The biggest game of the weekend and perhaps the entire Premier League season will be the late game on Sunday when Manchester United goes to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea. While fantasy managers wait for that, six fixtures precede the epic battle on Saturday.

Aston Villa-Norwich City
Two teams feeling the relegation zone heat meet with each club having scored only six goals in eight matches. Aston Villa at 1-2-5 and in 17th place has given up 13 goals while the Canaries at 1-3-4 and in 15th place have had their nets shredded with 17 goals.

Paul Lambert faces his former team and has only one legitimate scoring threat in Darren Bent. Unfortunately, they cannot get along. Gabriel Agbonlahor will again try to find what has so far been lost in his disappearing career. Stephen Ireland has vowed to play through pain from a wrist injury. Villa supporters know all about pain while watching their sleep-inducing team.

Chris Hughton has much more potential firepower than Villa in Grant Holt, Anthony Pilkington, and Wesley Hoolahan; however, so far Norwich City is tied with Southampton for the worst goal differential in the league.

Arsenal-Queens Park Rangers
The Gunners are in 9th place and come into the game on a low note after being clean-sheeted at home in Wednesday's Champions League fixture with Schalke 04. Wenger's charges are 3-3-2 and are tied with Chelsea for the best defensive record in the PL, having surrendered just six goals. Arsenal has scored 13 goals, but on Wednesday took just six shots with only two on target.

The Gunners will be without fantasy favorite Theo Walcott, out with a rib injury. Also missing will be Diaby, Koscielny, and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Sagna might return but Jack Wilshere, playing in tune-up matches is not going to be risked.

QPR is in miserable form, managing a draw last weekend, but still quivering in last place at 0-3-5. The Hoops have scored just seven goals in eight games while giving up 17. On-loan Fabio may return to shore up the defensive target range.

Reading-Fulham
Nineteenth place Reading is just about as bad as QPR. They have a game in hand, but if form dictates, they will remain without a win against a strong Fulham team that is in 8th position and sporting a 4-1-3 record.

The Cottagers have scored 16 goals and hope to have Duff back from his sick bed to add to the offensive prowess of Berbatov and Petric. Fulham has had two clean sheets this season and fantasy managers holding Fulham defenders may see another one on Saturday.

Six different players have scored for Reading in seven matches with Pogrebnyak the most serious fantasy threat.

Stoke-Sunderland
Can any two teams be more evenly matched and promise a more boring match than the Potters and Black Cats? The teams have a combined ten draws. Stoke is in 13th place having scored only eight goals in eight matches, while Sunderland is 14th, a game in hand and only six goals scored in seven matches.

Lee "Traffic Signal" Cattermole returns from a three-match suspension for Sunderland. The man who is frequently carded for yellows and reds gets the green light to return to the line-up but how long will he allow the ref to keep his card in his pocket?

Peter Crouch has scored half of his team's goals. Begovic, Shawcross and Huth are outstanding fantasy defenders. This has all the makings of a 0-0 deadlock.

Wigan-West Ham
Big Sam's Hammers are the season's surprise team so far with a 4-2-2 record and a 6th place table spot. Meantime, the Latics are in their usual survival mode, currently 16th with a 1-2-5 record.

Only Swansea City's Michu has returned more fantasy points for the money than Kevin Nolan. The West Ham midfielder has scored four goals. His teammate Mark Noble had a brace last weekend and Andy Carroll is the aerial threat. The Hammer attack has been hurt with the injury to Ricardo Vaz Te who is out until January.

Roberto Martinez is blessed with striking potential in Kone and Di Santo. Fantasy problems for the team are on defense where 15 goals have been surrendered. The team has missed defender Alcaraz who could return on Saturday. Things would be even worse were it not for gifted GK Al Habsi.

Manchester City-Swansea City
Man City is unbeaten, but hardly unruffled. Mancini's third-placed team returned home a mess after an awful 3-1 loss in midweek to Ajax in Champions League play. After scoring first, the team conceded three unanswered goals and the back line of Lescott, Kompany, Richards, and Clichy were clueless and out-of-position. In addition, Yaya Toure had his foot cut and his status is uncertain for the weekend.

David Silva, who has no goals and just one assist in seven games, is scheduled to return for Saturday's game while Garcia and Maicon may possibly play. Do not look for Lescott to be in the line-up. Four minutes after he was out-jumped by a shorter player and gave up the go-ahead goal, Mancini pulled Lescott and never shook his hand or even looked at him when he left the pitch. There also was on-the-field bickering between Kolarov and Toure.

Manchester City is in third place and has scored 21 goals and given up eleven. Dzeko started in midweek and has tallied five goals in seven PL matches while Tevez has three in eight. Tevez was on the bench Wednesday, giving fantasy managers another weekend of wondering whom Mancini will start. A win enables them to pick up points on Chelsea and/or Man Utd.

The Swans are settled in 10th place, giving up 12 goals while scoring 14. After a torrid start when Michael Laudrup's team was 2-1-0 out of the gate, the team has cooled off and gone 1-1-3 since then and face Chelsea at home November 3. Popular fantasy players are Michu, Routledge, Dyer and Vorm.

Part 2 of the fantasy preview will cover Everton-Liverpool, Newcastle-WBA, Southampton-Tottenham, and Chelsea-Manchester United.

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