One of the marquee games on Matchday 13 of the Barclays Premier League features a meeting between two title contenders (Southampton and Manchester City), with the Saints looking to continue to prove their doubters wrong.
Here are the five matches to watch this weekend.
Manchester United vs Hull City
Last Saturday, Manchester United earned a monumental victory against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. They didn’t play their best, but results are always more important than the performance.
United is in the top four, but anything other than a win versus Hull City at Old Trafford on Saturday could knock then out of the Champions League zone.
Louis van Gaal was boosted with Radamel Falcao’s return to training this week, and the Colombian is in contention to be in the 18-man roster for Saturday. Meanwhile, the Dutch tactician still has seven injured players, the latest being Luke Shaw after suffering a knock to his ankle against Arsenal.
Hull is relatively healthy. Robert Snodgrass is the only injured player, although Alex Bruce and Mohamed Diame are listed as doubtful. Gaston Ramirez is suspended due to the red card he received against Tottenham.
Traditionally, United has dominated this fixture. They’ve won their last six games against Hull, outscoring them 18-7 in the process. The last time these sides met at Old Trafford, the Red Devils won 3-1.
Saturday programming alert: Watch Manchester United vs Hull City on the four main Sportsnet channels at 9:30 am ET, West Ham United vs Newcastle United on Sportsnet ONE at 9:30 am ET, Liverpool vs Stoke City on Sportsnet World at 9:30 am ET, and Sunderland vs Chelsea on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet World at noon ET. || Also, watch Queens Park Rangers vs Leicester City at 9:30 am ET online at Sportsnet World NOW || Broadcast schedule
West Ham United vs Newcastle United
West Ham has been tremendous so far this season, while Newcastle has been equally impressive since snapping out of their funk from earlier in the campaign.
Newcastle is one point above the Hammers in the standings. West Ham is on a three-game winless streak, while the Magpies have earned a victory in five consecutive Premier League fixtures.
Both sides have significant injury problems. West Ham won’t have defender Winston Reid due to suspension. Six others are touch-and-go, including Stewart Downing, Cheikhou Kouyate and Enner Valencia.
Newcastle’s situation is worse. Seven players are ruled out and a few others are working to get fit in time for the game. That includes goalkeeper Tim Krul, who suffered a knock in training.
Alan Pardew’s side has dominated the Londoners recently, losing just one of the previous six meetings, which was in 2012.
Sunderland vs Chelsea
Chelsea continues to cruise along in the Champions League and on the domestic front. They crushed Schalke in Gelsenkirchen and still haven’t lost in the Premier League through 12 games.
The Blues face a struggling Sunderland side that is battling relegation and has won just twice all season.
Chelsea enters the match with a healthy squad. Diego Costa was taken off early on Tuesday in Germany, but he should be okay to start this weekend. Sunderland is still dealing with three injuries. However, they’ve had the same players out for a few weeks, so their line-up shouldn’t be impacted.
Sunderland has actually managed to keep every match close. They’ve only won two of the last six games against Chelsea, but the Blues have only outscored the Black Cats 12-9 in those encounters. Also, the last time they faced each other resulted in a 2-1 victory for Gus Poyet’s side at Stamford Bridge.
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Southampton vs Manchester City
Two teams that are chasing Chelsea will face one another on Sunday. Southampton is second place, yet were tipped to be battling relegation after a mass exodus of players in the summer. They have a stern test against the Premier League title holders Manchester City, who are riding high after a dramatic Champions League win.
Both teams are pretty healthy, with Steven Davis the only doubt for the Saints. David Silva is nearing a return for Manchester City, but Edin Dzeko and Aleksandar Kolarov are ruled out.
Southampton has conceded just six goals, which is the lowest amount in the Premier League. They’ve also kept a clean sheet in five of their last six home matches, and a riding a five-game undefeated streak at St Mary’s. City have dropped just four of their last 38 league meetings, so something has to give.
Tottenham vs Everton
Tottenham and Everton have had their struggles this season. Both are still two points back of the top four, so a win can put a rest to some of the supporters’ worries.
The last six meetings are split. Each side has won two games and have shared the points in the other matches, with Spurs outscoring the Toffees 6-5 in that span.
Mauricio Pochettino will have to make do without the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Nacer Chadli, Danny Rose, Younes Kaboul and Etienne Capou. Everton’s situation isn’t much better. John Stones and Antolin Alcaraz are unavailable, while Leighton Baines, Gareth Barry and six others are doubtful.
Everton and Tottenham have combined to score 38 goals, conceding 36 in the process. Given all of the injury problems, this game promises to be an entertaining encounter between two teams looking to keep their top four aspirations alive.
