The Dugout Discussion – Saturday

Saturday’s afternoon schedule commences with a quintet of three o’clock kick-offs. QPR, Sunderland and Burnley are all involved as they tussle for position in the league’s lower echelons, while Liverpool look to ward off the competition for a Europa League berth. The evening encounter pits Manchester United against West Brom at Old Trafford, as the hosts lick their wounds following a 3-0 defeat to Everton.

Aston Villa play host to Everton as Tim Sherwood’s men attempt to bounce back from a 3-2 loss at Manchester City. Christian Benteke remains the league’s form forward and the Villains’ primary threat, courtesy of eight goals in seven matches. In the Toffees camp, Kevin Mirallas has netted back-to-back goals, while Leighton Baines’ stock has risen by virtue of Everton’s four clean sheets in six and his assist against Manchester United. Mirallas earns a recall today, while Tim Sherwood hands a start to Charles N’Zogbia in the Villa midfield and, following his nightmare error against City last weekend, drops Brad Guzan in goal in favour of Shay Given.

Liverpool continue their pursuit of European football when they welcome QPR to Anfield. With a trip to Chelsea on the horizon, Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho are in the last chance saloon for many, after the Reds failed to score in either of their double Gameweek matches. Having missed a crucial penalty in his last outing, Charlie Austin – who’s bagged two goals and three assists in five starts – looks to inspire the R’s to their first win in four. Brendan Rodgers makes three changes to his Reds lineup, recalling Steven Gerrard, Adam Lallana and replacing the injured Mario Balotelli with Rickie Lambert.

Sunderland search for only their second victory in 11 as they face off against Southampton at the Stadium of Light. Connor Wickham’s late surge could be crucial to the Black Cats hopes of survival, with the former Ipswich Town starlet scoring in successive fixtures. Graziano Pelle has recovered from a 14-match drought – notching three goals in a trio of fixtures – and will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing a rearguard that shipped eight to the Saints back in October. The home side give a starting berth to Danny Graham up front as Seb Larsson is recalled following suspension. As for the Saints, they are able to call upon Victor Wanyama following his return from suspension, while Shane Long comes in for Steven Davis.

Swansea City go head-to-head with Stoke City in a mid-table scrap. Gylfi Sigurdsson profited from a shift back to a “number ten” role last weekend, bagging a goal and an assist at St James’ Park. Bafetimbi Gomis’ stand-in, Nelson Oliveira, is afforded another opportunity to impress after matching Sigurdsson’s output at Newcastle. Charlie Adam is the visitors’ form man, with three goals in four outings to his name. Neil Taylor returns from his ban for Swansea, ousting Jordi Amat at left-back. As for Stoke, they make no less than four changes as Phil Bardsley, Marc Wilson and Glenn Whelan are handed starts. Jack Butland also replaces Asmir Begovic in goal with the Bosnian seemingly dropped from the matchday squad.

West Ham entertain Burnley as they attempt to tally just their third win in 18 matches. The Hammers embattled forward line has offered up little for their fans to cheer about, tallying six goals in 10 encounters. It’s a similar narrative for Clarets, who’ve failed to score in seven of the last eight Gameweeks. The Hammers make just one change as Morgan Amalfitano earns a start for Matt Jarvis who drops to the bench. Burnley also make one tweak – Ashley Barnes returns from his ban to replace Lukas Jutkiewicz in attack.