It’s unusual, but definitely not unwanted… A nearly full round of Premiership fixtures is lined up tonight, so get set for plenty of goals and drama in this instalment of midweek football…

Arsenal vs Tottenham
THE London derby provides us with the big game during this round, and it doesn’t look as straightforward for Arsenal as it did a few weeks ago. They are still playing outstanding football, as has been the case all season, but they are also still falling into old habits of trying to walk the ball into the net unnecessarily. Spurs, meanwhile, have just got ‘Arry Rednapp in and will fancy their chances at the Emirates after their first league win at the weekend.

Pundit’s corner:
As mentioned, not an easy game for the Gunners and I’m sure that Spurs will be well up for it. A hard-fought draw in this big derby is what I see.

Aston Villa vs Blackburn
Villa are looking very strong at the moment, and probably look like the team mostly like to come closest to breaking the top 4 stranglehold. Blackburn, on the other hand, have been very inconsistent under Ince this season and will not be receiving any favours at Villa Park.

Pundit’s corner:
A routine home win at Villa Park, with Villa’s defence starting to take shape as well. Offensively, they look as good as most teams in the league, so the key to that Champions League spot at the end of the season will be the constant improvement of their defence.

Bolton vs Everton
No game at the Reebok is ever easy, but Bolton have not been great this year. This game could turn into a real physical battle as neither side traditionally likes to give an inch, and the close proximity of the two clubs could cause us to see some sparks fly.

Pundit’s corner:
Everton have been improving of late, and I expect them to get a result here. They really clawed themelves back into the game against Man Utd last week, and I think we’ll see more of that fighting spirit in this game, along with some finesse from the likes of Arteta and Pienaar. The Toffees to do a smash-and-grab and pick up the three points.

Fulham vs Wigan
Both sides are already at the wrong end of the table and this is a crucial game in terms of survival for both of them, because you expect they might spend the majority of the season there or thereabouts.

Pundit’s corner:
After a decent start, Wigan have lost a few games of late, and will be hoping for Zaki’s goals to start coming thick and fast again. Unfortunately, I see their slide continuing, even though Fulham aren’t in the greatest nick right now. A close win for the Cottagers.

Hull vs Chelsea
If you’d scanned this game in the fixture list before the season started, it would probably not have generated a huge amount of excitement. But Hull’s start this season has been extraordinary, so everyone is wondering whether they can continue their great from against Chelsea.

Pundit’s corner:
I’m backing Hull to give a good account of themselves here, as they have all season. But you feel that Chelsea will be just too strong, and will be hurting especially after that loss against Liverpool last week. The Blues to win this one.

Liverpool vs Portsmouth
Well, is the title coming to Anfield this season? You can’t really say that yet because we haven’t even had 10 games yet, but they’ve given themselves every chance of winning it this time round. Portsmouth won’t be easy opposition, even after having lost their manager, and this is never a straightforward game for Liverpool.

Pundit’s corner:
After Liverpool beat Man Utd earlier in the season, they drew their next game at home to Stoke. Rafa Benitez has already spoken about guarding against that type of complacency, so I expect Liverpool to pick up another three points and show everyone that they are serious contenders.

Manchester United vs West Ham
Man Utd will not want to drop too many more points in the early stages of this season because they’ve now seen that Liverpool and Chelsea are consistently picking up points and are going to be very hard to catch if they allow them too much of a gap. They are up against a West Ham side who have lost their last few under Zola, so they should not have too much trouble getting going again after the draw against Everton.

Pundit’s corner:
Despite being labelled as one of Man Utd’s bogey sides, it just does not look like West Ham have the armoury to hurt the Red Devils. This game could allow United to push their goal difference column up nicely.

Middlesbrough vs Man City
Man City travel to Boro in great goalscoring form, but are struggling to put together consistent results away from home. Boro, on the other hand, know that a loss at home could begin to drag them towards the relegation places, and that is somewhere they really should not be this season with the players that they have.

Pundit’s corner:
City look so good going forward and should have the beating of Boro, even away from home. If they are going to look to challenge the top 4 places this season, these are the types of games they are going to have to win on a regular basis.

Stoke City vs Sunderland
Sunderland have been playing well this season and Roy Keane has really turned them into a hard-working, disciplined side. Stoke, meanwhile, look like prime relegation candidates and will be hard-pressed to get anything from this game, especially after the way they capitulated against Man City last week.

Pundit’s corner:
Keane has bought really well in the off-season and the results are starting to show that. The game might be reasonably tight, but expect Sunderland to go back home with the three points.