Barclays Premier League: Stamford Bridge/ Chelsea v Fulham soccer game preview

Chelsea Football Club is an English football club based in Fulham, London. Founded in 1905, they play in the English Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Fulham Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, southwest London.

Jose looking for goals

Jose Mourinho and Chelsea's attentions return to the Barclays Premier League on Saturday after their midweek Swiss slip up. Mourinho puts his unbeaten run of 62 Premier League matches at Stamford Bridge on the line against west London neighbours Fulham in the week the Blues lost a home Champions League group game for the first time in nearly 10 years. Chelsea have also made their worst start to a Premier League season in a decade - winning only against Hull and Aston Villa, while drawing at Manchester United and losing at Everton - in an inauspicious opening to Mourinho's second spell as boss.

The solution for Mourinho is simple. "We need to score goals," Mourinho said following the Basle defeat, Chelsea's first in 29 group-stage matches at home. "When you don't score goals you are in trouble." Ramires is available following his European suspension as is fellow midfielder Michael Essien, who is not part of the European squad, but is available domestically. Mourinho is expected to rotate his options, with Fernando Torres in line for a recall up front. Fulham striker Dimitar Berbatov (hamstring) will have a fitness test. Forward Darren Bent (hamstring) is back in the squad, but Bryan Ruiz (ankle) will miss out. Defenders Aaron Hughes (thigh) and Matthew Briggs (hernia) are still sidelined along with first-choice goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg (shoulder). Boss Martin Jol knows better than to take the Blues lightly despite recent results.

He said: "I think if we beat them it will be the first time that they have lost three games in a week, so it puts a little bit more pressure on them. "However, I don't know if it is an advantage or not. "When they lost against Everton, it put pressure on them in the Champions League, so they had to win that game. "So to talk about must-win games, I think that for Chelsea this is a must-win game against us because they want to be champions in England."

West Ham United Vs Everton soccer game preview

West Ham last beat Everton in the Premier League in April 2007 when Bobby Zamora's goal earned a 1-0 win and the hosts head into this weekend's fixture with problems in attack. Everton will look to get their second win of the season when they travel to West Ham United on Saturday, after achieving their first victory against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side last weekend. West Ham will be looking for a good performance against Everton, as they have been less than satisfactory in that department so far this season. They defeated Cardiff 2-0 on the opening day, but have since only managed two shots on target in their matches .

Everton have had a different story however, and will consider themselves unfortunate that they only have six points instead of 12 at this stage. The confidence that will have been gained, with the win over the title favourites last weekend, will undoubtedly prove invaluable when they face the Hammers on Saturday.

Team News

West Ham are still without their big summer signing Andy Carroll, who discovered that he suffered yet another injury recently, further delaying his comeback. Sam Allardyce has confirmed that Joe Cole and Stewart Downing will also miss this game but should return next week. Romelu Lukaku will be available to make his debut for Everton this weekend, after signing on loan from Chelsea. Gareth Barry will again have the chance to show his quality after making an impressive debut against Chelsea.

Interesting Statistics

Eurosport have some interesting statistics for this match:

West Ham have had just six shots on target so far this season.

They also have the worst shooting accuracy in the league at just 20%.

Everton have defeated West Ham six times in their last 10 league meetings, losing none.

At seven shots, Ross Barkley has had more shots blocked by the opposition than any other Premier League player.

This fixture has produced three red cards on the last three occasions.

Paul Merson's prediction

I've watched West Ham a few times this season and I don't know how they're going to score until Andy Carroll gets fit. They never looked like scoring a goal against Stoke and Modibo Maiga hasn't really done anything in the last two games. He really hasn't had a kick. Kevin Nolan doesn't look like the same player when Carroll isn't in the team and he can't make his runs off the big target man. I would be tempted to change things on Saturday and play Nolan up front. He's intelligent and will give you more than Maiga at the moment. They've got to change things because if they don't then I think you'll see "nil" again.

Liverpool v Southampton Soccer game Preview

Southampton go into the game without a Premier League victory since their opening-day win at West Brom and having failed to score in their last two fixtures against West Ham and Norwich City respectively. Southampton head to Anfield on Saturday as the last team to defeat Premier League leaders Liverpool.Brendan Rodgers’ side have taken 10 points from their opening four top-flight games of the season to extend their overall unbeaten run to 12 matches after a strong finish to last term. But this sequence only began after they fell to a 3-1 loss at St Mary’s in March, when Morgan Schneiderlin, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez netted for the hosts.

Liverpool’s goalscorer on that occasion – Philippe Coutinho – will miss this encounter with Southampton after suffering a shoulder injury that is expected to keep him out of action for around six weeks in Monday’s 2-2 draw at Swansea City. The Brazilian playmaker has been in fine form in the opening weeks of the campaign, but joins Glen Johnson, Aly Cissokho (both ankle) and Sebastian Coates (knee) on the sidelines. Daniel Agger (muscle strain) is also a doubt.

Wales international midfielder Joe Allen could be in line for a return after his hamstring problem, but Liverpool will once again be without Luis Suarez, who serves the last match of his 10-game suspension. In the absence of the Uruguay international and Coutinho, Rodgers will continue to rely on Daniel Sturridge for attacking inspiration as the striker looks to continue his red-hot run of goalscoring form. The former Chelsea man has bagged 11 goals in his last nine Premier League outings, including four in four this season despite struggling with a thigh complaint.

Southampton go into the game without a Premier League victory since their opening-day win at West Brom and having failed to score in their last two fixtures against West Ham and Norwich City respectively. Club-record signing Pablo Daniel Osvaldo is still on the hunt for his first Southampton goal since moving from Roma in August and is likely to lead the line again with boss Mauricio Pochettino having a fully-fit squad to choose from. However, Pochettino’s side have won only one of their last five Premier League away games and just one of their previous eight visits to Anfield – a 2-1 success in December 2003.

Norwich City v Aston Villa Soccer game Preview of Barclays Premier League

Paul Lambert will hope his Aston Villa side can turn their fortunes around when they travel to his old club Norwich City on Saturday. Villa have lost their last three Premier League games after getting off to a perfect start with a 3-1 opening-day victory at Arsenal. Defeats at Chelsea and at home to Liverpool were followed up with a 2-1 reverse against Newcastle United at Villa Park, meaning a more positive result is needed at Carrow Road.

Lambert – who managed Norwich for three years before leaving for Villa last June – can take heart from his team’s recent record at his old stomping ground though, as they won there twice last season in the Premier League and League Cup. New signing Libor Kozak is in line to make his full debut for the visitors, and should be full of confidence after netting for the Czech Republic against Italy in the recent international break. Kozak could partner last season’s top scorer Christian Benteke up front, and the Belgian has picked up where he left off this term, scoring four goals in as many Premier League games.

However, Lambert will need to reorganise his midfield for the encounter though, with Jores Okore ruled out for up to nine months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in the defeat to Newcastle. There are no new injury worries for Norwich manager Chris Hughton though, with only long-term absentee Elliot Bennett (knee) unavailable.

Hughton’s men have also made a sluggish start to the season, winning just one of their four games. They have picked up four points from their two home games though, but Hughton is expecting a tough game against Villa – the only team to beat them at Carrow Road in their last 11 competitive home fixtures.

“We will be tested because they are a young and exciting side. They have good offensive options and are going to play a certain way which makes it difficult for you,” the former Newcastle boss said.

Hughton will be hoping Johan Elmander can get off the mark having failed to find the net in his first three games for Norwich after joining on a season-long loan from Galatasaray. The Sweden international is likely to partner fellow newcomer Ricky van Wolfswinkel up front, with the Dutchman also looking to get back among the goals after a three-game barren spell since scoring against Everton on the first day of the season.

Norwich are coming in to Saturday’s early match undefeated in 10 of their last 11 home matches in Premier League competition against an Aston Villa team that has not won any of their last three games.

Of the two teams Villa has scored more goals (5-3) and the goals allowed is rather even with Aston Villa allowing 6 and Norwich giving up 5. Norwich are currently 14th in the table with four points while Villa are 17th with three points. They both have one win apiece while Villa have three losses compared to Norwich’s one draw and two losses.

All in all it looks like this could be a match with interesting, unpredictable results. My prediction for a result is a draw. This is one that could swing either way with neither team really showing much defensive fortitude to start this season. The one thing going for Norwich is that their one win came against an opponent similar to Aston Villa in their 1-0 home win over Southampton.