Premier League Fixtures 6th February

Bolton Wanderers v Fulham
Sam Ricketts has become a regular in defence since Owen Coyle took over as manager and he hasn’t scored any more own goals (you see, it was just a one-off) so I can’t see any reason to drop him. He and team-mate Matthew Taylor recently attended a schools’ event designed to help build self-esteem. If they can do the same with Bolton, they could get something against Fulham, who struggle away.
Simon Davies has a chance of returning to Fulham’s squad after his latest relapse. I think he’s brilliant but I won’t complain at all if he’s on the bench, Fulham shouldn’t rush him.

Burnley v West Ham United
Danny Gabbidon is still out with a hamstring injury but Jack Collison, who is BBC London’s Young Player of the Year, should play as he’s been one of West Ham’s best players this season. He says he’s going to keep creating and taking chances to score and hopefully soon one will go in. But if not, he’s confident that new striker Benni McCarthy will score goals.

Hull City v Manchester City
The last two times these teams met, the Hull players got a bollocking on the pitch. The first time by Phil Brown, the second time by Jimmy Bullard in an imitation of Phil Brown. Let’s hope this will be another memorable match for Hull – but for all the right reasons. If Boaz Myhill can play against Man City as he did against Tottenham, or even as he did against Chelsea, Hull certainly have a chance. But Man City’s Craig Bellamy will be doing all he can to ensure Hull have nothing to celebrate at all.

Manchester United v Portsmouth
The bookies have probably stopped taking bets on this one. For Portsmouth to beat even the struggling Liverpool was a big surprise. But Manchester United? Not unless they field their reserves and the reserves have a bad day. Portsmouth won’t be wanting to see ESPN’s Footballer of the Decade, Ryan Giggs, then.

Stoke City v Blackburn Rovers
Danny Collins will probably be on the bench for Stoke but Ryan Shawcross (who admits he needs to refrain from trying to remove opposition players’ shirts whilst on the pitch) is more than likely to be part of their defence. Stoke are known for their home form whilst Blackburn have struggled away but Stoke have stuttered at home this season (not in the FA Cup though unfortunately) and Blackburn are capable of pulling off the odd surprise. One surprise would be to put Jason Brown in the starting line-up but I really can’t see that happening. Although I really do think he’s good enough.

Sunderland v Wigan Athletic
Jason Koumas did manage to get a start against Notts County in the Cup but he probably didn’t impress manager Roberto Martinez enough to get a start in this match. Although it has to be said, there probably aren’t many Wigan players who impressed Roberto Martinez against Notts County.

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa
Benoit Assou-Ekotto is apparently in with a chance of starting for Tottenham but if Harry Redknapp has any sense (which admittedly is questionable), he’ll stick with Gareth Bale, who has been brilliant in Assou-Ekotto’s absence. James Collins will probably play in central defence for Villa. I would love Gareth to get another win but scoring past Villa’s defence isn’t the easiest thing in the world. James is hoping that when Wales start their Euro 2012 campaign, they will have more two Champions’ League players in their midst – Aaron Ramsey and James Collins. But if Villa don’t get in, there’s a good chance Tottenham (Gareth Bale) or Manchester City (Craig Bellamy) will.