Buzzin Football

On Wednesday this week Manchester United entertain Fulham at Old Trafford, when they at last play their game in hand at the top of the league, hoping to distance themselves from the rest of the contenders. A win for United will put them five points clear of Liverpool and ten clear of  Chelsea in the title chase.

A win for Fulham on the other hand would raise the Londoners from tenth to eighth in the premier league and they also have a further game in hand to play against Blackburn. Roy Hodgson is enjoying a good spell at Fulham who have already beaten Arsenal and drawn with Liverpool, Aston Villa and Chelsea this season.

The premier league fixture list for Saturday throws up what should be the cracking game of the weekend, the early kick off between third place Aston Villa and one time title favourites Chelsea. Villa’s rise up the table has been almost stealth like,  passing both Arsenal and Chelsea and they currently sit just three points behind second placed Liverpool.

A draw between Villa and Chelsea will be of no use to either team, so it is crucial for both teams that there is a winner. A win for Villa would be a fantastic result for Martin O’Neill’s team, levelling them on points  with Liverpool, who entertain Manchester City later the same afternoon. Anything less than a win for Chelsea will set up an amazing fight for the fourth place Champions league spot, with both Arsenal and Everton fancying their chances of edging the place from the Blues.

With the premiership news of Roman Ambramovich securing the services of the Russian  national coach, all eyes will be on new Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink at Villa Park, to see if he really does have the Midas touch or if he just got lucky with the teams that he has coached beyond their previous skill-set.  Chelsea will be making a huge ask to expect Hiddink to turn thing’s around in no time at all, although whatever the outcome, he will undoubtedly come out of it with his own reputation still in tact.

It is fair to say that Martin O’Neill is in a similar situation at Aston Villa, he has surpassed the expectations of even the most ardent of Villa’s fans in managing to break into the territory previously reserved for the top four teams. There is still some way to go and in a few weeks time Villa will have the chance to further their say on the Premier league outcome, when they face both Liverpool and Manchester United away in successive games.