Aston Villa v Swansea
Key Battle: Barry Bannan will have to cut out the fluid passing of the Swansea midfield
Player to Watch: Leon Britton will be key to the Swansea attacks and Villa will have to stop him getting on the ball.
Talking Point: Villa are not a good team but Swansea are. Still though, they will have a tough job breaking down a defensively minded home team.
Prediction: 0-0
Blackburn v Stoke
Key Battle: Chris Samba’s height and strength is key against a tall and physical Stoke front line.
Player to Watch: Mario Formica’s skill and trickery could be needed against a Stoke defence
Talking Point: Can Blackburn earn themselves a much needed win against limited opponents?
Prediction: 1-0
QPR v Norwich
Key Battle: Anton Ferdinand will have his hands full with the threat of Grant Holt for Ricky Lambert’s men.
Player to Watch: Anthony Pilkington has skill and passing ability and will look to pick holes in the QPR backline
Talking Point: A crucial game for both these teams as they look to put points on the board in their battles against relegation.
Prediction: 1-2
Wolves v Chelsea
Key Battle: Wayne Hennessey will need to pull off more heroics to prevent the likes of Daniel Sturridge from putting them to the sword
Player to Watch: Juan Mata’s ability to carve open the Wolves defence will be vital
Talking Point: Can Wolves repeat their Arsenal heroics?
Prediction: 1-2
Fulham v Arsenal
Key Battle: Philippe Senderos comes up against former team Arsenal and will be tasked with preventing Robin van Persie.
Player to Watch: An Arsenal team stretched by the festive period may look to its reserves and Yossi Benayoun, who has been superb in the last week.
Talking Point: These two drew at the Emirates and Arsenal will look for revenge
Prediction: 0-1
Tottenham v West Brom
Key Battle: Jonas Ollson will be marshalling a defence looking to prevent Tottenham from breaking them down
Player to Watch: Emmanuel Adebayor will hope to have his scoring boots on as Tottenham look to maintain their title push
Talking Point: West Brom are tough opponents but can they dent the Tottenham title march?
Prediction: 2-1
Wigan v Sunderland
Key Battle: Wigan have had a decent period and will look at this as a chance to put three points on the board
Player to Watch: Franco di Santo struck the winner against the Black Cats earlier this season – can he repeat the feat?
Talking Point: O’Neill’s men will give Wigan a problem, but Martinez’s men are more expansive and will look to take advantage
Prediction: 1-0
Man City v Liverpool
Key Battle: Craig Bellamy’s pace will be key for Liverpool as they look to hit City on the counter attack, and Vincent Kompany will have to be at his best.
Player to Watch: Charlie Adam’s passing is superb and Liverpool will look to use it to release Bellamy and Suarez quickly when they have the ball
Talking Point: City will probably dominate possession but are susceptible to the counter attack. Liverpool’s defence is strong enough to keep out their opponents so a surprise away win could beckon
Prediction: 0-1
Everton v Bolton
Key Battle: Leon Osman will be hoping to get the better of Bolton’s midfield and Fabric Muamba
Player to Watch: Louis Saha could be the man to put a poor Bolton to the sword
Talking Point: Can Owen Coyle’s men avoid continuing their poor form? Everton traditionally have a good second half of the season
Prediction: 2-0
Newcastle v Man Utd
Key Battle: Man Utd will look to Nani to help them get the better of a tough Newcastle defence
Player to Watch: Wayne Rooney’s ability can carve open any defence, and United will hope he is on his best form.
Talking Point: Newcastle are a tough team to beat and took a point from United earlier in the season – can they do so again?
Prediction: 1-1
