This post shall update the scores of the midweek matches, and predictions of ordinary Saturday, and.... GRAND SLAM SUNDAY!

Starting with the midweek matches~
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 4 CHELSEA 4
(Thrilling match!)
MANCHESTER UNITED 2 BOLTON WANDERERS 0

And the predictions of ordinary Saturday and Grand Slam Sunday!
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 PORTSMOUTH 2 @ White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane erupted in midweek when Robbie Keane struck in the 88th minute to secure Spurs an amazing 4-4 draw with Chelsea. They will be in for another thrilling match as Pompey are in good form and are "all cylinders on"-ready to make it into Europe. This close-fought encounter should end stalemate.

ASTON VILLA 1 SUNDERLAND 0 @ Villa Park
Sunderland are a disastrous team on the road, having an away record that is even worst than Derby County- something not easy to achieve! Villa are in poor form, but should find enough firepower to see off the woeful Black Cats in their away kits.

BLACKBURN ROVERS 1 WIGAN ATHLETIC 1 @ Ewood Park
Blackburn went down 1-2 to West Ham last weekend, while Wigan won against Bolton with just ten men. Expect this match to be closely fought, as Wigan's tenacity and vigour could well earn them a valuable away point.

BOLTON WANDERERS 0 MANCHESTER CITY 1 @ Reebok Stadium
Bolton have lost their last 5 league matches and were dumped out of the UEFA Cup by Sporting Lisbon. City are in a patchy run of form, but should be able to overcome a Bolton side that is in even worse form than them.

MIDDLESBROUGH 3 DERBY COUNTY 1 @ Riverside Stadium
Bottom-side Derby County were impressive against Manchester United last weekend, but still lost out to a Cristiano Ronaldo goal. However, away from home, they will struggle to emulate that performance. Boro to win, comfortably.

NEWCASTLE UNITED 2 FULHAM 1 @ St James Park
This is arguably Kevin Keegan's best chance to get his first win of his second spell in charge of the floundering Magpies. Fulham remain in the bottom three despite an impressive win over Everton last weekend. They also struggle on the road, having last won in 2006. (incidentally in this stadium) Newcastle should be buoyed by their home support and finally achieve their first league win since December.

READING 1 BIRMINGHAM CITY 1 @ Madejski Stadium
Two struggling clubs face off against each other in a pivotal clash in the battle for Premier League survival. Neither side are in particularly good form, but neither are in the mood to give their opponents victory either. Stalemate.

EVERTON 3 WEST HAM UNITED 1 @ Goodison Park
Everton will be looking to make up for their poor defeat away to struggling Fulham. West Ham finally won last weekend, breaking a sorry sequence of three straight 4-0 defeats. On paper, Everton's side is good enough to beat West Ham any day. Including today.

GRAND SLAM SUNDAY
MANCHESTER UNITED 2 LIVERPOOL 1 @ Old Trafford
The first of our 'Grand Slam Sunday' clash sees Liverpool travel to Old Trafford to face perennial rivals Manchester United. United opened up a three-point lead at the top of the table with a midweek victory over Bolton Wanderers, and a victory here will put them firmly on course for their second straight league title. The Red Devils should nip this by a very slim margin, with Ronaldo very likely the difference between the two sides. He has 33 goals in 35 games, and will love to continue his scoring-for-fun record against the Scousers.

CHELSEA 1 ARSENAL 1 @ Stamford Bridge
The second of our 'Grand Slam Sunday' clash sees Arsenal travel to bitter London rivals Chelsea. It is 3rd against 2nd, but the 2nd-placed Gunners are in woeful form in the league, drawing their last four matches home and away. Chelsea have struggled to win in 'big matches' this season. That includes defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal in the league, draws to Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, a Carling Cup final defeat to Spurs, and a humiliating FA Cup exit at the hands of second-division Barnsley. Avram Grant's lack of tactical nous could see their 'big game curse' continue.

LEAGUE TABLE - BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
1.MANCHESTER UNITED P30,70PTS
2.ARSENAL P30,67PTS
3.CHELSEA P30,65PTS
4.LIVERPOOL P30,59PTS
5.EVERTON P30,56PTS
6.PORTSMOUTH P30,50PTS
7.ASTON VILLA P30,49PTS
8.MANCHESTER CITY P30,48PTS
9.BLACKBURN ROVERS P30,46PTS
10.WEST HAM UNITED P30,43PTS
11.TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR P30, 36PTS
12.WIGAN ATHLETIC P30,31PTS
13.MIDDLESBROUGH P30,31PTS
14.NEWCASTLE UNITED P30,29PTS
15.READING P30,28PTS
16.BIRMINGHAM CITY P30,27PTS
17.SUNDERLAND P30,27PTS
18.BOLTON WANDERERS P30,25PTS
19.FULHAM P30,23PTS
20.DERBY COUNTY P30,10PTS

Joel at 3/22/2008 04:19:00 PM :: link

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