Previewing Saturday’s English Premier League fixtures: Part I

All 20 English Premier League clubs will be in action at the weekend, with seven games scheduled for Saturday and three for Sunday.

For the second consecutive week, I have broken down the betting odds, previews and predictions for Saturday’s Premier League fixtures into two parts.

Today, I will cover Liverpool v Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa and Manchester City v Bolton Wanderers, meaning tomorrow will feature Queens Park Rangers v Everton, Stoke City v Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea and Wigan Athletic v Swansea City.

Now then, let’s get started.

Betting Odds

Liverpool (20/19) v Arsenal (29/10); Draw (5/2)

Blackburn Rovers (5/2) v Aston Villa (11/5); Draw (12/5)

Manchester City (1/6) V Bolton Wanderers (22/1); Draw (15/2)

Liverpool v Arsenal: Match Preview

Arsene Wenger and Arsenal will look to build on their impressive 5-2 win over bitter north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur when they visit the Merseyside to take on Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

The Gunners are currently sitting on 46 points, which is good enough for fourth place in the Premier League, but only by rule of goals scored.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are seventh,  having tallied 39 points. However, the Reds do have a game in hand, the Merseyside derby to be more specific.

Players to Watch

Controversial figure Luis Suarez is the player to watch for the Reds. If he’s on top form, I like Liverpool’s chances.

Meanwhile, Theo Walcott, who is coming off a brace versus Spurs in the north London derby, is man to keep an eye on for the Gunners.

Prediction

Liverpool remain unbeaten at Anfield in the Premier League this season, 2-1 Reds.

Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa: Match Preview

Alex McLeish and 15th-place Villa will travel to Ewood Park to take on Steve Kean and 18th-place Blackburn Rovers on Saturday evening.

Blackburn have conceded at least one goal in 31 matches in all competitions this season. Subsequently, they have failed to keep a clean sheet all season! Shocking.

Meanwhile, Villa have kept their opponents scoreless seven times in all competitions in 2011-12.

Players to Watch

Keep a close eye on Junior Hoilett, who leads Blackburn Rovers with five assists in the league, while also netting three goals.

With Darren Bent lost for the season, Villa need Gabriel Agbonlahor, who has recorded five goals and five assists in 22 league games this season, to assume the position of the club’s main front-man.

Prediction

Blackburn’s woeful defending continues, 2-1 Villa.

Manchester City v Bolton Wanderers: Match Preview

Relegation contenders Bolton Wanderers visit the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City on Saturday, March 3.

Bolton, who are currently in 19th place in the Premier League table, have tallied just 20 points in 26 league fixtures.

On the other hand, table-toppers Manchester City have a whopping 63 points in the same number of games.

Players to Watch

Look for Sergio Aguero to be the main danger man for City on Saturday. With Bolton having conceded a league-high 54 goals this season, I fancy Aguero to bag at least one at the Etihad in this fixture.

Midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker is the player to watch for Bolton Wanderers. If Bolton are to get an improbable result on Saturday, Reo-Coker must defend furiously, while also assisting the Bolton attack.

Prediction

To be perfectly honest, this match won’t even be close. 4-0 City.