Unbeaten Arsenal and Liverpool face away tests

Arsenal and Liverpool are the only two sides who are still unbeaten in the Premier League so far.

This weekend, the two clubs will be on their travels as Arsenal tackle West Ham at Upton Park in their third London derby of the season while Liverpool play guests to Wigan.

The Gunners, who have four more points more than Liverpool, are the in-form team, having only dropped two points so far, a 1-1 draw at Blackburn.

Arsenal are unbeaten in 13 Premier League matches and their last home upset came against West Ham on April 7, 0-1 (Zamora).

Indeed, West Ham had gone on to complete a double over their neighbours with another 1-0 (Harewood) victory at their own patch. The Hammers' 1-3 loss at Newcastle last week was their second of the campaign.

Arsenal have taken over the number one spot as Britain's richest club and lie just behind Real Madrid as the top earners in Europe.

Latest figures show that club's turnover has broken the £200 million barrier after they made the Emirates Stadium their new home. Their move from Highbury is generating more than £3 million a game.

Liverpool, although unbeaten, have drawn three of six league matches and failed to score in their last two games, against Portsmouth away and Birmingham at home.

Rafael Benitez has continued to surprise the Reds fans by not playing his main striker Fernando Torres in every game. Torres, along with goalkeeper Pepe Reina, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard, has to be regarded as a fixture in the side.

The Reds came good in midweek to topple Reading away 4-2 in the League Cup, Torres bagging a hat-trick, the second treble in the English game this season after that of Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor in the 5-0 win over Derby last Saturday.

The only two goals conceded by Liverpool this season came from disputed penalties.

Wigan, placed in mid-table, have now gone four league matches without a win.

Grant can go

Stamford Bridge. When many thought that Martin Jol would be the first manager to lose his job, Jose Mourinho caused a stir by leaving Chelsea "by mutual consent".

In their first outing without Mourinho, the team went down 0-2 at Manchester United, where they faced some questionable refereeing decisions. New boss Avram Grant, who may not last the pace, pointed at the referee after the defeat.

In midweek Chelsea defeated Hull 4-0 away in the League Cup.

The Blues will be involved in their first London derby, against Fulham, having failed to score in their last three league encounters.

For the second time this season the Cottagers figured in a 3-3 draw, both at home, against Reading and Tottenham.

St Andrews. After their early-season hiccups, Manchester United have found their way again and chalked up their fourth successive victory in the Premier League against Chelsea.

On Wednesday, the Red Devils were surprisingly knocked out of the League Cup by Coventry City. Alex Ferguson fielded a second-string side that lost 2-0, Malta striker Michael Mifsud hitting both goals for Coventry.

Against Chelsea, the fans watched the Red Devils score more than one goal in a match for the first time this season while Argentine forward Carlos Tevez hit his first goal since his move from West Ham.

It was the fourth consecutive league match that United did not concede a goal, a total of 419 minutes since Geovanni's winner for Manchester City on August 19.

Birmingham are still enthusing about the defensive plan that earned them a point at Liverpool. The Blues have not beaten United in the Premier after two draws and two defeats.

City of Manchester Stadium. Sven-Goran Eriksson is being linked with the Chelsea job, having been on the Blues' list before the appointment of Mourinho three years ago.

Under Eriksson, Manchester City are gaining more respect at home and abroad. City are placed in third position, just a point behind their arch-rivals Manchester United.

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has been rewarded for his heroic displays with a new four-year deal.

City will square up to Newcastle, who returned to winning form after their 3-1 triumph over West Ham at St James' Park.

On their travels, Newcastle lost at Derby and in midweek, they went down 2-0 to Arsenal in the League Cup.

White Hart Lane. Tottenham, still in the bottom three following their 1-1 draw against Bolton, play hosts to Aston Villa on Monday.

Martin Jol is still looking over his shoulders despite the fact that ex-Chelsea boss Mourinho is out of the frame since he cannot take a job in the Premier League this season.

In 15 calls to Spurs lair, Villa won three, the last being the 4-2 (Iversen, Armstrong - Dublin 2, Carbone, Wright) triumph of 1999-00.

If Jol selects Jermain Defoe, who was not in the squad at Bolton, the striker would make his 200th Premier League appearance (West Ham and Tottenham).

In League Cup matches this week, Tottenham beat Middlesbrough at home and Villa went down at home to Leicester.

Goodison Park. It has been a disastrous week for Everton who suffered back-to-back league defeats and sandwiched in between came their appalling display in the UEFA Cup at home to Kharkiv (1-1).

Middlesbrough were involved in their second north-east derby, dropping vital points in draws against Sunderland and Newcastle.

Gareth Southgate, set for his 56th match in charge, will have to do without injured Argentine midfielder Julio Arca.

Stadium of Light. Roy Keane is enjoying every minute of his debut in the Premier as manager.

Sunderland held Middlesbrough to a 2-2 draw with a late equaliser from Liam Miller. The Black Cats face Blackburn this afternoon, who had been on a slump lately.

The 0-2 defeat in the UEFA Cup in Greece (against Larissa) mirrored their domestic toils as they suffered their first defeat of the season, 0-1 at home to Portsmouth.

The Rovers, though, will be boosted by their fine 3-0 home win over Birmingham in the Cup.

Fratton Park. Following their first away win, Portsmouth will be keen to improve their home record, against Reading.

The Royals also returned to winning ways against Wigan at the Madejski Stadium, their second three-pointer of the campaign. Kanu, who keeps scoring vital goals for Pompey, is set to be offered a new contract.

Pride Park. Two sides in dire straits, Derby and Bolton, are expected to give their all not to emerge from this match empty-handed.

A loss for either side would leave Derby's Billy Davies and Bolton boss Sammy Lee with their backs to the wall. Lee believes Bolton are slowly gaining in confidence and will soon turn the corner.