Premier League match time dawns at Molineux as Wolves get set to host Blackpool on Saturday, February 26, in a second leg encounter in match week 28.

The first leg, hosted at Bloomfield Road by Blackpool on November 20, ended 2-1 in the hosts’ favour. Varney gave Blackpool the lead in the 4th minute as Wolves conceded an early goal for the third time in a row. Harewood put the hosts 2-0 ahead, with a minute to go before the break.

Ironically, but for the score, it was a game dominated by Wolves who enjoyed the better possession; it would not be an exaggeration to say that the match on the pitch was one-sided. But Blackpool took control of the midfield and adapted to the challenge. Holloway decided to go with 4 men in attack and 2 in the midfield, as opposed to the 3 each, in the Blommfield Road squad’s usual formation. Blackpool were as ever quick on the rebound, and Varney’s goal was arguably a contender for goal of the season,

Blackpool’s early strike meant that Wolves played catching up for the most part, and McCarthy’s wards did not create many chances in the first half. Lapses of concentration, especially in defence, cost Wolves 3 points on the day, with Foley the chief culprit for Blackpool’s first goal. Hahnemann had his own dubious contribution in the form of the second goal to the Seasiders. Giving credit where it’s due, McCarthy tried to change things around, by bring Ebanks-Blake in place of Hunt, in the second half. Doyle reduced the margin for Wolves, it proved too little too late, coming as it did with barely 4 minutes of regulation time left.

Head to head the sides have played 5 league games in the last 10 years, and Wolves lead Blackpool 2-1. In 10 games this season, Wolves have registered 4 wins, and 6 losses, while Blackpool have won 2 of their last 10, while drawing 2, and losing the remaining 6. Of 13 home games at Molineux, Wolves have won 6, lost 5, and drawn the remaining 2; Blackpool have won 5 games on the road, while losing 7, and drawing 2.

In their last game, Wolves drew 1-1 away at West Brom, while Blackpool beat Tottenham 3-1, at home.

On current form this promises to be a hard fought encounter, with Wolves enjoying a slight edge on the back of home advantage.

Wolves had the following men in their first eleven against West Brom: Hennessey, Zubar, Stearman, Berra, Elokobi, Foley, Henry, O’Hara, Milijas, Jarvis and Doyle. Ward Ebanks-Blake and Craddock were used as substitutes.

Blackpool’s starting eleven against Tottenham comprised the following players: Kingson, Eardley, Cathcart, Evatt, Baptiste, Vaughan, Sylvestre, Adam, Campbell, Beattie and Kornilenko. Southern, Phillips and Oremerod featured as substitutes.

Didier Drogba’s goal for Chelsea against Arsenal on Sunday was his sixth of the ongoing Premier League season, and the strike helped the Ivorian draw level with teammate Florent Malouda and United’s Dimitar Berbatov as joint top-scorer in the competition.

Drogba got the first hat-trick of the Premiership season on its opening day playing at home against West Brom. Chelsea won that match 6-0. Thereafter, the Ivorian has had three goals in six matches, in all of which he started for the Stamford Bridge squad.

Interestingly, all of Drogba’s goals have come in home matches, one each against Stoke City, Blackpool and Arsenal, games that Ancelotti’s squad won 2-0, 4-0 and 2-0, respectively.

Like Drogba, Malouda opened his scoring account in Chelsea’s season opener against Albion, in which he found the back of the rival net twice.

But unlike Drogba, Malouda has not restricted his scoring to home matches. His third goal came in Chelsea’s 6-0 away win against Wigan, his fourth came in the home match against Stoke City, his fifth and sixth in the home game with Blackpool on September 19.

Also, unlike Drogba, Malouda has not been in the starting eleven in every match. In fact, in the West Ham match on September 11, the Frenchman came on as a late second half substitute in the 84th minute.

Berbatov has been Manchester United’s saviour this season, with Wayne Rooney’s truancy giving the Bulgarian an opportunity to prove that the Old Trafford squad are not a one-man outfit, centred around Rooney.

Berbatov began his scoring, with a strike in United’s opener at Old Trafford against Newcastle on August 15. He did not add to his tally, in the next game with Fulham, played away at Craven Cottage. The Bulgarian striker’s second goal of the season came in his team’s 3-0 win at home against West Ham, on August 28.

Berbatov’s next goal came in the away game against Everton, that ended in a 3-3 draw, followed by a hat-trick against Liverpool. His third goal came in injury time, ensuring that United banked full points from that match.

Berbatov’s exclusion from the starting eleven in the away match against Sunderland has raised more than a few eyebrows. But following Sir Alex’s refusal to talk to the media after the Liverpool match where the media went to town over the United manager’s comment on Torres, nobody is able to discuss the rationale of Fergie’s team selection, with the big man.

Sunderland’s Darren Bent and Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez have both scored five goals each this season, and are hot on the heels of the top three, in contention for the Golden Boot.

Chelsea scored another half-dozen against Wigan, on Saturday, to get into double figures for the season after only two matches. Nicolas Anelka and Salomon Kalou got two apiece; Florent Malouda and Yossi Benayoun, one each. Kalou in particular had a brilliant outing coming on as a substitute.

Curiously, the first 30 minutes of the match did not give any inkling about how the match would eventually unfolded. Chelsea remained scoreless, as Wigan were lively, with Hugo Rodalegga their stand out performer. In the 33rd minute, the champions stepped up a gear. Lampard had a shot from close range, from a pass resulting from a Drogba and Cole combination on the left, that Kirkland kept out tipping the ball away.

Malouda’s quick reflex shot on the rebound, before Maynor Figueroa could get to the ball, broke the deadlock. Less than three minutes past the break, it was Anelka’s turn to figure on the score sheet. Mikel’s raking pass from the right to the Frenchman found the ball end in the goal near the post to Kirkland’s right, after Anelka’s low shot left Figuoroa, Alcaraz and Kirkland, standing. Four minutes later, Malouda’s cross from the left to Drogba was relayed across goal to Anelka who headed the ball home.

Kalou who came on as substitute for Malouda in the 70th minute scored eight minutes later, to put Chelsea 4-0 up. Kalou got his second in the 89th minute, followed by another sub, Benayoun, getting Chelsea’s sixth, in stoppage time, to complete the rout.

Premier League match time arrives at the Emirates as Arsenal get set to host Stoke on Wednesday, February 23, in a first leg game that was originally scheduled in December, and got postponed owing to snow.

Arsenal are coming off a 2-0 home win against Wolves, in match week 27. Van Persie scoed a brace for the Gunners who went ahead 1-0 on 16 minutes, when the Dutchman volleyed one into the Wolves net. In match week 26, Wenger’s men had squandered a 4-0 lead away at Sunderland, but this time around, they ensured that there was no repetition. Wolves never looked threatening and after Van Persie got his second goal 11 minutes after the break, the score stood at 2-0, the final result. It was a tale of missed opportunities for the Emirates squad;. Van Persie himself missed a second soon after his first strike. Arshavin also had only the goalkeeper to beat, off a Van Persie corner, in another missed scoring opportunity. Fabregas was a third player to rue a missed chance on a day, when a 6-0 score might not have been unwarranted.

In match week 27, Stoke lost 1-0 away at Birmingham. The game appeared heading for a listless stalemate, when 3 minutes into injury time Zigic latched on to a cross from Jerome and headed the ball home for Birmingham. Birmingham had the better proportion of possession and would have felt relieved to bank full points against an obdurate Stoke. In a brief spell of domination, Stoke got a sniff at the Birmingham goal when John Carew got a shot in, only to see it blocked. Pennant had a free-kick, after being brought down by a rough tackle by Larsson; the shot beat everyone but missed the post by a couple of feet. Stoke were fortunate not have a penalty awarded against them when a Bentley drive was blocked by Huth using his hand for the purpose. In the end., the result was a fair reflection of the strengths of the respective teams in the game.

Head to head, Arsenal have established a 3-1 lead over Stoke in 4 league games between the sides.

Of their last 10 league games, Arsenal have won 6, drawn 3 and lost 1; Stoke have won 4 and lost the remaining 6 of their last 10. In 13 home games, this season, Arsena have registered 9 wins, one draw and 3 losses, while Stoke have won 3 of 13 away agames, drawing one and losing the remaining 9.

On current form, Stoke will need a large slice of luck to be able to prevent Arsenal from banking full points from the game.

Arsenal had the following men in their startng eleven against Wolves: Szczesny, Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Song, Fabregas, Wilshere, Walcott, van Persie and Arshavin. Denilson, Bendtner and Chamakh featured as substitutes.

Stoke’s starting eleven against Birmingham comprised:Begovic, Delap, Huth, Shawcross, Pugh, Pennant, Whitehead, Wilson, Walters, Jones and Carew. Whelan and Fuller were used as substitutes.

It’s Premier League match time at Anfield as Liverpool get set to host West Ham United in match week 14 on Saturday, November 20.

This is a must-win game for both teams. Liverpool had a four-match winning run cut short last week when they slumped to a 2-0 loss against Stoke City. A defensive lapse saw Stoke score their first goal off a long throw.

To be fair to the Merseysiders, the Potters’ second goal was a result of Kyrgiakos used in an attacking role in search of an equaliser, thereby leaving themselves vulnerable to a counter attack that ended in a goal by Kenwyne Jones off a Jermaine Pennant pass.

Barring Reina between the posts, few players – Lucas, Gerrard and Torres — stood up to be counted on a day Stoke overwhelmed the Reds with their energy to carve out their first league win against the Anfield squad in 26 years.

West Ham have stayed at the bottom of the heap for 13 match weeks and manager Avram Grant’s job is at stake with wins remaining elusive. The Hammers played out a goalless draw against Blackpool at home, last week, a pointer to the inability to score wins against weaker teams to offset bad results against stronger ones.

In the West Ham game, other than Scott Parker who was outstanding in midfield, and Green, efficient as ever between the posts, only Noble came up to par; others like Pablo Barrera were so poor as to raise questions as to their presence in the top-flight.

The Upton Park side need to do things very differently to turn things around with two thirds of the season remaining to be played, and Grant’s departure could well be one of those things.

Ahead of the game, a recurrence of Kuyt’s ankle problem in the Stoke game is a concern for Hodgson, while the Liverpool manager will welcome the return of Fabio Aureles from injury groin and Achilles problems that have kept the Brazilian out of action since August.

Kuyt was sidelined for a month with ankle ligament injuries; the Stoke game was only his third after his return to Premier League action. Liverpool will also be without Lucas, red-carded in the Stoke game.

Liverpool’s starting eleven against Stoke comprised Reina, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Konchesky, Meireles, Lucas, Gerrard, Maxi, Torres and Kuyt; Roy Hodgson also employed Ngog and Babel, as substitutes.

The following men were in West Ham’s starting eleven against Blackpool: Green, Jacobsen, Upson, Gabbidon, Ilunga, Boa Morte, Noble, Parker, Dyer, Obinna and Piquionne; Barrera, Cole and McCarthy featured as substitutes.

It’s Premier League match time when champions Chelsea host Everton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, December 4.

Everton are coming off a demoralising 4-1 defeat at home to West Brom in match week 15. barring Cahill and to an extent Pienaar, the other players were virtually absent on what can only be termed an off-day for the Toffees. Moyes’ charges came into this game hoping to break a run of winless games that got extended to six on the trot with this loss. As a result, Everton are hovering close to the relegation mine, and the away game against Chelsea couldn’t have come at a more inappropriate time.

Arteta got sent off after attempting to stamp on West Brom’s Jara, but it would be a travesty against the Baggies to suggest that they won because of the send-off. Di Matteo’s squad were the better side on the day and they had the wherewithal to exploit the opportunity after catching Everton on their off-day.

Chelsea were involved in a 1-1 stalemate away at St James’s Park against Newcastle. And with the failure to bank full points in the match, Chelsea conceded the Premiership lead to Manchester United.

Chelsea have banked just four points from their last five games and that is the story of the declining champions who began the season on a high note. the game began on a false not when a defensive error from Alex gave Newcastle a sixth minute lead.

To their credit, Ancelotti’s squad  hit back with several attacks on the Magpies’ goal, and they were made to work hard by a compact Newcastle backline and midfield. And on the break, their efforts paid dividend when Salomon Kalou scored a well-crafted goal.

The second half was a tale of missed opportunities by Kalou and Drogba, as Newcastle hung on, and even tested the Chelsea goal on a couple of occasions.

Head to head, in 22 league matches between the sides, Everton have an overwhelming 13-1 advantage over the Toffees, with 8 games ending without result. Interestingly, that solitary loss came when Chelsea travelled to Goodison Park in February this year.

A wounded Chelsea have a point or two to prove and a dispirited Everton could provide fodder at Stamford Bridge

The following men comprised Chelsea’s starting eleven against Newcastle: Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Ivanovic, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Malouda, Anelka, Drogba and Kalou, with the following substitutes: Turnbull, Ferreira, Sturridge, Van Aanholt, Bruma, Kakuta and McEachran.

Everton had the following players in their starting eleven against West Brom: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Pienaar, Cahill, Heitinga, Arteta, Yakubu and Anichebe. The substitutes were Mucha, Bilyaletdinov, Saha, Beckford, Coleman, Rodwell and Baxter.

Tottenham travel to the Hawthorns this Saturday, for an afternoon kick off against West Brom.

The Baggies have just one goal to show, in their three matches, this season. That came in their home match against Sunderland, thans to a late strike by Nigerian import, P Odemwingie.

The Baggies lost their away match at Anfield 1-0, revealing a fairly defensive mindset, in the process. That game came after a 6-0 thrashing from defending champions Chelsea.

Spurs on the other hand have been aggressive, and despite their loss to Wigan, the signs are there that the White Hart Lane squad want a repeat of their 4th place finish of last year, and the Champions League qualification that goes with it.

But Spurs are beset by injury woes, going into Saturday’s match against West Brom. Dawson, Bentley, Crouch and Modric are all likely to sit out, even as there’s good news in the form of the return from injury of ‘keeper Gomes, along with defender Corluka.

Redknapp’s squad could rely on Defoe and Pavlyucenko to lead the attack, although theres a question mark over Defoe’s fitness, in which case Keane could start in Defoe’s place.

The real weakness is in central defence, where Dawson’s absence is sure to hurt Spurs. An out-of-form King is a poor replacement, while Bassong is not certain to start.

After their accidental loss to Wigan, Tottenham will look to set things right against the Hawthorn’s squad, in what could be a one-sided encounter.

That said, West Brom have done reasonably well against a much stronger Tottenham. Since 2002, in ten matches West Brom have won two against Spurs’ five matches won.

De Matteo’s squad have won their last two home matches against Redknapp’s side. Spurs fans could blame it on the chilly winter weather, they encountered in their last visit in December.

So it will be left to spurs to break the ice  in what is likely to be a watchful defensive game by West Brom.

The probable starting eleven for West Brom are: Kiely, Jara, Olsson, Shorey, Tamas, Mulumbu, Brent, Dorrans, Morrisson, Odimwingie and Scharner.

The starting eleven for Spurs are likely to be: Gomes, Kaboul, Corluka, King, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios, Bale, Keane, and Pavlyuchenko.

Arsenal will host West Brom Albion this Saturday afternoon at the Emirates Stadium, in their sixth game of the ongoing Premiership season.

The last time the two sides met was at the same venue, and the game ended 2-0 in the host’s favour.

Arsenal with 11 points are second, and just behind champions Chelsea, in the League table, and are among the few unbeaten teams, this Premiership season.

Head to head, in the Premier League, Arsenal and West Brom have met eight times, with Arsene Wenger’s squad emerging winners in six games, while Albion have won on just a solitary occasion against the three-time champions.

In fact, in the last ten matches between the sides, Arsenal have emerged winners eight times, while one match in 2004 was drawn. West Brom Albion recorded a solitary home win during this period.

In nine home matches, in the Premier League, Arsenal have conceded just two goals. Added to that is West Brom’s failure to score a goal in their most recent four away matches in the League. Consider also that in their last 18 away games in the Premiership, West Brom have failed to win a single one, while losing 14, and drawing the remaining three.

All of the above facts might make Arsenal look more formidable than they are. But Sunderland’s injury time strike via Darren Bent last weekend proved that Wenger’s men could be tackled, by a team that’s prepared to attack.

That said, Arsenal’s own attack is not a mediocre act, by any stretch, with 19 goals to show for in five matches played this Premiership season. The defence has also stood up, with only three goals finding the back of Arsenal’s net, in these five matches.

Arsenal could find West Brom hard to handle this season. West Brom are coming off a morale boosting 3-1 win against Birmingham, their third win in five Premier League matches, this ongoing season. However, Albion are a defensive side, and just seven goals scored in five matches is a clear pointer to this fact.

For Arsenal; Fabregas has been ruled out for three weeks with a hamstring injury. The Spanish midfielder is key to Arsenal’s performance this season, and with their match against Chelsea coming up, this is bad news, indeed.

Arsenal’s probable eleven: Almunia, Koscielny, Sagna, Squillaci, Clichy, Song, Wilshere, Denilson, Arshavin, Chamakh, Nasri

West Brom’s probable eleven: Carson, Scharner, Shorey, Jara, Olsson, Thomas, Tamas, Mulumbu, Brunt, Odemwingie, Fortune