Many have asked why the Premier League is so close this season in terms of the number of points between clubs, well for me it’s a case of you’ve got the big four and then the rest. You only have to look at the teams that are considered to be the sides capable of breaking into the top four and already you can see it isn’t going to happen. The likes of Aston Villa and Manchester City don’t look anywhere near as strong as the usual big hitters.

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Lyon striker Karim Benzema had been reported to be next on Manchester City’s expensive transfer hitlist in January though it’s emerged that Barcelona are also keen suitors of the striker. The young striking sensation had been heavily linked to rivals Manchester United in the past though despite proclamations that he wishes to stay in France both Barcelona and Man City remain keen.

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Football Pools Pundit Tony Cascarino has suggested that Chelsea’s performance in their 2-0 home win over Aston Villa was ‘scary’ for title challengers Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. The fact the Blues beat a strong Aston Villa side so comfortably despite missing some integral member of the squad illustrates that the Chelsea squad is strong enough to cope whereas their rivals may have struggled without a similar number of first teamers.Cascarino had this to say, “When you are talking of missing players you have to stand in awe of Chelsea at the moment. At the weekend they were without the likes of Deco, Alex, Drogba, Essien and Carvalho but still comfortably beat one of the best sides in the Premier League.”

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Chelsea remain top of the Premier League after another impressive win at the weekend over a much-fancied Aston Villa side though Liverpool remain neck and neck with them after a last gasp win at Eastlands. Former Reds legend and Football Pools Pundit John Barnes has this week praised the new style that the men from Stamford Bridge are playing in and has tipped them to take the title.The former Anfield Favourite had this to say, “Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side are the team that has impressed me most this season. Their win at the weekend against a good Aston Villa side was quite superb. In fact, Martin O’Neill’s side were fortunate to limit the defeat to 2-0 rather than four.”

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Goals against Liverpool aren’t easy to come by especially for Manchester City. City have failed to score in their last six Premier League games against the Reds. In fact goals aren’t that much of a feature when these two sides meet; there have been just five goals in the last seven clashes - five have ended 1-0 and the other two have been 0-0 draws.

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Only Southampton (9) have lost more often at Goodison Park in the Premier League era than Newcastle United. Just what the Toon Army wants to hear at this current time. But Goodison can hardly be called a fortress so far this season; Blackburn, Portsmouth and Liverpool have each left with all three points. So can Newcastle now with a tad more stability following the interim appointment of Joe Kinnear follow suit, rewrite history and rediscover their top flight feet?

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Hull continue to impress while Tottenham continue to slide. That seems to be the quickest way to sum up the two teams so far this season. However if you wanted the lengthier version read on…

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It’s been around two and a half years since West Brom and Fulham last met, a time Baggies fans would rather like to sweep under the carpet; the Londoners thrashed West Brom 6-1 in February 2006. This however was at Craven Cottage. Tales from the Hawthorns cast a much different picture, one that the Baggies can take some heart from especially after their sterling win away to Middlesbrough last week.

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This fixture in the last campaign resulted in one of the games of the season as Chelsea and Villa drew 4-4 as two penalties were awarded and 3 red cards dished out. I wouldn’t expect the same scoreline but with both sides in good form this should be a tightly fought encounter. Even though the home side will be undoubted favourites it’s worth remembering that the Blues have not beaten Villa in the last 5 Premier League encounters.

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The Gunners may have been shell-shocked by their surprise home League defeat to Hull last weekend but they bounced back in style against Porto in the Champions League. Therefore, it’s hard to imagine the Gunners slipping to their second successive League defeat. Particularly when you consider their strong recent record against Sunderland.

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