Three Premiership games, one after another on Saturday, together with a Monday night game between Spurs and Aston Villa offers up what looks to be an intriguing round of games.


Liverpool vs. Manchester United

Manchester United have owned Liverpool over the last few Premiership seasons. Not only are United unbeaten in the last eight games (seven wins and a lone draw) against Liverpool they have only conceded a single goal in the process.

Liverpool’s poor record against Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea under Rafa Benitez has been much debated and discussed. The last Liverpool away win against one of the other members of the “Big Four” was back in the 2003/04 season B.R. (before Rafa) and their home record of 4 wins, 5 losses and three draws under Rafa is no great shakes either.

Liverpool’s two main attacking threats Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are both very doubtful for the game. This leaves the possibility that summer signing Robbie Keane who has never scored in 17 Premiership appearances against United will carry the main responsibility for getting Liverpool on the score sheet.

Last season when with Spurs Keane finally scored against United in a 3-1 FA Cup loss, there could not be a better time than this Saturday for Keane to break his Premiership scoring duck against Manchester United.


Manchester City v Chelsea

This game might not have raised too many eyebrows even two weeks ago. But since the Abu Dhabi Group takeover and the signing of Robinho under Chelsea’s nose it has taken on a much higher profile and could perhaps even be regarded as a bit o####rudge match.

City’s record in this fixture is very poor with only one win and one draw in eleven home games against Chelsea. The win, however, was very significant in that it was Chelsea’s only defeat in their Championship season of 2004/05. The 1-0 win came off a Nicolas Anelka penalty and remains the only goal City have scored in the last dozen Premiership games against Chelsea.

It will be interesting to see how the City players react given that a good number may be pushed aside as plane loads of higher priced foreign talent seems set to arrive in the New Year. 
 

Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal

Many fans would pick Blackburn out as being a bogey team for Arsenal – another would probably be Bolton. However, the statistics don’t seem to support that notion as far as the Rovers are concerned anyway.

Out of the twenty-eight games Blackburn has won seven and lost fourteen and have only beaten Arsenal once in their last ten league games. But Blackburn are also unbeaten at Ewood Park in 2008 having last lost a home league game in December 2007.


Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa

Last season’s meeting finished 4-4 and could have featured as a demonstration of how not to defend. Both teams scored a barrel load of goals last season (Spurs 66, Aston Villa 71) and there is hope that Monday’s game will serve up more than average.  

Roman Pavyluchenko and Vedran Corluka are in line to debut for Spurs who need to adapt quickly to the loss of Berbatov and Keane in attack. It is indicative of the turnover at White Hart Lane that of the 16 players that featured in this game last season only six remain at the club.