We’ve all been there, anticipating a particular result only to see a minnow upset the form book and turn a plum fixture into a banana skin.  In Gameweek 3 Stoke was cast as villain, beating Manchester City, while in Gameweek 4 Liverpool’s sure victory over Aston Villa proved too hasty a conclusion. Villa emerged victorious and Mario Balotelli and Raheem Sterling owners were left to count the cost. With these games in mind I thought I’d start a regular feature looking at the next Gameweek’s potential banana skin fixtures.

Aston Villa vs Arsenal

Villa have conceded just once in four games, with shut-outs  away at Liverpool and Stoke and at home to Newcastle. Ron Vlaar’s leadership and the fire of assistant manager Roy Keane behind the scenes look to be at the root of this sudden solidity for Aston Villa. This is a key reason why Arsenal could be set to slip up and come away from the Midlands empty handed.

In addition, Arsenal have struggled to impress so far at both ends of the pitch. Danny Welbeck is in need of a goal in an Arsenal shirt and the back four are in need of a clean sheet following their Champions League defeat in midweek.

But what of history? Although the Gunners’ won 2-1 in the corresponding fixture last season, they lost 1-3 at home to the Villains on the opening day that year. Aston Villa are clearly no strangers to upsetting the odds.

An Aston Villa shut-out would certainly frustrate those with the likes of Aaron Ramsey and Welbeck in their squads but the evidence already points towards that being a very real possibility.

Leicester vs Manchester United

A few weeks ago no one would really have blinked an eye if someone suggested Manchester United might not be capable of beating Leicester. But after their 4-0 mauling of QPR, fears that this could be another banana skin fixture subsided. But despite that impressive win, Manchester United are far from the finished article and this tie still retains banana skin status in my eyes.

United are far from the finished article, with serious question marks over their back-four, or perhaps back-five, against Leicester. Also, QPR did little to make life difficult for them in any area of the pitch. Leicester, however, may prove to be a sterner opposition, with score draws at home to Arsenal and Everton. They have also kept Stoke at bay this season, as the Foxes have shown a knack for scoring important goals. Granted, the wealth of attacking options at United’s disposal make it hard to see a Leicester City shut-out, but I’d wager things aren’t going to be quite as rosy for Louis van Gaal’s side as he hoped.