Top Premiership teams face daunting challenge

By Vic Mills

LONDON (JP): The squad system will again be under the microscope in England this weekend as three of the top four Premiership teams face demanding fixtures on the back of mid-week European quarterfinal ties.

A Champions Cup semifinal against Borussia Dortmund awaits Manchester United in April following its nil-all draw in Porto on Wednesday, of more immediate concern however is an away game at Everton tomorrow.

Manager Alex Ferguson is unlikely to be as charitable as after the first-leg game against Porto when he left out four players and then watched his all-conquering side lose 2-1 at Sunderland.

With Ryan Giggs (hamstring) and Andy Cole (muscle strain) missing Wednesday night, Ferguson played five in midfield with Ole Solskjaer as the lone striker. A more attacking combination can be expected against Everton with Giggs and Cole likely to play a part at some stage.

Manchester United stands three points clear at the top of the Premiership and will hope to extend its lead at Goodison Park.

With just two wins in its last thirteen games, Everton stands thirteenth in the Premiership, seven points off a position in the bottom three. The indifferent nature of its season was highlighted in the corresponding game at Old Trafford in August when, after being two goals up from Duncan Ferguson, it had to settle for a draw.

As if the season has not been difficult enough for the Everton faithful, diehard fans are now in open revolt over plans to leave Goodison Park in favor of a purpose-built stadium in nearby Kirby.

Intrigue

Merseyside, red or blue, is at the heart of this weekend's championship intrigues as second place Liverpool, weary from Cup Winners Cup duty against SK Brann, travels to Highbury for a game against third place Arsenal Monday evening.

While the game has all the makings of a draw, there nevertheless remains enough forward power on view to steal a result either way.

Hero and villain against Nottingham Forest last Saturday, Robbie Fowler opened the scoring with a thunderous volley only to miss a string of chances that should have given Liverpool the points by halftime.

Joint top-scorer with Fabrizio Ravanelli on 26 goals, Fowler is again set to be paired alongside Czech international Patrik Berger with the inconsistent and out of favor Stan Collymore left on the bench.

Having relied on youngsters Steven Hughes and Paul Shaw to score its goals against Southampton last weekend, Arsenal will look to the more experienced Dennis Bergkamp to unlock the Liverpool defense.

In a campaign littered with injuries and suspensions, the latest catastrophe to befall the Highbury club is the loss of England midfield star Paul Merson for six weeks following a hernia operation.

Undaunted, manager Arsene Wenger added Croatian coach Bora Primoric to his staff earlier this week, Primoric was an assistant to Wenger last season at Japanese club Nagoya Grampus 8. The former Yugoslav international will work with the younger squad members and assist Arsenal number two Pat Rice.

Beaten 3-0 at AC Monaco Tuesday evening in the UEFA Cup, and given a harsh lesson in the realities of European football into the bargain, Newcastle United travels to the less rarefied atmosphere of Selhurst Park on Sunday for a game against Wimbledon.

Until recently, both clubs were in the running for every major title in the English game. Slowly but surely, however, all but one has slipped from grasp, Chelsea stands between Wimbledon and the FA Cup final, that apart, the season is ending on a disappointing note.

The combination of injuries, a small playing staff and crowded fixture has got the better of Wimbledon. For all its endeavors, the possibility exists that it may end the season empty-handed.

Newcastle should still claim a UEFA Cup play but, just as last year, it has failed to stay the distance. The departure of Kevin Keegan and the recent loss through injury of strikers Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand has not helped.

At the heart of the matter, is a defense that has shipped goals all season. With manager Kenny Dalglish set to rebuild Newcastle this summer, the likelihood is that new defenders will rank a high priority.

In a very Italian affair today, Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo and Gianluca Vialli cross swords with Fabrizio Ravanelli as Chelsea travels to the Riverside Stadium to meet fast improving Middlesbrough.

Zola did his international colleague a favor Wednesday night by scoring the only goal against Southampton to ease Chelsea into fifth place and, more importantly, consign the south coast club to rock bottom in the Premiership.

On the same evening, goals by Ravanelli and Juninho in the 2-1 win over Blackburn renewed hopes of survival on Teeside. Middlesbrough now stands two points clear of Southampton and with games in hand on all the other relegation candidates.

Indeed, should the Football Association uphold Boro's appeal next week against the deduction of three points for failing to fulfill a fixture, it will move out of the bottom three for the first time since early January.

All of which is bad news for Nottingham Forest which travels to the north-east to meet fellow struggler Sunderland today followed by a rearranged fixture at the Riverside Stadium against Middlesbrough Monday evening.

The private owned TV network SCTV will broadcast live the match between Nottingham Forest and Sunderland tomorrow at 10 p.m.

The relegation scene should be much clearer after the weekend as Coventry City and West Ham United meet at Highfield Road, Southampton and Leicester City clash at the Dell and Derby County to entertain Tottenham Hotspur at the Baseball Ground.