United will have been stunned by last weekends defeat at lowly Bolton so should be one of your bankers on Premier 10 to bounce back with a win on Monday. Don’t be put off by their last Premier League display as you can rest assured Cristiano Ronaldo and Nemanja Vidic will return to the side as they play catch-up with Arsenal. In fact, Ferguson’s side have not lost two Premier League matches in succession since April 2005 so take that into account when making your picks.

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Alex McLeish takes his new side to White Hart Lane this Sunday aiming to put a major dent in Juande Ramos recent Spurs revival. History is not on the Blues side with no wins in five against Tottenham. The home side have won all four previous Premier League meetings at White Hart Lane. McLeish will not be panicking just yet about a trip to North London it’s hardly as daunting as leading Scotland to an away win against World Cup runners-up France, is it.

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Bolton ended a 29-year hoodoo last weekend with a home League win over Manchester United. This Sunday they will have to end a run of 53 years without a League win at Anfield if they want all 3 points. They last won 2-1 at Liverpool in January 1954. This was the year the first transistor radio was announced, food rationing finally ended in Britain and Roger Bannister ran the first ‘four-minute mile’. Liverpool have not lost in the last 12 League meetings at Anfield and have won ten of those. In fact, Bolton have not taken a point off the Reds at Anfield since 2002, losing on their last five visits. Not looking good for the Trotters is it.

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Steve Bruce takes charge of Wigan for the first time this weekend in this Lancashire derby. The Latics boast a 100% Premier League record against City with four wins out of four. This includes two wins at the JJB Stadium in which Wigan scored 4 goals in each game. The Latics may have been City’s bogey side in the past two seasons but this is a very, very different side they will be facing now.

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Paul Jewell takes the rock bottom Rams to the Stadium of Light this weekend aiming to end a four-match losing streak. He reportedly turned down the Republic of Ireland and Wigan positions to take up this role. He must love a challenge!

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Despite both sides struggling at the moment, Steve Coppell’s Reading look a top Premier 10 pick this weekend. The Royals have a miserable away record this season but at home have picked up more wins than teams such as Chelsea, Liverpool and Portsmouth. They have now won 3 of their last 4 at the Madejski with the only defeat coming against rampant league leaders Arsenal. The last three wins have come against sides in the same struggling bracket as Boro this season, Newcastle, Derby and Wigan.

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Two sides brimming with confidence clash at Fratton Park this weekend. Harry Redknapp’s Pompey are on a nine-match unbeaten run whilst David Moyes’ Everton are fresh from a 7-1 thrashing of Sunderland last weekend.

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The Chelsea machine is starting to click into gear without being acknowledged widely as a threat to Arsenal and United for the Premier League title. Since Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford they have gained 17 points from the last 21 available. This record matches Arsenal’s and is a point better than United’s. Their form defensively is particularly impressive with just 1 goal conceded in the last 7 matches. Business as usual then for Terry and co.

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Both clubs have had a nightmare November and the end of the month cannot come quickly enough. Rovers have picked up two points from a possible twelve available and Newcastle have one point from a possible nine. Mark Hughes team entered the month on a 4-match winning run and were scoring freely. The goals dried up in November as they failed to score in three of their last four Premier League matches. Big Sam is under mounting pressure from the Geordie crowd after successive home defeats against Portsmouth and Liverpool. His popularity has plummeted in recent weeks after initially being hailed as yet another Tyneside messiah like Keegan, Dalglish, Gullit and Robson before him. There is a pattern emerging here.

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The Arsenal juggernaut rolls onto Villa Park this weekend to face Martin O’Neill’s rejuvenated Villa side. The Gunners experienced the bitter taste of defeat for the first time in 28 games in all competitions on Tuesday night in Seville. You could almost hear the screams of delight from the homes of the 19 other Premier League managers with the realisation that the Gunners are not invincible. Don’t read too much into that result though Sir Alex, Rafa and Avram as Arsene Wenger made 7 changes from the home win against Wigan last weekend. In came youngsters Bendtner, Senderos, Hoyte and Traore. The Gunners also included arguably the best performer in the Premier League this season Cesc Fabregas, World Cup winner Gilberto and Croatian hotshot Eduardo. Not a bad squad they have at the Emirates is it?

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