England: Premier League Weekend Preview!!!!

And so the wait at last comes to an end. With all due respect to the enjoyable diversions provided by the Confederations Cup and the Gold Cup, we can now finally get down to some serious business. The potential for this campaign has me more excited than I’ve been in several years, simply because of the myriad questions that will be answered come May, 2010. Can Sparky meld Manchester City’s Arabian Knights into a cohesive and threatening unit? Will the departures of Ronaldo and Tevez leave Sir Alex wanting as United’s season develops? Can Carlo’s Italian pedigree bring the title back to Stamford Bridge? Might this be the year that Liverpool ends the drought and brings the trophy back to Merseyside? And what of Arsenal? Are the kids alright, or will they continue their potential-filled, trophy-less existence? A few miles over, ‘Arry will lead his Spurs into battle after years of chaos and confusion. Is he the one that can bring some confidence and cohesion back to White Hart Lane? Everton and Fulham aim to follow up their promising seasons with strong runs for Europe, and in East London Zola’s charges will try to restore some pride to Upton Park. At the bottom of the table, Portsmouth look set to go down, with Stoke, Wolves, Burnley, Birmingham and Hull most likely joining the struggle for survival. Bolton & Blackburn? Well, you know the drill with those two. I’m excited, are you? -Sanford

The Fixtures:

Aston Villa vs. Wigan

Chelsea vs. Hull

Everton vs. Arsenal

Blackburn vs. Manchester City

Bolton vs. Sunderland

Portsmouth vs. Fulham

Wolves vs. West Ham

Stoke vs. Burnley

Manchester United vs. Birmingham

Tottenham vs. Liverpool

Weekend Preview

Roundup

Team News