Sports English Premier League: This weekend's fixtures,managers' comments and preview

It is that time of the weekend when we serve up the English Premier League fixtures and comments from some selected managers comments with regards to their team's games.

Lots of interesting games will be played this weekend and it is already getting more and more exciting,but it might still be early days to emphatically say where the title will end up this season.

There are a few eye-catching fixtures ranging from Aston Villa hosting Manchester City to Manchester United hosting Everton at Old Trafford on Sunday.

However,the standout tie this weekend will come from the game at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Arsenal.

Bear in mind that there will be an international break next weekend,so clubs would want to secure maximum points before going on a brief hiatus.


Roberto Martinez(Everton)
Martinez takes his Everton side to Old Trafford this Sunday looking to replicate last season's feat when they beat the Red Devils,but he recognises the influence that Louis van Gaal is having at the club and what they are up against.

"Manchester United have been so successful over the years.

"With the budget, the history, there's an expectation on the manager to do well.

"But, you're talking about a man who has been involved with some of the biggest clubs in Europe and internationally at the World Cup, so I'm sure he's more than capable of handling the challenge."



Louis Van Gaal(Manchester United)
The Dutchman has a string of injury worries for this tie and admitted that most of the players expected back for this game will not be available.

On the growing injury list,he admitted that there wasn't much cheering news to report.

"You can be fit but not match fit - that's a big difference," Van Gaal said.

"For example, Ander Herrera is fit but he cannot play because of his rib pressure. Marouane Fellaini has trained for one week but is not fit to play 90 minutes. It's difficult to explain. We have eight injuries and one red card so nine players are not available."

He however refused to admit that they have the slight advantage over Everton who traveled to Russia for their Europa League game on Thursday.

"It's difficult to explain because the result is very important. You have to look at how did you fly? How did you manage that as a group or as individual players? It's logical to say maybe we have the benefit but the motivation to play at Old Trafford against United is maybe much more important than the flight."



Manuel Pellegrini(Manchester City)
The Chilean is not perturbed that the Premier League champions are already five points behind Chelsea in the Premier League table.

"We are just starting out, although it is not good that we are five points behind Chelsea. But look at what happened last year - we have one point more than last year and Arsenal were maybe six points ahead of us.

"Last year we didn't win the first three games away, today we have seven from nine from away matches. The important thing is to try playing the same way we did against Hull last weekend."



Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
The war of words have already started ahead of this game between Chelsea and Arsenal,it appears that Cesc Fabregas is the pawn in this fight.

No doubt that the Spaniard will instigate some bad blood among Arsenal supporters because he now plays for their rivals,but the other intriguing battle will be between Mourinho and Arsene Wenger.

"The reaction from Arsenal fans - nobody listens. If 40,000 Chelsea fans want, nobody will listen to what 3,000 in red do. I think the feeling should be a good one between him and Arsenal supporters," Mourinho said.

On what Wenger said that he didn't want to sign Fabregas in the summer,Mourinho added: "I don't think that's important. For me he is a Chelsea player and he has been phenomenal for us.

"He has responsibilities and the fact the team is playing well and getting results, I couldn't be happier with the moment we decided to bring him to the club.

"I don't know if Chelsea was his first choice and I'm not even interested in that. For me, he is just one of my players."

But Mourinho expects a difficult match from the Gunners: "I expect a difficult match. It doesn't matter their approach or what they're trying to do.

"They will also be a difficult opponent. I always expect every game, every opponent, a tough game."



Arsene Wenger(Arsenal)
Wenger started by explaining the Fabregas situation and why he didn't re-sign the player when he became available in the summer.

"Cesc Fabregas will have a great career because he's a great player. He knows Arsenal had a positive influence on his career."

"It was his decision. When he left we bought Ozil - we did not need to buy attacking players. Everyone respects Cesc here and I want him to get the reception he deserves on Sunday."

On their game on Sunday,the Frenchman believes that they need to take their chances against a Chelsea side who have been excellent in defence.

"Chelsea won the Champions League with good defensive stability. They have one of the best defensive records in England," he says.

Wenger also prasied the impact of new striker Danny Welbeck after his hat-trick against Galatasaray in midweek -hoping that he replicates more of it for them.

"You can see that he's improving. That is very positive and there's a lot more to come from him," says the Frenchman.


Fixtures:

Saturday October 4,2014

Hull v Crystal Palace 15:00
Leicester v Burnley 15:00
Liverpool v West Brom 15:00
Sunderland v Stoke 15:00
Swansea v Newcastle 15:00
Aston Villa v Man City 17:30

Sunday October 5,2014

Man Utd v Everton 12:00
Chelsea v Arsenal 14:05
Tottenham v Southampton 14:05
West Ham v QPR 16:15

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Photo Credit: Wikipedia
 
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