Man. United can shatter Spurs' perfect record

Following the success of Fabio Capello's England team in securing their berth at the World Cup finals after a 5-1 thrashing of Croatia at Wembley on Wednesday, the focus shifts back to the Premier League this weekend.

The top match in programme will take place in London this evening as champions Manchester United face Tottenham Hotspur who, along with Chelsea, have maximum points after four outings.

Tottenham vs Manchester United clashes have always created significant interest but this season, the duel has added spice as the two contestants are placed in the top four of the classification.

In their last visit to the capital in the Premier League, the Red Devils went down 0-2 at Fulham last March.

Tottenham, meanwhile, have won their last eight matches at home.

At White Hart Lane, Spurs and United met on 82 occasions in all competitions.

The Londoners hold the upper hand with 31 wins to their opponents' 23 with 28 draws. The goals favour the home side, 137 to 103.

Tottenham, who will be without playmaker Luka Modric (out for two months with a broken leg), will probably give a debut to their latest capture, Croatian midfielder Niko Kranjcar (ex-Portsmouth).

United star Wayne Rooney, currently leading the scorers' list along with Tottenham's Jermain Defoe on four goals, excels when he's given freedom to roam but Alex Ferguson claimed that he would be at his best in a central attacking role.

Chelsea have just been hit with a transfer ban by FIFA after being found guilty of inducing young French player Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens in order to join them - a common practice among the top clubs these days it seems.

Today, Chelsea travel to Stoke. The Potters have won their two home matches so far and are five points behind leaders Chelsea.

The Blues are undefeated in their last 10 away commitments and their last upset came at Tottenham 0-1 in March.

A high-profile duel is the showdown between Manchester City and Arsenal at Eastlands today.

Both teams have played three games but while City are still with a 100 per cent record, the Gunners lost at Manchester United before the international break.

The Sky Blues have won five straight matches since the 1-2 loss at Tottenham in May.

Arsene Wenger was glad to confirm that Denilson and Nicklas Bendtner (scorer of a gem of a goal for Denmark against Portugal on Wednesday) have signed new long-term deals.

At Anfield, Liverpool square up to newcomers Burnley in search of another three-pointer to keep in touch with the front runners, having already suffered two league defeats this season.

Burnley have been a force in front of their own fans but they have lost both their away matches at Stoke and Chelsea.

The last league match between the sides came in the 'old' Division One at Liverpool's patch in 1975-76, when the Reds won 2-0.

St Andrews derby

One of the nailbiting derbies on the calendar is the duel between Birmingham and Aston Villa at St Andrews tomorrow.

Richard Dunne, one of the last players to move before the transfer deadline after joining Aston Villa from Man. City, promised his new club that he will be very careful to avoid red cards.

Owner Carson Yeung now has former Liverpool star Steve McManaman as director at Birmingham.

However, Yeung has assured team manager Alex McLeish that he has a future at St Andrews, rubbishing rumours that McManaman was about to take over.

Paul McShane (ex-Black Cats) and Michael Turner (ex-Tigers), two defenders who swapped clubs last month, will face each other this afternoon at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland take on Hull.

Sunderland completed a double over their opponents last season, winning 1-0 at home and 4-1 at the KC Stadium.

Blackburn, having gained one point from three outings, have high hopes of registering their first win of the season at the expense of newcomers Wolves this afternoon.

The Midlanders, having added three new faces to their backroom staff, will be without defender Stephen Ward for six weeks due to a knee injury. George Elokobi will continue to play in his place.

Everton have forgotten all about the transfer of Joleon Lescott who defected to Manchester City. Now the fans have a new name to cheer in Dutch international Johnny Heitinga.

Tomorrow, Everton will take a trip to London to cross swords with Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Last season, Everton did the double on the Cottagers with a 2-0 away win and a 1-0 triumph at Goodison Park.

Fulham have not been favourites with the treble chance punters, having gone 13 matches without a draw. Their last share of the points came at Middlesbrough, 0-0 in April.