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Chelsea meet Manchester City on Monday night. Scott Heavey/EMPICS Sport
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Premier League preview: how to fill out your weekend football accumulator

Two title contenders clash on Monday night but there is plenty to keep you occupied before then.

(3pm kick-off unless stated)

Newcastle v Sunderland, 12.45pm

NEWCASTLE’S NEW SIGNING Luuk de Jong could be thrown into the deep end with a debut in the North-East derby at St James’ Park as Loic Remy is suspended.

The Magpies, who have lost midfielder Yohan Cabaye to Paris Saint-Germain, have only managed four goals in their last six games and brought in the Dutch striker to improve that area.

Sunderland are out of the bottom three after Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Stoke and will be confident of doing the double over their local rivals this season.

Bet:  Draw @ 5/2

West Ham v Swansea, 12.45pm

The second early kick-off on Saturday sees West Ham entertain Swansea at Upton Park.

Jose Mourinho accused the Hammers of playing “19th century football” during the 0-0 draw with Chelsea in midweek with his side recording 39 shots in comparison to West Ham’s single one.

The Swans, meanwhile, enjoyed a first victory in nine Premier League outing against Fulham to move them up into 11th.

Bet:  Draw @ 9/4

Cardiff v Norwich

Cardiff find themselves at the foot of the table ahead of Norwich’s visit to South Wales but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could hand debuts to new recruits Kenwyne Jones, Fabio Da Silva and Wilfried Zaha, who all arrived this week.

Chris Hughton expressed his concern at a lack of goals after Norwich, sitting in 12th place, drew 0-0 with Newcastle earlier this week.  The Canaries have found the back of the net once in the last four.

Bet: Cardiff @ 6/5

Everton v Aston Villa

Roberto Martinez must pick his team up after the humiliation of a 4-0 Merseyside derby defeat at the hands of Liverpool.

To make matters worse, striker Romelu Lukaku limped off but while the Belgian’s ankle problem isn’t as bad as first feared,  he will be out for a couple of weeks — adding to the Toffee’s growing injury list.

Villa came back from 2-0 down to see off West Brom 4-3 in an entertaining encounter and Christian Benteke has now scored in all of his last three games.

Bet: Draw @ 10/3

Fulham v Southampton

With Manchester United and Liverpool next up in the league, Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen will be looking to pick up points from their home meeting with Southampton and pull them out of the relegation zone and on-loan Spurs midfielder could make his bow.

Opposite number Mauricio Pochettino was encouraged by his side’s performance in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Tuesday but claims they deserved to win against an out-of-sorts Gunners side.

Bet: Southampton @ 6/5

Hull v Tottenham

imagePaul McShane scoring a header againt Spurs in the Capital One Cup in October. Credit: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Hull’s on-loan midfielder Jake Livermore is ineligible to face his parent club meaning Ireland’s Stephen Quinn could be recalled to the starting line-up. Compatriot Shane Long had a difficult debut alongside new strike partner Nikica Jelavic on Wednesday night and will be hoping for more joy here.

Spurs were on the receiving end of a 5-1 drubbing from Manchester City last time out and needed a late Roberto Soldado penalty to claim three points when the sides last met in October.

Bet: Tottenham @ 19/20

Stoke V Manchester United

Juan Mata got his Manchester United career off to a winning start against Cardiff and should retain his place in the starting line-up for the trip to Stoke. Both Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney also returned to action in the game with David Moyes glad to have his front two back.

Stoke are without Steven N’Zonzi after the Frenchman was sent off in their 1-0 loss to Sunderland and the Potters, winless in the league in their last seven, sit three points off the drop zone.

Bet:  Manchester United @ 8/13

West Brom v Liverpool, Sunday, 1.30pm

In the early game on Sunday, Liverpool travel to the Hawthorns boosted by their 4-0 victory over Everton.

The Sturridge/Suarez partnership took their joint league tally for the season to 36 goals and the pair will be expected to find the back of the net against a defence which conceded four in midweek.

Back in October, Suarez helped himself to a hat-trick with Sturridge adding a fourth in a 4-1 win.

Bet: Liverpool @ 4/6

Arsenal v Crystal Palace, Sunday, 4pm

Arsenal were unable to get out of second gear in their draw with Southampton and, as a result, Man City replaced them at the top of the league. With City facing Chelsea on Monday, the Gunners can return to the summit with victory against Crystal Palace.

The Eagles have won their last two league games to climb up to 14th and are likely to start Marouane Chamakh, who is relishing the prospect of playing his former team.

Bet:  Arsenal @ 1/5

Manchester City v Chelsea, Monday, 8pm

Last is certainly not least in this round of fixtures as current league leaders Man City host Chelsea on Monday night. It will be the first of two upcoming meetings between the title contenders as they have also been paired for an FA Cup fifth round tie on 15 February.

While Chelsea slipped up by drawing with West Ham, City are still scoring goals for run and the contrastingly style of play should be intriguing to watch.

It’s a hard one to call, though.

Bet:  Draw @ 5/2

Accumulator

A successful tenner bet will get you a return of €52,605

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