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Premier League Week 5 Preview
1:49 PM on September 19th, 2014 by Nathan Susanto

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After four weeks of the 2014-2015 English Premier League season, Chelsea is the last remaining team with a 100% winning record, but if they want to keep it intact they must overcome their biggest test to date.

The current league leaders face the defending champions in week 5's game of the week. Manchester City is already five points off the pace and so they'll be desperate to halt Chelsea's fast start. Elsewhere, second-placed Aston Villa takes on Arsenal, in a game where both teams are putting their unbeaten record on the line.

At the bottom of the table, Newcastle is seeking their first win of the season when they host Hull. West Brom (at Tottenham) and Crystal Palace (at Everton) also head into week 5 winless. The same is also true of Sunderland and Burnley and the two go head-to-head on Saturday.

Remember to make your Premier League Pickem predictions before the deadline of each game. Week 5's schedule starts on Saturday at 7:45 AM ET, followed by four 10 AM ET games. Saturday's final match is at 12:30 PM ET. There are four Sunday fixtures, two at 8:30 AM ET and another two at 11 AM ET.

Note that the Yahoo! Fantasy Premier League game's deadline is on Saturday at 6:45 AM ET.

Here we preview the ten games in the upcoming week of the English Premier League. The title of each game section is a link to pick the result of that game.





Stoke City (14th) at Queens Park Rangers (16th) (Sat, 7:45 AM ET)


It's been a mixed bag for Stoke this season thus far, with the Potters unusually showing better form on the road than they have at home. Stoke lost their first game of the season 1-0 to Aston Villa at home and they suffered the same scoreline when hosting Leicester. Stoke is unbeaten away, however, with a tie at Hull and win over Manchester City. Queens Park Rangers has been on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline twice away from home but both of their Loftus Road encounters have been tight affairs. Rangers conceded four against Tottenham and Manchester United and they also lost 1-0 to Hull. However, their one victory of the campaign was a 1-0 home win against Sunderland in week 3.


Head-to-Head Stats

Last season:
Last met in 2013

Last 6 (all competitions):
Tied 3-3-0.

Last 3 at QPR (all competitions):
QPR lead 2-1-0.

All-time (all competitions):
QPR lead 17-10-6.


Team News

Stoke (from):
Begovic, Butland, Sorensen, Bardsley, Huth, Muniesa, Pieters, Shawcross, Teixeira, Wilkinson, Wilson, Adam, Assaidi, Ireland, N’Zonzi, Palacios, Sidwell, Whelan, Arnautovic, Bojan, Crouch, Diouf, Moses, Walters.

Doubts:
Walters (calf), Pieters (knock), Arnautovic (foot), Ireland (ribs).

Out (reason, expected return date):
Cameron (hernia, no date), Odemwingie (ACL, no date).


QPR (from):
Green, McCarthy, Murphy, Caulker, Dunne, Ehmer, Ferdinand, Hill, Isla, Onuoha, Traore, Yun, Barton, Fer, Henry, Hoilett, Kranjcar, Mutch, Phillips, Sandro, Wright-Phillips, Austin, Taarabt, Vargas, Zamora.

Doubts:
Barton (hamstring), Mutch (knock).

Out (reason, expected return date):
Faurlin (ACL, no date).





Arsenal (7th) at Aston Villa (2nd) (Sat, 10 AM ET)


Arsenal heads into week 5 of the Premier League season still unbeaten but they'll undoubtedly be eager to get back to winning ways. The Gunners won 2-1 over Crystal Palace on the first day but since then they've tied with Everton, Leicester and Manchester City. In the Champions League, Arsenal suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Borussia Dortmund. Prior to this campaign, Aston Villa had picked up just one win in their first four games for three successive seasons. They're off to a fast start this time, though, notching ten points out of a possible 12 to date. During the opening four matches, Villa has conceded one goal; picking up wins against Stoke, Hull and Liverpool, while tying with Newcastle.


Head-to-Head Stats

Last season:
Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa
Aston Villa 3-1 Arsenal (reverse fixture)

Last 6 (all competitions):
Arsenal lead 4-1-1 (includes 1 FA Cup game).

Last 3 at Aston Villa (all competitions):
Arsenal lead 2-0-1.

All-time (all competitions):
Arsenal lead 77-66-45.


Team News

Arsenal (from):
Martinez, Ospina, Szczesny, Chambers, Gibbs, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal, Arteta, Cazorla, Coquelin, Diaby, Flamini, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Ramsey, Rosicky, Wilshere, Alexis, Campbell, Podolski, Welbeck.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Giroud (ankle, no date), Debuchy (ankle, no date), Gnabry (knee, no date), Sanogo (hamstring, no date), Walcott (ACL, no date), Monreal (back, no date).


Aston Villa (from):
Given, Guzan, Bacuna, Baker, Clark, Herd, Hutton, Lowton, Okore, Senderos, Vlaar, Cleverley, Cole, Delph,Grealish, N'Zogbia, Richardson, Sanchez, Westwood, Agbonlahor, Bent, Burke, Weimann.

Doubts:
Vlaar (calf).

Out (reason, expected return date):
Kozák (broken leg, Nov 2), Benteke (fitness, Oct 27).





Sunderland (15th) at Burnley (18th) (Sat, 10 AM ET)


Unlike the start to last season, Sunderland has been a difficult team to beat to date but they're still one of a handful of clubs still to record a victory. The Back Cats kicked this season off with a tie against West Brom and followed that by sharing the spoils with Manchester United. They lost 1-0 to QPR in week 3 but tied with Tottenham last time out. Four games in the books and Burnley, like Sunderland, is hoping week 5 produces their win of the season. It was a tough first outing against Chelsea for the Clarets and they lost a second successive game when they faced Swansea. Since then, though, Burnley has tightened things up and earned 0-0 ties with Manchester United and Crystal Palace.


Head-to-Head Stats

Last season:
Last met in 2011

Last 6 (all competitions):
Sunderland lead 4-1-1.

Last 3 at Burnley (all competitions):
Tied 1-1-1.

All-time (all competitions):
Sunderland lead 45-36-29.


Team News

Sunderland (from):
Mannone, Pantilimon, Brown, Coates, Jones, O'Shea, Van Aanholt, Vergini, Alvarez, Bridcutt, Buckley, Cabral, Cattermole, Giaccherini, Gomez, Johnson, Larsson, Mavrias, Rodwell, Altidore, Fletcher, Graham, Wickham.


Burnley (from):
Cisak, Gilks, Heaton, Duff, Keane, Lafferty, Long, Mee, Reid, Shackell, Trippier, Ward, Arfield, Boyd, Chalobah, Howieson, Jones, Kightly, Marney, Wallace, Barnes, Jutkiewicz, Sordell.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Ings (hamstring, Oct 18), Vokes (ACL, no date), Taylor (Achilles, no date).





Hull City (10th) at Newcastle United (20th) (Sat, 10 AM ET)


After beginning this campaign by putting a win on the board, Hull has struggled to get over the line. The Tigers got off to the perfect start by beating QPR 1-0 but they were denied another victory in week 2 when Stoke pegged them back for a tie. They suffered a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa and last time out they had to settle for a tie with West Ham. Newcastle manager Alan Pardew still has the backing of the club's owner despite the Magpies propping up the table four games into the season. Newcastle last went this long into a campaign without a victory nine years ago and they have just one win in their last 12 league outings, which was against an already relegated Cardiff at the start of May.


Head-to-Head Stats

Last season:
Hull 3-2 Newcastle
Newcastle 4-1 Hull (reverse fixture)

Last 6 (all competitions):
Hull lead 3-1-2 (includes 2 FA Cup games).

Last 3 at Newcastle (all competitions):
Hull lead 3-0-0.

All-time (all competitions):
Newcastle lead 11-6-6.


Team News

Hull (from):
Harper, Jakupovic, McGregor, Bruce, Chester, Davies, Dawson, Figueroa, Lenihan, Maguire, McShane, Robertson, Rosenior, Brady, Diame, Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Ince, Livermore, Meyler, Quinn, Ramirez, Aluko, Hernandez, Jelavic, Sagbo.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Snodgrass (knee, no date).

Unavailable:
Ben Arfa (loanee; can't face parent club).


Newcastle (from):
Alnwick, Elliot, Krul, Coloccini, Dummett, Haidara, Janmaat, Streete, S. Taylor, Williamson, Abeid, Anita, Bigirimana, Cabella, Colback, Obertan, Sissoko, Tiote, Vuckic, Ameobi, Armstrong, Ferreyra, Gouffran, Perez, Riviere.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Aarons (hamstring, Nov 1), Cissé (knee, Sep 29), De Jong (thigh, no date), R. Taylor (ACL, no date), Campbell (hernia, no date), Santon (knee, no date), Good (groin, no date).





Southampton (4th) at Swansea City (3rd) (Sat, 10 AM ET)

Southampton might have gone into this season shrouded in uncertainty but one month into the campaign they can reflect on a solid start. Things began disappointingly with a 2-1 loss to Liverpool, which was followed by a stalemate with West Brom. However, the Saints are now looking for three wins in a row after beating West Ham and Newcastle. Swansea began this season with three consecutive victories but their fine start was ended last time out. The Swans stunned Manchester United on the opening day of the season and that 2-1 victory was backed up with a 1-0 win over Burnley. They then beat West Brom 3-0 in week 3 but last week they suffered a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Chelsea.


Head-to-Head Stats

Last season:
Southampton 1-0 Swansea
Swansea 0-2 Southampton (reverse fixture)

Last 6 (all competitions):
Southampton lead 2-1-3.

Last 3 at Swansea (all competitions):
Tied 1-1-1.

All-time (all competitions):
Southampton lead 29-18-15.


Team News

Southampton (from):
Boruc, K. Davis, Forster, Gazzaniga, Alderweireld, Bertrand, Clyne, Fonte, Gardos, Stephens, Targett, Yoshida, Cork, S. Davis, Isgrove, Mane, McQueen, Reed, Schneiderlin, Tadic, Wanyama, Ward-Prowse, Gallagher, Long, Mayuka, Pelle.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Rodriguez (ACL, no date).


Swansea (from):
Cornell, Fabianski, Tremmel, Bartley, Fernandez, Kingsley, Obeng, Rangel, Tate, Taylor, Tiendalli, Williams, Carroll, Dyer, Fulton, Ki, Montero, Richards, Routledge, Sigurdsson, Sheehan, Shelvey, Barrow, Bony, Donnelly, Emnes, Gomis.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Amat (knee, Nov 1), Britton (knee, no date).





Liverpool (8th) at West Ham United (13th) (Sat, 12:30 PM ET)


The start to Liverpool's season has been up and down with the Reds recording two victories and two losses. They got underway with a 2-1 win over Southampton but a 3-1 loss to Manchester City followed. Liverpool beat Spurs 3-0 but in week 4 they lost 1-0 to Aston Villa. Liverpool began the Champions League by defeating Ludogorets Razgrad 2-1. West Ham's manager Sam Allardyce appears to have been under pressure for many months now and a mixed start to this campaign won't have eased the tension. The Hammers began with a defeat at home to Spurs but they bounced back by beating Crystal Palace. West Ham then lost to Southampton, though, before fighting back to tie with Hull.


Head-to-Head Stats

Last season:
Liverpool 2-1 West Ham
West Ham 1-4 Liverpool (reverse fixture)

Last 6 (all competitions):
Liverpool lead 4-1-1.

Last 3 at West Ham (all competitions):
Liverpool lead 2-1-0.

All-time (all competitions):
West Ham lead 68-24-35.


Team News

Liverpool (from):
Jones, Mignolet, Jose Enrique, Lovren, Manquillo, Moreno, Sakho, Skrtel, Toure, Allen, Coutinho, Gerrard, Henderson, Lallana, Lucas, Markovic, Suso, Balotelli, Borini, Lambert, Sterling.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Can (ankle, Oct 25), Sturridge (thigh, Sep 27), Flanagan (knee, no date), Johnson (thigh, no date).


West Ham (from):
Adrian, Jaaskelainen, Spiegel, Collins, Cresswell, Demel, Jenkinson, Potts, Reid, Tomkins, Amalfitano, Downing, Jarvis, Kouyate, Lletget, Morrison, Poyet, Song, Cole, Sakho, Valencia, Vaz Te, Zarate.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Nolan (shoulder, Oct 18), Carroll (ankle, no date), O'Brien (knee, no date).





Manchester United (9th) at Leicester City (12th) (Sun, 8:30 AM ET)


For the first time in 19 years, Manchester United had to watch the Champions League from home. With no European soccer on the agenda, though, United has still struggled early on. A 2-1 defeat by Swansea was followed by ties with Sunderland and then Burnley. However, they finally recorded a victory last weekend with the 4-0 thrashing of QPR. Just like their week 5 visitors, Leicester has begun this season with one win, two ties and one defeat. Their tough schedule kicked off with a creditable 2-2 tie with Everton but Chelsea beat them 2-0. Another difficult fixture ended with Leicester sharing the spoils with Arsenal and then last time out the Foxes went to Stoke and defeated them 1-0.


Head-to-Head Stats

Last season:
Last met in 2004

Last 6 (all competitions):
Manchester United lead 6-0-0.

Last 3 at Leicester (all competitions):
Manchester United lead 3-0-0.

All-time (all competitions):
Manchester United lead 59-32-26.


Team News

Manchester United (from):
Amos, De Gea, Lindegaard, Blackett, Blind, Evans, Rafael, Rojo, Shaw, Smalling, Vermijl, Anderson, Di Maria, Fletcher, Herrera, Januzaj, Mata, Valencia, Falcao, W. Keane, Rooney, Van Persie.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Fellaini (ankle, Oct 20), Carrick (ankle, Oct 5), Jones (hamstring, Oct 5), Young (groin, no date), Lindgard (knee, no date).


Leicester (from):
Hamer, Schmeichel, Smith, De Laet, Konchesky, Moore, Morgan, Simpson, Wasilewski, Albrighton, Cambiasso, Drinkwater, Hammond, James, King, Knockaert, Mahrez, Hopper, Lawrence, Nugent, Schlupp, Taylor-Fletcher, Ulloa, Vardy, Wood.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Upson (ankle, no date).

Unavailable:
Powell (loanee; can't face parent club).





West Bromwich Albion (19th) at Tottenham Hotspur (6th) (Sun, 8:30 AM ET)


Last season, West Brom notched the joint-fewest wins in the top flight and it appears they're finding victories hard to come by this time around, too. The Baggies began with a 2-2 tie with Sunderland but they've failed to hit the back of the net since. West Brom played out a goalless tie with Southampton before losing 3-0 to Swansea and 2-0 Everton. Tottenham didn't concede a goal in their first two games of the term but they've leaked goals in their last two league outings. Spurs recorded a perfect start with wins over West Ham and QPR but they lost 3-0 to Liverpool and then were held to a 2-2 tie by Sunderland. Tottenham began their Europa League campaign with a 0-0 tie with FK Partizan.


Head-to-Head Stats

Last season:
West Brom 1-1 Tottenham
Tottenham 3-3 West Brom (reverse fixture)

Last 6 (all competitions):
Tottenham lead 3-0-3.

Last 3 at Tottenham (all competitions):
Tottenham lead 1-0-2.

All-time (all competitions):
Tottenham lead 54-52-32.


Team News

West Brom (from):
Daniels, Foster, Myhill, Baird, Davidson, Dawson, Gamboa, Lescott, McAuley, O’Neil, Olsson, Pocognoli, Wisdom, Blanco, Brunt, Dorrans, Gardner, Morrison, Mulumbu, Sessegnon, Roofe, Varela, Yacob, Anichebe, Berahino, Ideye, Nabi, Samaras.


Tottenham (from):
Friedel, Lloris, Vorm, Chiriches, Davies, Dier, Fazio, Kaboul, Naughton, Rose, Veljkovic, Vertonghen, Walker, Bentaleb, Capoue, Ceballos, Chadli, Dembele, Eriksen, Lamela, Lennon, Mason, Paulinho, Stambouli, Townsend, Adebayor, Kane, Soldado.

Doubts:
Townsend (leg).

Out (reason, expected return date):
Walker (groin, no date).





Crystal Palace (17th) at Everton (11th) (Sun, 11 AM ET)


While managerless, Crystal Palace was short of inspiration but Neil Warnock appears to have stabilized things. The Eagles fell to successive defeats in their first two games, just getting edged out by Arsenal and then falling to West Ham. Since Warnock's arrival, Palace fought back to tie 3-3 with Newcastle and they shared a 0-0 tie with Burnley. Everton began last term slowly and kickstarted things with a week 4 win and they'll hope things play out similarly this time around after posting their first win last week. The Toffees tied 2-2 with Leicester and Arsenal before losing to Chelsea 6-3 and then beating West Brom 2-0. Everton kicked off the Europa League by defeating Wolfsburg 4-1.


Head-to-Head Stats

Last season:
Crystal Palace 3-2 Everton
Everton 0-0 Crystal Palace (reverse fixture)

Last 6 (all competitions):
Everton lead 3-2-1 (includes 1 League Cup game).

Last 3 at Everton (all competitions):
Crystal Palace lead 2-1-0 (includes 1 League Cup game).

All-time (all competitions):
Everton lead 16-11-12.


Team News

Crystal Palace (from):
Hennessey, Kettings, Speroni, Dann, Delaney, Fryers, Hangeland, Kelly, Mariappa, McCarthy, Ward, Bannan, Bolasie, Guedioura, Jedinak, Ledley, McArthur, Puncheon, Thomas, Williams, Campbell, Chamakh, Doyle, Gayle, Johnson, Zaha.

Doubts:
Chamakh (hamstring).

Out (reason, expected return date):
O'Keefe (ankle, no date).


Everton (from):
Howard, Joel, Stanek, Alcaraz, Baines, Browning, Coleman, Distin, Garbutt, Hibbert, Jagielka, Stones, Atsu, Barry, Besic, Gibson, Junior, McCarthy, McGeady, Osman, Eto'o, Long, Lukaku, McAleny, Mirallas, Naismith.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Pienaar (groin, no date), Barkley (MCL, no date), Oviedo (broken leg, no date), Koné (knee, no date).





Chelsea (1st) at Manchester City (5th) (Sun, 11 AM ET)


Chelsea has got out of the blocks quickly with their matches producing much excitement, particularly in the last two outings. The pacesetters saw off promoted Burnley and Leicester in their first two games and then they beat Everton 6-3 and defeated Swansea 4-2. Chelsea opened up their Champions League campaign with a 1-1 tie with FC Schalke. Manchester City's title defence hasn't begun perfectly but they should be unfazed having experienced a similar start last term. City began well enough with victories over Newcastle and Liverpool but they were halted in their tracks by a loss to Stoke and last week they tied with Arsenal. City lost their Champions League opener 1-0 to Bayern Munich.


Head-to-Head Stats

Last season:
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester City
Manchester City 1-2 Chelsea (reverse fixture)
Chelsea 0-2 Manchester City (FA Cup)

Last 6 (all competitions):
Manchester City lead 3-2-1 (includes 2 FA Cup games).

Last 3 at Manchester City (all competitions):
Manchester City lead 2-1-0 (includes 1 FA Cup game).

All-time (all competitions):
Chelsea lead 63-50-37.


Team News

Chelsea (from):
Cech, Courtois, Schwarzer, Ake, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Christensen, Filipe, Ivanovic, Terry, Zouma, Fabregas, Hazard, Matic, Mikel, Oscar, Ramires, Salah, Willian, Costa, Drogba, Remy, Schurrle.


Manchester City (from):
Caballero, Hart, Wright, Boyata, Clichy, Demichelis, Kolarov, Kompany, Mangala, Nastasic, Sagna, Zabaleta, Fernandinho, Lampard, Milner, Nasri, Navas, Silva, Sinclair, Toure, Aguero, Dzeko.

Out (reason, expected return date):
Jovetic (hamstring, Sep 27), Fernando (groin, Sep 27).

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