Arsenal 2 - 0 Wolves: The Bounce Back

Hugs! Pic via Sky Sports.

Arsenal 2: van Persie 16, 56

Wolves 0

I'm firmly of the belief that last Saturday's trip to Newcastle is going to be a season defining moment, but that's not necessarily a negative; it could shape the season in any number of ways. Which way would it go? Would Arsenal crumble in the aftermath or would they rebound and use the draw as a learning experience? With Barcelona on the horizon, the league to contend with, and a Wembley Cup final in two weeks, February is a crucial month for the Gunners that did not start very well on Tyneside. Yesterday, Arsenal righted the ship, dominating 90 minutes and completing the double over Wolves.

Coming into the match, team selection was a bit of a question. With Barcelona coming to the Emirates on Wednesday, would Arsene Wenger prioritize the league or Europe? Would he start his strongest side or rest some of his talent? The answer was the former. Arsenal made one change to the side that started last week: Abou Diaby missed out through suspension, but Alex Song returned to his normal starting position in Diaby's place, after missing the trip to Newcastle with a thigh injury. Johan Djourou was fit to start after a fear that his knee injury could have been season-endingly serious.

There's no doubt about it, Arsenal played exceedingly well yesterday, and it was the response that they needed following last week's collapse. It took a little while for Arsenal to get in gear, but they nearly went ahead 1-0 with a Robin van Persie goal that was called back for a foul on Jack Wilshere, instead of playing advantage. RVP shot the ensuing free kick over the bar. The Dutchman would get the opener in the 16th minute, one-timing a Cesc Fabregas cross home with his right foot.

Arsenal had a number of chances to extend that lead over the next forty minutes, but had a tough time sneaking another shot past Wayne Hennessey. A leading pass to Andrei Arshavin was a bit too far ahead for the Russian to take a shot, but he did cut back and feed a pass to the center for Theo Walcott. Walcott's shot was saved by the legs of Hennessey, then Fabregas's rebound was blocked off the line. Van Persie nearly picked up the brace just before the stroke of halftime, but Hennessey saved again. Just after the restart, following a brilliant run from Jack Wilshere, Walcott fired wide on a fairly wide open opportunity.

But the second goal would eventually come, and it would be classic Arsenal. The goal came from a series of lightning-quick one-touch passes. Bacary Sagna won the ball back initially and found Djourou in his own penalty area. Then, Arsenal launched the fast break. Djourou hit Wilshere, Wilshere found Song, Song found Fabregas, and the captain launched the ball forward for a breaking Theo Walcott. In the ensuing rush, Walcott centered for van Persie, who took one touch and fired past a diving Hennessey.

There was, of course, always a little fear that one Wolves goal could send Arsenal spiraling downward again. This week, however, Wolves never really had those opportunities. There was almost no pressure at all from the relegation candidates. In BBC's Match of the Day highlights, there was only one Wolves chance even shown, it came in the final minute of play with the match out of reach, and the shot was well over the bar. Arsenal did exactly what they had to do: bounce back from last week by sticking to their style. Perhaps the most encouraging part was that there was no nervousness in the defending, which would have been almost understandable after last week.

So, three more points, and Arsenal keeps their pace with United, as the Gunners still sit four points out of first place with just 12 games to play. After the first eight of those, they will meet each other at the Emirates. This is still a season defining month for Arsenal in all four competitions and each of Arsenal's next four matches are in different competitions. There could be new silverware for the trophy case by month's end. And by that point, one hopes last week is long in the rear view mirror. Yesterday was a good start.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Matcb: Jack Wilshere

Preview: Arsenal v. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves? Wolves.
Free use image via Wikipedia.

Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, February 12

3:00 p.m. GMT, 10:00 a.m. EST

• Referee: Chris Foy
• This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 1 - 0 Wolves
• Reverse Fixture: Wolves 0 - 2 Arsenal
• All-Time in All Competitions: 55 Arsenal wins, 29 Wolves wins, 25 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-D-W-W-W-D
• Wolves' Recent Form: L-W-L-L-L-W

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy

Denilson - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Arshavin

van Persie

Subs from: Almunia, Gibbs, Djourou, Song, Rosicky, Bendtner, Chamakh
Suspended: Diaby (first of three, violent conduct)

Out: Nasri (hamstring), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

• Nobody is injured coming back from international duty! Hooray!
• Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie have recovered from their probably fictitious physical ailments that kept them off international duty.
• Alex Song (thigh) and Johan Djourou (knee) face Friday fitness tests and Arsene Wenger is optimistic that they will be in the squad. Song is supposedly at 90%. Could they be rested anyway, with Barcelona on the horizon?
• Denilson (does anyone remember what was wrong with him? thigh? hamstring?) is fit and back in the squad, and will have to start if Song doesn't, since Abou Diaby is suspended.
• Samir Nasri is back in training and is a week or two away from competition. Shame he'll miss the first leg of the Barcelona tie. And Thomas Vermaelen should be, what, three weeks away? So they say.
• Arsenal had a six match winning streak across all competitions snapped last week, but remain unbeaten in seven overall, unbeaten in eight league matches, and unbeaten in ten at the Emirates.

Wolves News and Notes

• Stephen Hunt (calf) faces a late fitness test, as does Dave Edwards (leg.)
• Defender Kevin Foley (ankle) will likely be recalled.
• Long term injuries include Michael Kightly, who has missed all year with a tendon problem in his knee, and Adlene Guedioura (broken leg.)
• Wolves have only picked up four points on the road this season, in 11 road matches. Wolves picked up a win at Liverpool Red and a draw at Liverpool Blue.
• They have been giant killers at Molineux, however, having beaten Manchester City, Chelsea, and most recently, Manchester United at home. But, Arsenal won there in November, so really, that's just nothing but helpul.

Match Facts

• Arsenal have beaten Wolves eleven straight times, across all competitions.
• Marouane Chamakh needed about 37 seconds to score against Wolves at Molineux in November. Then, Wolves controlled a lot of play for about 92 minutes before Chamakh scored again.
• In this match last year, Arsenal needed a billion minutes before Nicklas Bendtner headed in an injury time winner.
• Wolves' last win against Arsenal came at Highbury by a 3-2 score in 1979.

The Referee

• The referee is Merseyside-based Chris Foy.
• The last time Chris Foy was supposed to take charge of an Arsenal match, it was against Leeds in the FA Cup at the Emirates. Then, it turned out that the referee was actually Phil Dowd. For the love of God, if that happens again...
• Arsenal have won both matches worked by Foy in which they've played this year by 2-1 scores, first at Blackburn then at home against Fulham.
• Foy has not worked a Wolves match this season. His last was a 0-0 draw with Stoke in April.

Around the League

• These are the reverse fixtures of those played November 9-10.
• Saturday: Manchester United v. Manchester City; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Saturday: Birmingham City v. Stoke City; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
• Saturday: Blackburn Rovers v. Newcastle United; Ewood Park, Blackburn
• Saturday: Blackpool v. Aston Villa; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
• Saturday: Liverpool v. Wigan Athletic; Anfield, Liverpool
• Saturday: West Bromwich Albion v. West Ham United; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
• Saturday: Sunderland v. Tottenham Hotspur; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
• Sunday: Bolton Wanderers v. Everton; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Monday: Fulham v. Chelsea; Craven Cottage, London

Wolves 0 - 2 Arsenal: Start and Finish

 

"HAHA! We're winning before you could even find a Web stream!" Pic via Guardian.

Wolves 0
Arsenal 2: Chamakh 1, 90+4

It might have taken under 40 seconds for Arsenal to take the lead at Molineux tonight, but it certainly took all of the match to make that lead comfortable. Marouane Chamakh picked up a brace, scoring in the first and final minutes of play to get Arsenal back on the winning track. Chelsea's win means Arsenal remains five points out of first place, but they are now one point out of second after the Manchester derby ended in a boring, boring draw.

Three changes were made to the side that didn't really show up on Sunday: Laurent Koscielny's suspension meant Johan Djourou returned to partner Sebastian Squillaci at center half. Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott dropped to the bench; Andrei Arshavin and Tomas Rosicky started on the wings in their place, on the left and right, respectively.

Chamakh's opening goal was the fastest Premier League goal in Arsenal history. I can't quite get a consistent number of seconds it took from various media outlets. The BBC says 37 but Arsenal's own recap says 38. The match commentators said 39. Let's go with that lowest one then and say it was 37 (that was always a lucky number for me, too.) Tomas Rosicky won the ball in midfield, found Alex Song in space, who found Chamakh's head with his cross.

From there, as expected, Wolves put up quite a fight. No team has taken three points from Wolves easily this year: Chelsea came away with one of their most uncomfortable wins at Stamford Bridge this season, while Manchester United left it until the death to win at Old Trafford on Saturday. And City outright lost at Molineux. A lack of adroit finishing kept Arsenal from coasting to the finish line, especially two specific chances in the second half: Cesc Fabregas was through on goal and fired poorly wide, then Djourou poked the ball wide during a goal line scramble after Squillaci couldn't find it in his own feet.

Thanks to missed opportunities, the end was nervy, and I'm sure we all thought back to that finish at Sunderland two months ago and realized this was a similar situation (aside from not being down to ten men.) Lukasz Fabianski, wearing a whole lot of bright pink, kept his clean sheet with a number of remarkable saves. Wolves kept banging on the door in the final minutes, but Fabianski and the Arsenal defense kept pushing them back out. Fabianski made a brilliant, one-armed, diving save in the 93rd minute that had the feeling it had sealed the game, but then he threw the ball back into play way too quickly. Time killing, anyone?

But, do you know what's better than time killing? Scoring another goal, which is what Arsenal did from that possession. Fabianski's throw found Rosicky who passed to Fabregas who chipped a through ball to Chamakh, who coolly picked up his brace past the diving American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann. Chamakh picked up a goal in the first minute and another in the 94th, the longest time between goals scored by the same player in the same Premier League game.

Unfortunately, much of the talk after the match was about Cesc Fabregas's tackle on Stephen Ward, which left Ward with a huge gash on his leg and saw the Wolves player taken off the field on a stretcher. Referee Mark Halsey chose only to show Fabregas a yellow card as the fans at Molineux were screaming for blood. There was never intent in the challenge, Fabregas was sliding across to block a clearance along the line and arrived late. A yellow was fair, but a red card would not have been out of the question (though harsh;) Joe Cole was sent off at Anfield for the exact same offense on opening day. which back then I called "ill-timed but not ill-intentioned." Meanwhile, Andrei Arshavin and Alex Song also took challenges that could have been leg-breakers, so, considering Fabregas and Arsene Wenger apologized and Wolves have moved on, having taken it like men, let's all just move on and shut up about it, okay? Yes, I'm talking to you, Alan Hansen on Match of the Day.

So, to recap: Fabianski has bounced back from his one poor showing this season, which is great news. Chamakh has bounced back from looking sluggish on Sunday, which is great news. The back four looked more competent than they have in the past, which is great news, though with Thomas Vermaelen's season possibly over with his Achilles injury, it's going to be touch-and-go back there all year. I can't really say anyone had a poor performance. Arsenal needed these three points and it's great to see the side actually put up a quality fight to get them. Now, in a stretch of fixtures that will define the rest of the season, let's get three more at Goodison Park on Sunday.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Lukasz Fabianski

Preview: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Arsenal

The magnificent Own Goal scored twice for Arsenal at Molineux last year. Pic via Daily Mail.

Molineux, Wolverhampton

Wednesday, November 10

19:45 GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST

• Referee: Mark Halsey
• This Match, Last Year: Wolves 1 - 4 Arsenal
• All-Time in All Competitions: 54 Arsenal wins, 29 Wolves wins, 25 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: L-L-W-W-W-L
• Wolves' Recent Form: L-L-D-L-W-L

Predicted Line-Up

Fabianski

Sagna - Djourou - Squillaci - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Eboue, Denilson, Rosicky, Arshavin, Bendtner, Van Persie

Suspended: Koscielny (first of two, professional foul + second red card of season)

Out: Gibbs (knee), Diaby (ankle), Almunia (elbow), Vermaelen (Achilles), Ramsey (broken leg)

Arsenal News and Notes

• There is no change in the injury situation since Sunday against Newcastle; everyone available then is available tomorrow, including Samir Nasri who recovered from a knock to his calf and Cesc Fabregas who continues to have recurring hamstring problems.
• The bad news is that Thomas Vermaelen has suffered a set back and there is still much concern on the fate of Abou Diaby's ankle.
• Laurent Koscielny's red card appeal was dismissed and he will serve a two match ban: one for the red card and one for this being his second red of the season.
• This is the first time Arsenal has lost consecutive matches this season. Between the losses to West Brom and Chelsea, the Gunners won at Partizan Belgrade in the Champions League.

Wolves News and Notes

• Ronald Zubar and Joey Craddock are out until at least the weekend with an ankle and thigh injury, respectively. That's a shame, as both scored for Arsenal in this fixture last year.
• Michael Kightly has been a seriously long term absentee for Wolves, with a tendon problem in his knee. He was omitted from the club's 25 man squad in September and therefore may only return in the January transfer window.
• Adlene Guedioura is out until February with a broken leg.
• Wolves are sitting in the relegation zone and have only won twice this season, but have made life difficult for plenty of top competition. Manchester City lost a Molineux a week and a half ago, Manchester United needed 93 minutes to win at Old Trafford, and Wolves made Chelsea's 2-0 win uncomfortable at Stamford Bridge.

Match Facts

• Arsenal has won their last ten meetings with Wolves across all competitions.
• Wolves' last result against Arsenal was a 1-1 draw at Molineux on April 3, 1982.
• Their last win against the Gunners came fifteen tries ago, 3-2 at Highbury on September 29, 1979.
• Wolves spotted Arsenal a 2-0 lead in this fixture last year, thanks to the aforementioned own goals from Zubar and Craddock. Cesc Fabregas added a third before halftime; Andrei Arshavin later added a fourth, then Craddock scored in the correct net to ping one back in the 89th.
• Arsenal beat Wolves 1-0 at the Emirates in April, needing 94 minutes for Nicklas Bendtner to head home the winner from a Bacary Sagna cross.
• Arsenal won three midweek fixtures last season and drew two. They lost one midweek league fixture last year, 2-1 at Spurs, though that was a match postponed from a Saturday.

The Referee

• The referee is Mark Halsey.
• Last year, Halsey took charge of only one Premier League match; it happened to be Arsenal's 6-1 thrashing of Everton at Goodison Park on opening day.
• He was then diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his throat. He returned to officiating in March of this year and returned to the Premier League this season.
• The last time Halsey took charge of a Wolves match was a 2-0 loss to Birmingham City in the Championship on April 6, 2009. This was also the last time Halsey showed a red card.

Around the League

• Tuesday: Stoke City v. Birmingham City; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
• Tuesday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Sunderland; White Hart Lane, London
• Wednesday: Aston Villa v. Blackpool; Villa Park, Birmingham
• Wednesday: Chelsea v. Fulham; Stamford Bridge, London
• Wednesday: Newcastle United v. Blackburn Rovers; St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
• Wednesday: West Ham United v. West Bromwich Albion; Boleyn Ground, London
• Wednesday: Wigan Athletic v. Liverpool; DW Stadium, Wigan
• Wednesday: Everton v. Bolton Wanderers; Goodison Park, Liverpool
• Wednesday: Manchester City v. Manchester United; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester

Arsenal 1 - 0 Wolves: Tantric Football

Arsenal matches are becoming an exercise in delayed gratification. Pic via BBC.

Arsenal 1: Bendtner 90+4
Wolves 0

If you enjoy the pleasure of experiencing the subtle beauties of each and every part of the process while realizing that just scoring in the end is not the ultimate goal, then this match was ecstasy for you. For 93 minutes and 55 seconds, Arsenal kept us waiting. It was pretty at times, the passing was there, the pace was there, and the chances were there, but the big ending was always just out of reach. And then, just when you thought there would be no happy ending, as the seconds ticked away, our heroes scored. And we all jumped up and down in sheer delight. Credit to Gloria for the metaphor, by the way; I'm not that clever.

We knew coming into this match that the side would be depleted. Arsene Wenger fielded a side that saw seven changes from the team that started against Barcelona on Wednesday. Cesc Fabregas (leg), Andrei Arshavin (calf), and William Gallas (calf) sadly won't be starting any time soon. But in addition to those three known absences, Gael Clichy, Abou Diaby, Nicklas Bendtner, and Samir Nasri were all placed on the bench in the name of rest. As such, Sol Campbell, Mikael Silvestre, Tomas Rosicky, Denilson, Emmanuel Eboue, Theo Walcott, and Eduardo started along with the unchanged Manuel Almunia, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, and Alex Song.

Arsenal's plan seemed obvious the entire time as well, and it was merely a question of whether Wolves could contain it for 90 minutes. Tomas Rosicky filled in the playmaker role in place of the injured Fabregas and rested Nasri and the goal was to get the ball to Walcott, have him speed past the defense, cross the ball into the box, and hope for a goal. Best case scenario, Arsenal gets on the board early, scores another one a bit later, and coasts to three points without having to use their substitutes who were resting on the bench. Ah, but as you know by now, Arsenal never gets three points the easy way.

Six minutes in, Eduardo takes a great shot that brings about an even better reflex save from Wolves' Seattle-born goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann. Eduardo has an absolute sitter a few minutes later but instead of taking a shot at an open net on the first touch, he traps it first, thereby working his body into an awkward, off-balance position, then knocking a very lame attempt at goal well wide. Then a minute later even Sagna gave it a chance, but his shot was right at Hahnemann. The entire first half felt like a Carling Cup tie to me; a string of non-regulars in the side struggling to find the net.

As the second half played out, concern was setting in. Chances were there and a goal was vital to keep the season and the title hopes mathematically plausible. But would it come? By 64 minutes, the resting Nicklas Bendtner was called upon to take the field, replacing the barely noticable Eboue.

Two minutes later, the match turned on its head as Wolves captain Karl Henry was sent off with a straight red card for a bad challenge from behind on Tomas Rosicky. On replay, it looked worse than it was, and there is now a ton of controversy around Andre Marriner's decision to send Henry off. Opponents are complaining that Arsenal are working the officials over to be more protected in the wake of Aaron Ramsey's horrific leg break (and Kieran Gibbs's foot break... and Eduardo's leg break... and Abou Diaby's leg break... it just goes on...) It was certainly a bookable offense from Henry; it should not have been red. Wolves then had to hold onto their nil-nil draw for the final 25 minutes plus stoppage time on ten men.

Samir Nasri and Carlos Vela (remember him?) made appearances as the remaining Arsenal subs as the Gunners streamed forward looking for the all-important goal. It just never seemed to be coming. Rosicky missed a brilliant chances seconds after returning to the pitch. Bendtner's header was saved under the bar. Rosicky missed another chance, then saved a potential Wolves goal on the line after a corner kick.

As the clock struck 90 minutes, a Vermaelen kick went completely off course and into touch for a Wolves throw-in; it looked symbolic of the afternoon, a signal that a death knell for Arsenal's title hopes would be heard soon. Walcott missed a lovely chance with three minutes of five added already gone. It looked all over.

Then a Nasri pass found Rosicky, to Walcott, back to Sagna with one minute to play. Sagna crossed into the box as Nicklas Bendtner won positioning in front of Wolves defender Ronald Zubar. Bendtner's header curled to the left of Hahnemann, who had no chance. With seconds to play, Arsenal had scored to take a 1-0 lead, and every Arsenal pub in the world, just like the Emirates, went nuts. The big ending had finally happened.

Both teams ended up trading chances in the remaining minute afterward, but that was it. Arsenal is still three points off the pace with five games to play. Can they win all five and get the help they need to take the title? Who knows? What I do know is that it's probably going to follow much of the same pattern of beauty and frustration.

Preview: Arsenal v. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Arsenal scored twice at Molineux in November. Wolves scored three, but two were in the wrong net. Good job, Wolves. Pic after Fabregas's goal via Guardian.

Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, April 3

15:00 BST, 10:00 a.m. EDT

• Referee: Andre Marriner
• This Match, Last Time: Arsenal 3 - 0 Wolves (December 26, 2003)
• All-Time in All Competitions: 53 Arsenal wins, 29 Wolves wins, 25 draws
• Arsenal's Recent Form: W-W-W-W-W-D
• Wolves' Recent Form: L-L-W-D-W-D

Predicted Line-Up

guesses italicized

Almunia

Sagna - Campbell - Vermaelen - Clichy

Nasri - Song - Diaby

Rosicky - Bendtner - Walcott 

Subs from: Fabianski, Silvestre, Traore, Eboue, Denilson, Vela, Eduardo

Out: Arshavin (calf), Fabregas (leg), Gallas (calf), Ramsey (leg), Gibbs (foot), Van Persie (ankle), Djourou (knee)

Arsenal News and Notes

• In addition to Arsenal's already existing long-term injury list, three more players were knocked out thanks to Wednesday's Champions League tie with Barcelona...
• William Gallas returned from his calf injury, only to leave on a stretcher in the first half. Andrei Arshavin limped off with a serious calf injury himself. Gallas is done for the year, or five weeks at best. Arshavin should be back to play Manchester City on the 24th, so he'll miss this, Barcelona, Spurs, Wigan, and the first leg of the semifinals should Arsenal advance.
• As for Cesc Fabregas, his fibula is cracked, leaving him out for six weeks, which is the rest of at least the domestic season. Based on that timetable, the only way we see Fabregas again this year is if Arsenal makes the Champions League Final on May 22.
• Gael Clichy (back) and Denilson (groin) both passed their fitness tests and should be available.
• Without Fabregas, the pressure falls on Samir Nasri to be in the midfield playmaker role. What this means for the rest of the line-up is an interesting question, especially since Arshavin is out too; both normally play the forward wings. This could mean Wenger will use a 4-5-1 with Bendtner as a lone striker instead of a 4-3-3.

Wolves News and Notes

• Wolves, last year's winners of the Football League Championship, have been in danger of being sent back down for much of the season. Their recent run of form have pulled them up to 14th place on 32 points. They are currently five points above the drop zone.
• Wolves have gone four games unbeaten (two wins and two draws), their longest such run of the season, and their longest unbeaten streak in England's top flight since the end of 2004, at a time when their last place finish and relegation was practically certain.
• Wolves have only beaten one team that is currently sitting higher than 12th place in the table. Hilariously, they beat Tottenham Hotspur twice by 1-0 scorelines.
• Wolves are fairly injury free with their only long term absentee being Michael Kightly, who has been receiving treatment for a tendon problem in his knee in Barcelona.

Match Facts

• Wolves won 8 of their 46 visits to Highbury in all-time League play. It's their first trip to the Emirates.
• Wolves have not beaten Arsenal in any competition since a 3-2 win at Highbury on September 29, 1979. They have lost 13 and drawn twice against the Gunners since.
• On their last trip to Highbury, Wolves lost 3-0 on Boxing Day 2003. Jody Craddock scored an own goal for Wolves that day. He scored another own goal against Arsenal back in November.
• The referee is Andre Marriner, who worked Arsenal 3-0 loss at home to Chelsea in November and their 2-1 win at Hull last month. For Wolves, he has worked their road losses to Liverpool and Bolton.

Around the League

• Saturday: Manchester United v. Chelsea; Old Trafford, Manchester
• Saturday: Bolton v. Aston Villa; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
• Saturday: Portsmouth v. Blackburn; Fratton Park, Portsmouth
• Saturday: Stoke v. Hull; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
• Saturday: Sunderland v. Tottenham; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
• Saturday: Burnley v. Manchester City; Turf Moor, Burnley
• Sunday: Birmingham v. Liverpool; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
• Sunday: Fulham v. Wigan; Craven Cottage, London
• Sunday: Everton v. West Ham; Goodison Park, Liverpool