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[u]Chelsea v Norwich[/u] Chelsea will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the Premier League when they take on a winless Norwich side this Saturday. The Canaries were torn apart by Liverpool at Carrow Road last week and unless there has been some dramatic improvements we should expect a similar outcome at Stamford Bridge this time. Norwich have won just one and lost six of their last nine Premier League away games, while Chelsea have won nine and lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games on home soil. Odds of 1.25 on a home win are more than justifiable. Opta also tell us that Norwich have the worst chance conversion rate in the Premier League so far, scoring with just six % of their attempts on goal, and that the away side has failed to score in seven...

[u]Arsenal v Southampton[/u] The Gunners go into this weekend's game on the back three clean sheets and a total of seven points from three games played. Southampton, on the other hand, are pointless and have allowed their opponents more shots on target (19) than any other team this season. At odds of 1.4 in the Match Odds market Arsenal look slightly over-priced and are worth a back. While the 2.6 available on Under 2.5 goals also looks a solid punt if Arsene Wenger's main can maintain their defensive frugality. [u]Aston Villa v Swansea[/u] Aston Villa host Swansea this Saturday looking to end a run of 13 Premier League games without a win. Despite Paul Lambert's appointment in the summer The Villans have picked up where they left off last season under Alex McLeish and they ...

Sunderland, like neighbours Newcastle last season, could be surprise high achievers this season and they look capable of proving the point at home to Liverpool on Saturday. There are interesting parallels between Sunderland's form under Martin O'Neill and how Newcastle stood at this time last season. Like O'Neill now, Alan Pardew was starting his first full season as Newcastle boss having taken charge early the previous December and stabilised their results. Both managers had achieved flashes of even better form with good results against top-six sides, pointing to further improvement with a summer of preparation and squad-building behind them. O'Neill did even better than Pardew in his first part-season, with an average of 1.42 points per game (Pardew's was 1.23). Without any improvement...

[u]Aston Villa v Swansea[/u] [i]Back Aston Villa @ 2.37 (137/100)[/i] Aston Villa picked up their first point of the season against Newcastle last time out and I'm taking them to pick up their first win on Saturday. Paul Lambert has endured a tough start to life in the Midlands; a shoestring budget, key injuries and poor results weren't exactly what he was hoping for, but there are causes for optimism. Firstly, the fans aren't on his back yet as they were with his predecessor. Secondly, the performance at the Sports Direct Arena against Newcastle was a vast improvement, and finally, Gabby Agbonlahor has regained fitness. Points one and two are important, but it's point three that could prove the most vital. Star striker, Darren Bent, has been far too isolated, however with Agbonlahor...

Reading will be delighted after salvaging a point from their opening fixture with Stoke, but a midweek trip to Chelsea will be an altogether more daunting experience. A lot was made in pre-season about how Chelsea's new wealth of attacking talent would migrate into the side, however Eden Hazard in particular proved that he could walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Hazard was involved in both goals against Wigan and already the Belgian looks like becoming one of those players with the ability to win games on his own. With such encouraging debuts for new stars Hazard and Oscar, you would expect Chelsea to overwhelm the Royals in defence as they did in the early stages at the DW Stadium. If Roman Abramovich wanted attacking football then he also must have cracked a smile when...

[b]Everton v Manchester United, Monday 20:00, Sky Sports 1.[/b] [b]Match Odds: Everton 4.5, Manchester United 1.93, The Draw 3.75.[/b] Rarely have Manchester United made such a landmark signing as Robin van Persie, yet rarely have there been so many question marks about how Sir Alex Ferguson will incorporate a new signing. With Shinji Kagawa also arriving and stating his intention to play behind the man striker, in the role played by Wayne Rooney last season, the main tactical interest from this match will be the positioning of Manchester United's attackers. Van Persie starting United's opening game would be something of a surprise, considering he's only had a couple of days training with his new teammates. Ferguson might take the opportunity to save Wayne Rooney for future matches,...

Manchester United's new boy should lead the line for the 19-time league champions and the stats say that he is a strong bet to finish up with the golden boot. Andrew Atherley explains all Cream rises to the top in the Premier League scoring charts, just as it does in the overall table. In fact, there is an inextricable link between the two. For the statistical evidence, compiled for the past 10 seasons, let's consider first the likelihood of the top goalscorer coming from one of the leading clubs. There have been 11 winners in the past decade (two players tied for first in 2010-11) and every one played for a top-four finisher (five for the champions, two for the runners-up, three for the third-placed team and one for the fourth-placed). In fact, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in 2000-01...

[b]Sunderland fan Jonathan Wilson hopes that Martin O'Neill can keep his team clear of danger this season. Meanwhile, how will the likes of West Ham, Reading and Southampton fare? And can Wigan cheat the drop once again?[/b] How much do stats matter in football? In the first four months of Martin O'Neill's reign at Sunderland most fans were pretty happy. He had taken over at the beginning of December with Sunderland 17th in the league, having taken just 11 points from their first 14 games of the season, 13 of them under Steve Bruce. O'Neill's first 16 matches brought 29 points and lifted them to eighth and the quarter-final of the FA Cup. That was the high point; O'Neill's well-known ability to get moderate sides over-performing seemed to be working again. But a glance at the Opta...

[b]There have been developments over the last 24 hours in each of the three leading Premier League transfer sagas...[/b] [b]Robin van Persie[/b] Arsenal's goal-getter is keeping fans waiting regarding his future, but the weight of gossip is shifting towards a potential change of heart from the want away striker, who is 2.4 to stay at The Emirates. His inclusion in The Gunners' pre-season jaunt to Germany follows the news that Serie A champions Juventus have set an August 7 deadline for his transfer to be concluded. With Roberto Mancini admitting that it is highly unlikely that Manchester City will be the Dutchman's next port of call, it's looking like Old Trafford or bust for RVP, who is nonetheless 1.5 to leave his current club. [b]Luka Modric[/b] Modric continues to train alone...