English Premier League Round 5 (20/09 - 21/09)

West Ham United v Newcastle United
Bolton v Arsenal


Champions League and UEFA Cup football is finally upon us. It will be interesting to see how the English teams involved cope with the extra games. Liverpool and Chelsea took their good EPL form to Europe with fine wins over French opposition, Marseille and Bordeaux respectively. Manchester United and Arsenal didn't quite fair as well. The Red Devils were held to a scoreless draw at Old Trafford by an organised Villareal outfit, whereas Arsenal had to rely on an unlikely source, William Gallas, to snatch a 1-1 draw at the death in Kyiv. In the UEFA Cup - Manchester City, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Everton, and Spurs remain undefeated but the latter two face tough 2nd legs to qualify into the main draw.

Saturday, Sep 20
West Ham United v Newcastle United
West Ham United
In:
Out: Dean Ashton, Kieron Dyer, Craig Bellamy (doubtful).
Newcastle United
In: Damien Duff and Obafemi Martins (both 50/50).
Out: Alan Smith, Danny Guthrie.

Summary: An intriguing contest takes place in the South-East of London, where two clubs in turmoil duke it out for 3 Premier League points. Both teams were defeated by two of the newly-promoted teams in Round 4. West Ham could not hang onto their 2-1 lead, eventually losing out 3-2 at West Brom. Newcastle were humiliated by Hull City on their own patch, going down 2-1 and sending the Toon boo boys into raptures.

Previous encounters:
Apr 26, 2008 Premiership West Ham United 2 - 2 Newcastle United
Sep 23, 2007 Premiership Newcastle United 3 - 1 West Ham United
Jan 20, 2007 Premiership Newcastle United 2 - 2 West Ham United
Sep 17, 2006 Premiership West Ham United 0 - 2 Newcastle United
Dec 17, 2005 Premiership West Ham United 2 - 4 Newcastle United
Aug 20, 2005 Premiership Newcastle United 0 - 0 West Ham United
Jan 11, 2003 Premiership West Ham United 2 - 2 Newcastle United

Footy Analysis predicts a free-flowing, open game with both teams anxious to appease their demanding supporters. Former Chelsea great, Gianfranco Zola, takes charge of his first game as West Ham manager and has vowed to play an attractive brand of football. Newcastle is a club in turmoil with club owner, Mike Ashley, admitting this week that he was willing to sell the club amid taunts from the Newcastle faithful. Key strikers are missing from both sides but poor defending and all out attacking seems to be the order of the day for these two desperate sides.

Pick: OVER 2.5 goals
West Ham 3 - 1 Newcastle

Bolton v Arsenal
Bolton
In: Johan Elmander(50/50).
Out: Gary Cahill.
Arsenal
In:
Out:

Summary: Bolton have found goals hard to come by in recent times, especially since Johan Elmander was struck with a hamstring injury in the opening game of the season. Good news for Bolton fans is that the big Swede is back in contention after recovering sufficiently from his soft-tissue scarring. In contrast, Arsenal have been in fantastic goal-scoring form, with their midweek encounter at Dynamo Kyiv an exception. Gallas of all people was the hero in a 1-1 result.

Previous encounters:
Mar 29, 2008 Premiership Bolton Wanderers 2 - 3 Arsenal
Oct 20, 2007 Premiership Arsenal 2 - 0 Bolton Wanderers
Apr 14, 2007 Premiership Arsenal 2 - 1 Bolton Wanderers
Feb 14, 2007 FA Cup Bolton Wanderers 1 - 3 Arsenal
Jan 28, 2007 FA Cup Arsenal 1 - 1 Bolton Wanderers
Nov 25, 2006 Premiership Bolton Wanderers 3 - 1 Arsenal
Feb 11, 2006 Premiership Arsenal FC 1 - 1 Bolton Wanderers

Footy Analysis predicts that Bolton will look to have a go at Arsenal and rattle their cage early on in this fixture. It is a well known fact that Arsene Wenger despises the over-physical approach but even Arsene himself knows that he will get exactly just that from a Bolton side that is bereft of technically-gifted players. The Bolton faithful will encourage their side to attack, been the home team, and consequently, Arsenal's forwards will have lots of space to work with in dangerous areas.

Pick: OVER 2.5 goals
Bolton 1 - 3 Arsenal