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 The opening weekend of the 2012-2013 English Premier League season saw a few of the unfancied sides come to the fore with Fulham and Swansea posting 5 - 0 victories and West Brom recording a 3 - 0 win at The Hawthorns. Chelsea and Reading were the only teams who had two fixtures in week 1 and Chelsea took the opportunity to lead the league table after claiming maximum points. In week 2 Chelsea will try to maintain their advantage at the top of the standings against Newcastle, who opened their campaign with a home win against Tottenham. Defending champions Manchester City will hope to back up their first game win when they travel to Anfield to play Liverpool, who will look to rebound from a week 1 loss. The two teams who lost 5 - 0 last Saturday, Norwich and QPR, face each other this week, so at least one of them will get off the mark after two games played. Remember to make your Premier League Pickem predictions before the deadline of each game. Week 2 gets under way with the Saturday, 7:45 AM ET game between West Ham and Swansea. Up next are six 10 AM ET kickoffs at Aston Villa, Manchester United, Norwich, Southampton, Sunderland and Tottenham. The final Saturday fixture is at 12:30 PM ET with Chelsea hosting Newcastle. Sunday's first matchup sees Arsenal travel to Stoke, beginning at 8:30 AM ET. Finally, the week's schedule is completed by Manchester City's clash with Liverpool, kicking off at 11 AM ET. Here we preview the ten games in the upcoming week of the English Premier League. The title of each game section is a link to pick the result of that game. West Ham United (7th) at Swansea City (2nd) (Sat, 7:45 AM ET) West Ham opened up their Premier League campaign with a confidence-boosting 1 - 0 win against Aston Villa. The goal came courtesy of a freekick, which is unsurprising for a team that scored the most goals from set-pieces last season in the Championship division. West Ham has just added Wolves' winger Matt Jarvis to the squad. Swansea began their season in spectacular fashion, putting five goals past QPR. Nevertheless, the Swans are still looking to improve their squad and hope to tie up the signing of Celtic's midfielder, Ki Sung-Yueng by the weekend. These sides last met in the third round of the 1999 FA Cup and their last league encounter occurred back in 1983 in England's old First Division. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: No meetings (last met in 1999). Last 6 (all competitions): West Ham lead 4-1-1 (includes 2 FA Cup and 2 League Cup meetings). Last 3 at Swansea (all competitions): West Ham lead 2-1-0 (includes an FA Cup and a League Cup meetings). All-time (all competitions): West Ham lead 23-16-12. Team News West Ham (from): Jaaskelainen, Henderson, Demel, Tomkins, Collins, Reid, McCartney, O'Brien, Potts, Spence, Diarra, Diame, Noble, Taylor, O'Neil, Nolan, Jarvis, Vaz Te, Maiga, Maynard, Cole. Injured: Collison. Swansea (from): Vorm, Taylor, Flores, Tate, Williams, Britton, Orlandi, Michu, Graham, Sinclair, Dyer, Routledge, Monk, Lita, Moore, De Guzman, Rangel, Tremmel, Agustien, Gower, Richards, Bartley, Davies. Doubts: Chico. Unavailable: Shechter (awaiting paperwork). Everton (7th) at Aston Villa (15th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Everton have been notoriously slow starters in the past, so a strong display against Manchester United, culminating in a victory, will give the side good momentum going into their week 2 game. By contrast, Aston Villa will be disappointed by their performance on the opening weekend. They rarely threatened West Ham and failed to score in a defeat. The club has been linked with strikers in recent weeks to bolster their attacking options but they might have to wait until the end of the transfer window to bring anyone in. The game might see Everton give a debut to forward Kevin Mirallas. This fixture is one of the oldest in English soccer history. In recent meetings the clubs have been tough to separate. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Everton 1 - 1 Aston Villa Aston Villa 2 - 2 Everton (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Aston Villa lead 1-0-5. Last 3 at Aston Villa (all competitions): Aston Villa lead 1-0-2. All-time (all competitions): Aston Villa lead 79-76-57. Team News Everton (from): Howard, Baines, Distin, Jagielka, Hibbert, Neville, Gibson, Fellaini, Pienaar, Osman, Jelavic, Naismith, Mucha, Heitinga, Coleman, Anichebe, Barkley, Gueye, Mirallas. Doubts: Mirallas, Jelavic, Distin. Aston Villa (from): Given, Guzan, Lowton, Lichaj, Stevens, Vlaar, Clark, Baker, N'Zogbia, Bannan, Holman, El Ahmadi, Ireland, Herd, Gardner, Delph, Bent, Weimann, Delfouneso, Hutton. Injured: Dunne, Agbonlahor, Albrighton, Carruthers. Unavailable: Petrov (latest). Fulham (2nd) at Manchester United (15th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Fulham ran out easy 5 - 0 victors last week and they would have been pleased to see newcomer Mladen Petric open his account with a brace of goals. Much of the pre-season Fulham talk has been centered on Clint Dempsey and a possible departure and the American will again not feature this weekend. Manchester United suffered a rare first game defeat on Monday with manager Sir Alex Ferguson left rueing the minimal goal threat posed by his side. There's a good chance then Robin van Persie will earn his first start for the club. Ferguson has said Ángelo Henríquez will be the club's final summer signing. United has dominated this fixture in recent years with Fulham last winning at Old Trafford in 2003. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Fulham 0 - 1 Manchester United Manchester United 5 - 0 Fulham (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Manchester United lead 4-1-1. Last 3 at Manchester United (all competitions): Manchester United lead 3-0-0. All-time (all competitions): Manchester United lead 45-14-18. Team News Fulham (from): Schwarzer, Stockdale, Somogyi, Etheridge, Kelly, Riise, Hangeland, Baird, Briggs, Grygera, Hughes, Riether, Halliche, Sidwell, Kasami, Duff, Diarra, Kacanicklic, Petric, Ruiz, Rodallega, Trotta. Injured: Frei, Senderos. Unavailable: Dempsey (manager's decision). Manchester United (from): De Gea, Lindegaard, Rafael, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Nani, Scholes, Carrick, Anderson, Cleverley, Kagawa, Powell, Giggs, Young, Rooney, Van Persie, Welbeck, Hernandez, Berbatov, Macheda, Buttner. Injured: Jones, Evans, Smalling, Ferdinand, Fletcher. Queens Park Rangers (19th) at Norwich City (19th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) This clash is between two teams who suffered the worst possible start to the season. QPR and Norwich lost 5 - 0 to Swansea and Fulham respectively, placing them joint last in the table. QPR has made moves in the market to try and address their defensive frailties but deals for targets Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Dawson are still to be sorted out. However, José Bosingwa could make his debut. Norwich has also sought to shore up their defense, signing Sébastien Bassong who spent the end of last season on loan at Wolves. Last season saw these newly-promoted sides endure differing fortunes in the Premier League with Norwich faring better. They did the double over QPR along the way. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: QPR 1 - 2 Norwich Norwich 2 - 1 QPR (reverse fixture). Last 6 (all competitions): Norwich lead 4-1-1. Last 3 at Norwich (all competitions): Norwich lead 2-1-0. All-time (all competitions): Norwich lead 45-39-33. Team News QPR (from): Green, Cerny, Murphy, Ferdinand, Onuoha, Bosingwa, Hill, Nelsen, Fabio, Traore, Derry, Park, Diakite, Park, Taarabt, Hoilett, Wright-Phillips, Ephraim, Mackie, Johnson, Zamora, Cisse. Injured: Faurlin, Dyer. Suspended: Barton. Norwich (from): Ruddy, Garrido, Turner, Bassong, Martin, Pilkington, Johnson, Howson, Surman, Snodgrass, Holt, Rudd, Vaughan, Morison, Hoolahan, Tierney, R. Bennett, Lapin. Injured: Bennett, Whittaker, Butterfield, Fox, Ward. Wigan Athletic (17th) at Southampton (13th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Wigan played well for the majority of the game last weekend but paid for conceding two goals in the opening seven minutes against Chelsea. Roberto Martinez was pleased with the performance of Victor Moses but the forward is on the verge of a move to Chelsea after a deal that could eventually total $14m was accepted. Southampton received praise for the way they took on champions Manchester City, but ultimately there was no reward for their efforts despite leading 2 - 1 midway through the second half. Last season's top-scorer in the Championship Rickie Lambert will be pushing for a start after being a substitute against City. These sides have only met once before, 26 years ago. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: No meetings (last met in 1986). Last 6 (all competitions): Southampton lead 1-0-0 (FA Cup meeting). Last 3 at Southampton (all competitions): Southampton lead 1-0-0 (FA Cup meeting). All-time (all competitions): Southampton lead 1-0-0. Team News Wigan (from): Al-Habsi, Kone, Alcaraz, McCarthy, Caldwell, Jones, Crusat, Watson, Di Santo, Maloney, Moses, Pollitt, Gomez, McManaman, McArthur, Boyce, Boselli, Fyvie, Ramis, Beausejour, Stam, Lopez, Figueroa, Miyaichi. Doubts: Beausejour, McArthur, Maloney, Moses (imminent transfer). Southampton (from): Davis, Gazzaniga, Richardson, Butterfield, Clyne, Fox, Shaw, Hooiveld, Fonte, Seaborne, Stephens, Chambers, Ward-Prowse, Do Prado, Cork, Chaplow, De Ridder, Lallana, Schneiderlin, Puncheon, Hammond, Davis, Lambert, Lee, Rodriguez, Sharp. Injured: Cork. Reading (12th) at Sunderland (10th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) Reading has already played twice this season but only have one point for their endeavors. They fought back against Stoke on the opening day to grab a share of the spoils courtesy of a late penalty from Adam Le Fondre. Then, on Wednesday they were 2 - 1 up at Chelsea but a controversial Fernando Torres goal and a last minute counter ended their challenge. Sunderland held Arsenal to a goalless tie in their season opener but from an attacking perspective the chances were few and far between. On Wednesday the club announced they had agreed the transfer of striker Steven Fletcher from Wolves. There have only been two Premier League meetings between these clubs, five seasons ago. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: No meetings (last met in 2007). Last 6 (all competitions): Tied 3-3-0. Last 3 at Sunderland (all competitions): Sunderland lead 2-1-0. All-time (all competitions): Reading lead 7-6-4. Team News Reading (from): Federici, Taylor, Gunter, Cummings, Gorkss, Pearce, Mariappa, Shorey, Harte, McAnuff, Guthrie, Leigertwood, Tabb, McCleary, Pogrebnyak, Le Fondre, Roberts, Hunt, Robson-Kanu, Church, McCarthy. Doubts: Roberts. Injured: Karacan, Kebe. Sunderland (from): Westwood, Mignolet, Cattermole, Larsson, Gardner, Campbell, Wickham, Richardson, Kilgallon, Colback, O'Shea, Ji, Meyler, Bramble, McClean, Elmohamady, Saha, Cuellar, Fletcher, Sessegnon. Injured: Brown, Bardsley, Vaughan. West Bromwch Albion (4th) at Tottenham Hotspur (14th) (Sat, 10 AM ET) West Brom began last season with three consecutive defeats but they've started this campaign with three points already banked after a 3 - 0 victory over Liverpool on day one. Romelu Lukaku, who is on a season-long loan from Chelsea, rounded off the scoring and he'll be looking to add to that tally in this matchup against his former coach at Stamford Bridge, Andre Villas-Boas. The new boss at Tottenham has said the club now has enough attacking options after the protracted transfer of Emmanuel Adebayor was completed this week. Adebayor spent last season on loan at White Hart Lane and was the club's top scorer with 17 league goals. Spurs did the double over West Brom last season. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: West Brom 0 - 1 Tottenham Tottenham 3 - 1 West Brom (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Tottenham lead 3-1-2. Last 3 at Tottenham (all competitions): Tottenham lead 2-0-1. All-time (all competitions): Tottenham lead 53-52-29. Team News West Brom (from): Foster, Myhill, Reid, Olsson, Yacob, Ridgewell, Morrison, Long, El Ghanassy, Brunt, Thomas, Allan, Jara, Lukaku, Mulumbu, Gera, McAuley, Rosenberg, Dorrans, Odemwingie, Dawson, Jones, Tamas, Fortune. Doubts: Dorrans (family). Tottenham (from): Friedel, Cudicini, Dawson, Gallas, Dawson, Walker, Assou-Ekotto, Vertonghen, Caulker, Naughton, Bale, Lennon, Van der Vaart, Rose, Livermore, Sandro, Bentley, Jenas, Sigurdsson, Carroll, Townsend, Defoe, Kane, Adebayor. Injured: Kaboul, Parker, Dos Santos, Gomes. Unavailable: Modric (probable transfer). Newcastle United (6th) at Chelsea (1st) (Sat, 12:30 PM ET) Both of these sides have already had a busy season. Newcastle got their campaign off to a winning start by seeing off Tottenham at St. James' Park. Then on Thursday evening they fielded a much-changed side in their Europa League playoff at Atromitos FC, securing a 1 - 1 tie. After losing to Manchester City in the Community Shield, Chelsea beat Wigan in their season opener. They then struggled against Championship winners Reading but eventually pulled through to lead the league standings at the end of week 1. Chelsea has just signed right-back César Azpilicueta. These sides traded away victories last season and the game at Stamford Bridge included the Goal of the Season by Papiss Cissé. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Newcastle 2 - 0 Chelsea Chelsea 3 - 0 Newcastle (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Tied 2-2-2 (includes League Cup meeting). Last 3 at Chelsea (all competitions): Newcastle lead 2-0-1. All-time (all competitions): Chelsea lead 63-49-39. Team News Newcastle (from): Krul, Elliot, Harper, Santon, R. Taylor, Tavernier, Coloccini, Perch, Williamson, S. Taylor, Simpson, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Obertan, Marveaux, Gosling, Anita, Bigirimana, Amalfitano, Cisse, Ba, Campbell. Doubts: Coloccini, Ba, Tioté. Injured: Shola Ameobi, Sammy Ameobi. Chelsea (from): Cech, Ferreira, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole, Bertrand, Mikel, Meireles, Malouda, Lampard, Ramires, Mata, Hazard, Oscar, Piazon, Torres, Sturridge, Turnbull. Doubts: Terry. Injured: Marin. Arsenal (10th) at Stoke City (9th) (Sun, 8:30 AM ET) Arsenal's signings of Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud failed to find the back of the net on their competitive debuts as the team was held goalless at home against Sunderland last week. Giroud, who came on to replace Podolski, missed a glorious chance in the closing stages, leading to Arsène Wenger admitting departed Robin van Persie might have taken the opportunity. Stoke took a point from their first game of the season at Reading but it turned out to be a heated affair with three Stoke players receiving yellow cards and Dean Whitehead was sent-off for two bookings. The tie between the sides last season was the first time they couldn't be separated in the league since 1981, 16 games ago. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Arsenal 1 - 1 Stoke Stoke 1 - 3 Arsenal (reverse fixture) Last 6 (all competitions): Arsenal lead 3-2-1 (includes FA Cup meeting). Last 3 at Stoke (all competitions): Tied 1-1-1. All-time (all competitions): Arsenal lead 50-23-22. Team News Arsenal (from): Szczesny, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Diaby, Cazorla, Walcott, Arteta, Podolski, Gervinho, Fabianski, Arshavin, Ramsey, Giroud, Santos, Djourou, Coquelin. Doubts: Szczesny. Injured: Koscielny, Rosicky, Sagna, Wilshere, Frimpong. Stoke (from): Begovic, Sorensen, Huth, Shawcross, Cameron, Upson, Higginbotham, Wilkinson, Shotton, Wilson, Whelan, Etherington, Pennant, Delap, Palacios, Jones, Jerome, Crouch, Walters, Sidibe, Ness, Kightly. Doubts: Pennant. Suspended: Whitehead. Manchester City (5th) at Liverpool (18th) (Sun, 11 AM ET) On paper it looked as if Manchester City had an easy opener to the defense of their crown, having to play newly-promoted Southampton. They looked in control of the game despite an early saved penalty. However, Southampton battled and City had to perform a comeback to take the points. Sergio Agüero went off injured but he should return within a month. Nothing went Liverpool's way in a 3 - 0 defeat at West Brom. They missed a number of chances and had Daniel Agger sent-off for a professional foul. Liverpool played Hearts in the Europa League last night and won. They hope to bring in Nuri Şahin soon. These sides met four times last term with both Anfield clashes ending in a tie. Head-to-Head Stats Last season: Manchester City 1 - 1 Liverpool Liverpool 0 - 3 Manchester City (reverse fixture) Liverpool 1 - 0 Manchester City (League Cup) Manchester City 2 - 2 Liverpool (League Cup) Last 6 (all competitions): Tied 2-2-2 (includes 2 League Cup meetings). Last 3 at Liverpool (all competitions): Liverpool 1-0-2 (includes League Cup meeting). All-time (all competitions): Liverpool lead 81-42-42. Team News Manchester City (from): Hart, Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, K Toure, Savic, Clichy, Kolarov, Nasri, Milner, Johnson, Y Toure, De Jong, Rodwell, Silva, Tevez, Balotelli, Dzeko. Injured: Agüero, Richards, Barry. Liverpool (from): Reina, Kelly, Johnson, Skrtel, Carragher, Gerrard, Lucas, Allen, Downing, Suarez, Borini, Jones, Coates, Enrique, Henderson, Shelvey, Spearing, Adam, Sterling, Carroll. Doubts: Enrique, Carroll. Injured: Cole. Suspended: Agger. |
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