carroll's first encounter with Newcastle fans following his £35M move to Anfield. Kenny Dalglish's pet Neanderthal was instrumental for the Magpies when the beat Liverpool at St. James' Park, but they're unlikely to look upon him with much fondness now. Expect rude chants like "Hey Andy, what's 1+4?" and the always horrible "Can you spell soup?" They'll shatter the poor boy, I'm sure.
Pick: 2-0 Liverpool
Arsenal vs. Manchester United
2:05 PM GMT, 9:05 AM EST; Fox Soccer Channel
This is probably the biggest game in the league all season, which makes it a bit of a shame that known bottlers Arsenal are participating. Realistically, Manchester United will all but win the title with a win at the Emirates, and while Arsenal are undefeated in league play as of late they also haven’t really faced anyone particularly good, nor are they winning very often. Still, it’s got to be more competitive than the Champions League semi-finals have been, right?
Pick: 0-0 Draw
Manchester City vs. West Ham United
4:10 PM GMT, 11:10 AM EST; Fox Soccer Channel
Manchester City could probably lock up Champions League football with a win against West Ham, assuming Tottenham lose to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The ‘noisy neighbours’ have confirmed that they’re a force to be reckoned with by beating Manchester United in their FA Cup semifinal at Wembley, but they then flattered to deceived at Ewood Park. Then again, they’re playing against West Ham at home, so it won’t take too much effort to get them all three points.
Pick: 3-0 Manchester City
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