Who's Playing Who?

We welcome you to the Christmas Round of the EPL for this year. Boxing Day is often a massive day for English Football fans and this year is no different, with a few derby matches hotting up the EPL this weekend. So without further aideu, lets get into the games!

Fulham vs West Ham

Matt’s Tip – Fulham. A bottom of the table clash between two proud London sides who both desperately need a win. Fulham are the draw masters this season, with quite a stingy defence considering their place on the ladder. Led by Schwarzer at the back, I’m thinking they should get all three points here.

Adrian’s Tip – Fulham. It’s not often I back these fellas, but I’m doing so this week. They’re at Craven Cottage, against the side running dead last, and this will be one of their custodian’s few remaining games before the AFC Cup… All things are pointing towards a win, don’t you think?

Manchester United vs Sunderland

Matt’s Tip – Man Utd. Sunderland were one of the few clubs to play last weekend, grabbing all three points against Bolton, but I can’t see that helping them at all this weekend. Man Utd will have enjoyed the week off with a tough schedule behind them, and the ladder leaders should win, with the ‘Prized Cow’ Rooney netting one for Christmas.

Adrian’s Tip – Man Utd. Too easy. Move on.

Newcastle vs Manchester City

Matt’s Tip – Newcastle. Man City were poor last start against Everton, and Newcastle have hit a rich vein of form off the back of Andy Carroll’s scoring, and are moving towards European contention. At St James Park they are always hard to beat, and I can see this being vital in a Toon win.

Adrian’s Tip – Draw. Initially I was leaning towards a Newcastle win… But then I had to remember their opposition- not exactly chumps, right? I’m thinking the sides will share points here. Hopefully Captain Tevez get’s himself sorted out on the field and can grab a goal in this one.

Wolverhampton vs Wigan

Matt’s Tip – Wigan. Another relegation scrap between two sides who lose pretty and win ugly. Wigan are my tip, just out of instinct. They’ve probably shown more promise than Wolves this season, and are used to relegation scrap games.

Adrian’s Tip – Wolves. Oh lord. This isn’t going to be pretty. That being said though, I’m thinking the home side can claw their way to a victory. I’m still not going to watch, though.

Blackburn vs Stoke

Matt’s Tip – Draw. Even at Ewood Park I can’t tip Blackburn after their performance last week. This is your average mid-table clash, and I think we’ll see your average mid-table draw.

Adrian’s Tip – Draw. See what Matt said? He’s right on the money.

Blackpool vs Liverpool

Matt’s Tip – Liverpool. Blackpool have surprised a lot of people this year, but unfortunately I can’t see them doing this against Liverpool. It’s a clash between two sides at the bottom of the top half and the Reds should prevail, but only just.

Adrian’s Tip – Liverpool. I’m not quite sure what to think of Liverpool anymore. When they’re good, they’re great. When they’re bad… You get the idea. I have a feeling though they should do enough to get on top of Blackpool here, even if it is at Bloomfield Road.

Bolton vs West Brom

Matt’s Tip – Bolton. I see this as a very good clash between two sides punching above their weight in 2010/11. The home advantage is probably what will get Bolton across the line, but don’t expect West Brom to go down without a fight.

Adrian’s Tip – Bolton. Nice match up. I found it hard to split the two, but I went with Bolton, maybe with a little blind faith. And maybe, just maybe, because I want Elmander to score a hat trick and bag me a heap in EPL Fantasy.

Everton vs Birmingham

Matt’s Tip – Everton. Everton climbed away from the bottom of the ladder with their win against Man City last week, and with Tim Cahill in career best form, things are looking up for the Toffees. Birmingham’s clash with Newcastle last week succumbed to The Big Freeze, but their prior form presents nothing that should trouble Everton at Goodison.

Adrian’s Tip – Everton. Really surprised me last week notching a victory over Man City. Cahill is on fire, as is Baines. Birmingham aren’t doing too flash, and away, aren’t likely to secure the win.

Aston Villa vs Tottenham

Matt’s Tip – Tottenham. Spurs have had a very stop-start season so far, but sit nicely in fifth place. They should be able to overcome Villa, who have struggled for consistency since the departure of Martin O’Neill at the start of the season.

Adrian’s Tip – Spurs. Villa should provide Spurs a decent challenge, but not enough to seriously trouble Harry Redknapp’s men.

Arsenal vs Chelsea (Podcast Match of the Round)

Matt’s Tip – Arsenal. Second takes on Fourth in a massive London Derby this week. The home side are trying to become genuine challengers, whilst the visitors are attempting to halt their slide. Arsenal should grab the points in what shapes to be an exciting attacking encounter, but will need to plug some holes in their defence if they want to stay in the title race.

Adrian’s Tip – Arsenal. Big time match, as I said in the podcast. I really want Chelsea to start firing, because the more teams that are playing well, the more exciting the competition is. As the top few sides start to pull away, Chelsea don’t want to find themselves too far behind. Unfortunately, it’s looking like they wont make up any ground this week.

That’s all from the EPL this weekend, hope you enjoy the games. Let us know what you think about this weekend’s matches by leaving us a comment, posting on our Facebook wall, or sending us an email at whosplayingwho@gmail.com.