All eyes this weekend will be at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea have their first chance for revenge over Manchester United. The home side will be relieved to have John Terry available after his red card against Manchester City was rescinded. For United, Cristiano Ronaldo should make his league return and the word is that Dimitar Berbatov will feature, at the expense of Wayne Rooney.
Elsewhere Arsenal travel to Bolton in what is traditionally one of their toughest fixtures of the year. Playing away from home, and dealing with opponents' physicality has troubled Arsene Wenger's side in the past; today's game will be a good indication of any progress made.
Of Saturday's other ties, the season's first North-East derby takes place between Sunderland and Middlesbrough, second-place Liverpool face Stoke in what should be a home-banker, Blackburn must bounce back after their 4-0 home loss to Arsenal against a surprisingly good Fulham side, and Gianfranco Zola takes charge of West Ham for the first time by hosting a Newcastle club still in turmoil.
Tomorrow West Brom and Aston Villa square off in the weekend's second regional derby, an all-midlands affair. Then, after the fireworks at Stamford Bridge, Hull welcome an improving Everton, Portsmouth travel to Eastlands for a matchup with Robinho and Man City, and Tottenham will look to secure their first league win of the season at home against Amr Zaki-led Wigan.
Right...let's get down to business shall we? Prediction Time.
Saturday
Sunderland v Middlesbrough (Kick-off 1245 GMT)
Prediction - 1-2
A hard-fought game but expect Boro's extra quality to be decisive.
Blackburn v Fulham (Kick-off 1500 GMT)
Prediction - 2-0
Fulham often flatter to deceive away from Craven Cottage.
Liverpool v Stoke (Kick-off 1500 GMT)
Prediction - 3-0
Too much firepower for Stoke to handle. Will Robbie Keane finally break his duck?
West Ham v Newcastle (Kick-off 1500 GMT)
Prediction - 2-2
Two clubs in flux. Neither boasts a watertight defence.
Bolton v Arsenal (Kick-off 1730 GMT)
Prediction - 1-2
Megson will make sure his Bolton side keep Arsenal honest but the Gunners should be ok....just.
Sunday
West Brom v Aston Villa (Kick-off 1200 GMT)
Prediction - 1-3
No shortage of passion in this clash. Villa are on a roll right now and should have too much for their neighbours.
Chelsea v Man Utd (Kick-off 1400 GMT)
Prediction - 1-1
United need a result and a performance. Ferguson's selection - between Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez and Berbatov - will be crucial.
Hull v Everton (Kick-off 1500 GMT)
Prediction - 1-1
Hull suffered a blow with the loss of Craig Fagan. Everton are still far from convincing.
Man City v Portsmouth (Kick-off 1500 GMT)
Prediction - 2-1
This will be close match between two very talented sides. We're going with home advantage.
Tottenham v Wigan (Kick-off 1500 GMT)
Prediction - 3-2
Goals galore at White Hart Lane. Expect Darren Bent to have some joy against Titus Bramble.
Finally, here's a quick recap of how we did last week:
Row ZZ prediction - Liverpool 0-1 Manchester United
Actual result - Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United
Row ZZ prediction - Blackburn 2-2 Arsenal
Actual Result - Blackburn 0-4 Arsenal
Row ZZ prediction - Fulham 3-0 Bolton
Actual result - Fulham 2-1 Bolton
Row ZZ prediction - Newcastle 3-1 Hull
Actual result - Newcastle 1-2 Hull
Row ZZ prediction - Portsmouth 2-1 Middlebrough
Actual result - Portsmouth 2-1 Middlesbrough
Row ZZ prediction - West Brom 2-1 West Ham
Actual result - West Brom 3-2 West Ham
Row ZZ prediction - Wigan 3-1 Sunderland
Actual result - Wigan 1-1 Sunderland
Row ZZ prediction - Manchester City 1-1 Chelsea
Actual result - Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea
Row ZZ prediction - Stoke 0-2 Everton
Actual result - Stoke 2-3 Everton
Row ZZ prediction - Tottenham 2-2 Aston Villa
Actual result - Tottenham 1-2 Aston Villa
Row ZZ picked 4 correct results and 1 perfect score.
What do you think of this week's picks? Let us know by commenting here.





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