One of the most awaited fixtures this weekend is the London derby between Tottenham and Chelsea at White Hart Lane.
Today’s early kick-off sees Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas facing his former club for the first time since his dismissal last season.
After a shaky start, Villas-Boas seems to have steadied the ship and Spurs are now fifth in the standings, five points adrift of Chelsea.
The Portuguese mentor will surely be keen to put one over his former employers as he looks to push Spurs closer to the leading teams in the league.
However, to achieve that goal Spurs must improve on their negative record against Chelsea which has seen them winning only three times against the Blues at White Hart Lane in the Premier League – April 2010 − 2-1; March 2009 − 1-0; November 2006 − 2-1.
Chelsea are facing the prospect of seeing Ashley Cole walk out of the club at the end of the season but they were also reportedly ready to enter a bidding war with fellow big-spenders Manchester City for the services of in-form Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, currently engaged at La Liga’s Atletico Madrid.
This afternoon, Manchester United will be looking to close the gap on Chelsea when they host Stoke City at Old Trafford.
The Potters are becoming difficult opponents for the top clubs and United could be in for a torrid time today.
Stoke have claimed draws against Arsenal (home), Manchester City (home) and Liverpool (away) so far this season.
Champions Manchester City travel to the Midlands to face West Bromwich at the Hawthorns, today.
The Citizens are the only club, along with Chelsea, still undefeated after seven matches so they will be looking to prolong that streak against the Baggies.
At the wrong end of the standings, QPR manager Mark Hughes will be in search of a vital victory as his struggling side face fourth-placed Everton at Loftus Road, tomorrow.
The Rs are rock bottom and if they fail to beat Everton this weekend it could spell the end of manager Mark Hughes’s time at the London club.
With just one home win in three matches, Arsenal have fallen to seventh place. This evening, they travel to Carrow Road to face Norwich who are languishing in the drop zone with just one win to their credit and having conceded nine goals in their last two league outings.
Liverpool, hit with the news that striker Fabio Borini had fractured his foot, will surely hope to improve their home record today when they play hosts to Reading at Anfield.
This week, the Reds decided to expand their home ground to 60,000 at a cost of £154 million instead of going for a new stadium.
Tomorrow’s top attraction should be the match at the Stadium of Light, as Sunderland cross swords with Newcastle in a north-east clash. Last season, Newcastle gained four points from the two derbies.
UK soccer fixtures and forecast...
Premier League
Fulham-Aston Villa X
Liverpool-Reading 1
Man. United-Stoke City 1
Norwich-Arsenal (18:30) 2
Swansea-Wigan 1
Tottenham-Chelsea (13:45) X
West Brom-Man. City 2
West Ham-Southampton 1
Tomorrow:
Qpr-Everton (17:00) 2
Sunderland-Newcastle (14:30) X
Standings: Chelsea 19; Man-Chester United, Manchester City 15; Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, West Brom 14; Arsenal 12; West Ham 11; Fulham 10; Newcastle 9; Swansea, Stoke 8; Sunderland 7; Liverpool 6; Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa 5; Southampton 4; Reading, Nor-Wich City 3; Qpr 2.
The Championship
Birmingham-Leicester 2
Bolton-Bristol City1
Brighton-Middlesbrough 1
Burnley-Blackpool (18:20) X
Charlton-Barnsley 1
C. Palace-Millwall (13:00) 1
Derby-Blackburn 1
Huddersfield-Wolves X
Hull City-Ipswich 1
Nottm Forest-Cardiff 1
Watford-Peterborough 1
League One
Bournemouth-Tranmere X
Colchester-Carlisle 1
Coventry-Notts County X
Doncaster-Brentford X
Hartlepool-Crawley X
Mk Dons-Stevenage 1
Oldham-Leyton Orient 1
Portsmouth-Shrewsbury 1
Preston-Sheffield United X
Swindon-Scunthorpe 1
Walsall-Crewe 1
Yeovil Town-Bury 1
League Two
Aldershot-Rotherham 2
Bradford-Cheltenham 1
Bristol Rovers-Torquay X
Exeter-Chesterfield 1
Fleetwood-Wimbledon1
Gillingham-Burton 1
Morecambe-Southend X
Oxford-Accrington 1
Plymouth-Rochdale X
Port Vale-Wycombe 1
York City-Dagenham 1
Scottish Premier League
Dundee United-Aberdeen 1
Ross County-Hibernian X
St Johnstone-Kilmarnock 1
St Mirren-Celtic (13:30) 2
Tomorrow:
Hearts-Motherwell (13:45) 1
Division One
Cowdenbeath-Raith X
Dumbarton-Falkirk 2
Dunfermline-Morton 1
Hamilton-Livingston X
Partick-Airdrie 1
Division Two
Albion-Arbroath 2
Alloa-Ayr United 1
Brechin City-Stranraer 1
East Fife-Forfar 2
Q’The South-Stenhousemuir 1
Division Three
Berwick-Clyde 1
East Stirling-Peterhead 2
Elgin City-Annan Athletic 1
Rangers-Queen’S Park 1
Stirling-Montrose 1
Hot Four
Liverpool
Manchester United
Swansea City
West Ham United