Chelsea, Arsenal seek winning return

Arsenal and Chelsea suffered their first league defeat of the season last weekend.

The Gunners were unexpectedly beaten 3-2 at home by West Brom as Chelsea came unstuck at Manchester City.

Despite the setback, Chelsea are still top of the standings, three points ahead of Manchester United who could only manage a 2-2 draw at Bolton Wanderers.

Tomorrow, Chelsea entertain Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, both teams coming from positive excursions in midweek Champions League matches. The Blues beat Marseille 2-0 at home while Arsenal had the better of Partizan Belgrade 3-1 in Serbia.

Carlo Ancelotti, whose father died on Wednesday, admitted that he was outsmarted by compatriot Roberto Mancini last week at Eastlands. Yet, he also added that referee Andre Marriner had applied the advantage rule for most of the match even when fierce tackles should have been punished.

Last season, Chelsea completed the double on Arsenal, winning 2-0 (Drogba 2) at home and 3-0 (Drogba 2, Vermaelen o.g.) away.

Arsene Wenger did not point his finger at Manuel Almunia even if the Spanish keeper had to carry the burden for two of the goals the team conceded against West Brom.

Yet, the Frenchman did criticise his players for failing to perform.

Arsenal have dropped five points in their last two games.

At Bolton, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney showed he is way off last season’s form. United had the chance to close in on Chelsea but failed to go past the Trotters.

Rooney will be out of the game for a couple of weeks with injury as today United play at Sunderland. He was absent for the away trip to Valencia in Europe but United still came up trumps with a valuable 1-0 win.

Manchester City will be looking to keep the pressure at the top of the standings when they face Newcastle at Eastlands tomorrow.

The fans continue to applaud Carlos Tevez’s heroics after his goal sunk Chelsea but on Thursday City were held at home by Juventus in the Europa League.

In his debut with Aston Villa, Gerard Houllier was jumping for joy as his side came from behind to topple Wolves and move up to fifth place.

Today, the Frenchman leads Villa in an away match at Tottenham.

In their last trip to the capital, Villa were humbled 7-1 by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. So, they will be keen to atone for that result.

Spurs have suffered another defeat against clubs in the battle for relegation (at West Ham) and that will not augur well in their attempt to stay among the Premier League elite.

Tottenham have won only twice from six league outings. However, in midweek, they were completely transformed in the Champions League and dismissed Twente 4-1 despite having Rafael van der Vaart sent off.

Liverpool produced yet another poor display when they were held by Sunderland at Anfield.

The Reds, currently 16th with only one win to show, have high hopes of returning to winning ways when they host Blackpool tomorrow.

West Brom, boosted by their exploits at the Emirates last week, will be fired up against Bolton who also did well to deny Man. United victory.

At the Hawthorns, the Baggies are still undefeated with two wins and a draw.

Another London derby this weekend will be played at Upton Park as West Ham host Fulham.

The Hammers have pulled themselves out of bottom place following their victory over Tottenham. Fulham are still unbeaten as the choice of Mark Hughes as new boss is starting to reap its dividends.

After three successive defeats, Wolves must regain their early season form fast, starting with this afternoon’s clash with fellows-in-distress Wigan.

Wolves gave Aston Villa a good run for their money but Dame Luck seems to have turned her back upon the team. The Latics are coming from a useful draw at Birmingham but they are still third bottom.

Everton, who travel to play Birmingham, are bottom of the standings but this team is not that bad to occupy such a lowly position in the Premier League. This is their worst start to a season in 15 years.

Everton are the only side in the top flight without a win this season.