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English weekend preview Arsenal, United return to domestic dutiesPosted: Friday September 20, 2002 8:34 AMLONDON (Reuters) -- Arsenal is at home to Bolton Wanderers and Manchester United hosts Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford as England's top clubs return to domestic duties after making victorious season debuts in the Champions League. By contrast, beaten sides Liverpool and Newcastle United will be looking to bounce back against West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland respectively. Following are brief match previews for this weekend's games (kick-off 1400 GMT unless stated, league positions in parentheses): Saturday ARSENAL (1) v BOLTON WANDERERS (14)Fredrik Ljungberg, who made a goalscoring return from a hip operation in Arsenal's midweek win over Borussia Dortmund, will make his domestic debut at Highbury. Robert Pires and Giovanni van Bronckhorst are still on the long-term injury list, while fellow midfielder Ray Parlour is out with a knee problem. Morale is sky high and, provided they can avoid over-confidence, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp should keep Bolton keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen busy. Having beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford, Sam Allardyce's side has proved it is capable of digging in to get a result against the big teams -- though two lapses cost them a defeat to Liverpool last weekend. Playmaker Youri Djorkaeff, facing his France teammates in red and white, will be particularly fired up. Winger Ricardo Gardner is out for four to six weeks with cartilage trouble, but striker Michael Ricketts is back after a knee injury. LIVERPOOL (5) v WEST BROMWICH ALBION (7)Comprehensively outplayed by Valencia in midweek, Liverpool will be looking for three points that would do as much for team morale as for their league campaign. Michael Owen, who came on as a second-half substitute against the Spaniards, should start in place of El Hadji Diouf, flanked by Emile Heskey or Milan Baros. Gerard Houllier is hoping central defender Stephane Henchoz recovers from a calf strain which ruled him out of the trip to Spain. Keeper Jerzy Dudek, who admitted after the Valencia game "We played like girls," will be looking to make amends. West Brom's roller coaster season started with three consecutive defeats and has continued with three consecutive 1-0 wins. Now it faces a trip north with manager Gary Megson saying: "It's a massive games for us...(but) I'm not worried that we'll be overwhelmed because we're playing Liverpool at Anfield." Skipper Derek McInnes will be out for three or four weeks after knee surgery, while midfielder Lee Marshall is battling a hamstring injury. MANCHESTER UNITED (10) v TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR (2)Their 5-2 midweek win over Maccabi Haifa will have lifted spirits, especially among the strikers after Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ryan Giggs and Diego Forlan all got on the scoresheet. But their miserly showings on Premier League duty -- with five goals in six games -- is a worry, as is the fact that United's defense still allowed Haifa to score twice. Van Nistelrooy is a doubt after picking up a calf strain against the Israelis, Phil Neville will continue to deputise for injured Nicky Butt in midfield and Gary Neville may return at right-back after a five-month absence. Paul Scholes and Roy Keane are still on the long-term injured list. Spurs face an awesome injury list that includes Steffen Freund, Darren Anderton, Stephen Clemence, Gus Poyet, Ledley King, Chris Perry, Tim Sherwood, Mauricio Taricco, Anthony Gardner, Neil Sullivan and Stephen Carr. To boot, Christian Ziege (calf) is doubtful. Robbie Keane made a promising debut last week and is bound to cause problems for the United defense alongside former Old Trafford favorite Teddy Sheringham, backed by midfielder Jamie Redknapp. The match is Spurs' first of the season against one of the top sides and, despite all the injuries, much will be read into their result at Old Trafford, whatever the outcome. MIDDLESBROUGH (8) v BIRMINGHAM CITY (9)With Szilard Nemeth and Massimo Maccarone on sparkling form up front, Steve McClaren should be confident of shrugging off last weekend's defeat to Everton and taking all three points from the Premier League new boys. Cameroon midfielder Geremi, on loan from Real Madrid, is fitting in well and should keep his place. World Cup winner Juninho remains on the long-term injured list after cruciate ligament surgery. Birmingham could not have had a better start to the week than trouncing Aston Villa 3-0 in the long-awaited Birmingham derby. Striker Clinton Morrison, running into a rich vein of form, will be the man to watch on Saturday as he tangles with Gareth Southgate's defence. New American signing Jovan Kirovski, just back from a thigh injury, will be eyeing a place on the bench after a second-half hat-trick for the reserves. NEWCASTLE UNITED (19) v SUNDERLAND (18) (1115 GMT)Last season, Newcastle could do no wrong -- this time, nothing is going right for Bobby Robson's men as their league position and their midweek defeat to Dynamo Kiev testify. Yet with Laurent Robert and Craig Bellamy both back from injury, and skipper Alan Shearer having lost none of his determination, United ought to be winning games. After three consecutive defeats, this could be the turning point for Robson's side as they look to make up for lost time. Peter Reid's tenure as Sunderland manager will be in severe jeopardy if his struggling side suffer an embarrassing derby defeat -- such as a third 3-0 loss on the trot -- at St James' Park. With newcomers Tore Andre Flo and Marcus Stewart struggling to replace injured Kevin Phillips up front and the defense guilty of giving away silly goals, it could well be a bleak afternoon for the visitors. SOUTHAMPTON (17) v CHARLTON ATHLETIC (16)Skipper Jason Dodd has urged his team to keep it tight at the back rather than rush headlong at a well-organized Charlton side. Defender Tahar El Khalej, who missed the start of the season through suspension, is doubtful after picking up an Achilles injury. Playmaker Marian Pahars has shrugged off a groin strain, as has Anders Svensson, while Michael Svensson returns from suspension. However, the road to match fitness continues to lengthen for Ecuador striker Agustin Delgado, who has a calf problem, his latest setback this year. Charlton knows there is no disgrace in losing to Arsenal, as Alan Curbishley's men did last weekend, but its 2-0 defeat to Villa before that shows it is not yet on last season's form. Jason Euell remains the danger man up front, while new signing Jesper Blomqvist, a substitute last time out, is now pushing for a starting place. WEST HAM UNITED (20) v MANCHESTER CITY (12)Having the leakiest defense in the Premier League is just one of the reasons why West Ham are propping up the table after a season in which they threatened to win a UEFA Cup slot. Chances are being created up front but the strikers, and midfielders such as Joe Cole, are simply not converting enough of them. Opportunities are bound to crop up against Kevin Keegan's attack-minded side Saturday and skipper Paolo Di Canio and Frederic Kanoute need to put them away if manager Glenn Roeder is to avoid further trouble. Nicolas Anelka is repaying Keegan's faith and justifying his 13-million-pound (US$20.21 million) transfer fee by scoring freely, while the manager looks for a permanent strike partner. Shaun Goater may get the nod over Darren Huckerby this weekend. Midfielder Danny Tiatto is almost certainly out of the reckoning after his two-footed tackle on Blackburn's David Thompson earned the wrath of the City boss, though his suspension after the ensuing red card has yet to start. Sunday ASTON VILLA (15) v EVERTON (11) (1300)Their humiliating derby defeat to Birmingham and the throw-in which bamboozled keeper Peter Enckelman will live long in the memory and manager Graham Taylor will need to draw on all his experience to rally the troops. Enckelman has promised to atone for his blunder, but equally important will be a lead from goal-shy strikers Juan Pablo Angel, Marcus Allback and Darius Vassell who, along with Dion Dublin, fired blanks Monday. Only three goals in six league games is a poor return in anybody's book. Everton's fortunes seem ever more tied to the form of striker Kevin Campbell, who scored both goals in last weekend's win over Middlesbrough and a 16-year-old midfielder, Wayne Rooney. Skipper Duncan Ferguson, plagued by back trouble, came through a midweek reserve fixture unscathed but is still a long way from first-team action. Goalkeeper Richard Wright could be back after coming through the same fixture following an arm injury. New signing Joseph Yobo, yet to play this season, has an ankle injury. BLACKBURN ROVERS (13) v LEEDS UNITED (3)Manager Graeme Souness is waiting on a fitness test for striker Andy Cole after he was rested for the UEFA Cup clash against CSKA Sofia with a hamstring injury. David Thompson, injured by Manchester City defender Danny Tiatto's challenge last weekend, should turn out but Damien Duff and Matt Jansen, injured in a motorcycle accident on his summer holidays, are still both unavailable. Dwight Yorke may also be sidelined after he suffered a leg problem in the midweek UEFA clash. Blackburn have only one win to their credit this season, back on August 24 against Birmingham, and Sunday is unlikely to yield a second. Terry Venables is revelling in the form of England striker Alan Smith and Harry Kewell, whose winner against Manchester United last weekend sealed their emergence from a sudden dip in form. Though Dominic Matteo and Nicky Barmby have been nursing injuries, Leeds should still be good for all three points. Monday FULHAM (6) v CHELSEA (4) (1900)Unable to make a single league appearance for Arsenal last season, Japan's Junichi Inamoto is fast becoming the key figure in Fulham's season -- his strike against Spurs leading to its remarkable 3-2 comeback victory and his opening goal and two assists setting up their 3-0 win at Sunderland. Sylvain Legwinski will be the other man to watch when Jean Tigana's men go forward -- which may not happen all that often -- while keeper Edwin van der Sar will need to be on his toes. Chelsea is on a roll thanks to the form of Gianfranco Zola, and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink repaid coach Claudio Ranieri's faith by ending his goalscoring drought in the midweek UEFA Cup match. John Terry is out after knee surgery while Graeme Le Saux, Celestine Babayaro, Albert Ferrer and Mario Melchiot have all been hit by injury. Though a draw is the most likely outcome, Chelsea may yet shade it if Eidur Gudjohnsen continues to improve.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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