Fulham v Spurs

I was dreading this game after laying myself bare last week regarding VDV. It was either a case of sucking up all the laughter, derision and outright ridicule coming my way or doing something about it and acquiring myself a little VDV voodoo doll. Im not going to lie to you folks, when I first saw the score and that Spurs scored three I started sweating like a glass-blowers arse, my heart sank and I immediately thought "VDV hat-trick". As it happened, I neednt have worried as the main man had a quiet game and remained goal-less for the first time in six games. My man Bale thankfully continued his excellent form by scoring one and assisting Lennon who scored a peach of a goal.

Defoe who came on for VDV after 66mins finished the scoring right at the death. Friedel was in inspired form for Spurs as they took a second half battering. A Kaboul OG was Fulhams only goal but theyll feel hard done by to come away without any points.

The fixture list could hardly be any kinder to Spurs with Redknapp unfortunately out of action for five weeks with heart problems. A free week followed by Villa, WBA (a), and Bolton - right enough Harry does have quite big shoes to fill!<!--more-->

Man United v Sunderland

Rooney is another player that I questioned a few weeks back whether he might be in for a dry spell. Four games on and hes not scored another league goal, thats now six league games without a goal (he has scored three goals in the UCL in two games but that was against a Romanian pub team and two of them were penalties). He has only played central midfield in one of those league games, in the others hes been involved in the play without really looking threatening. There were a couple of times in Saturdays game when he was picking the ball up deep in his own half.  Hes not going to do any damage there and hopefully SAF will have him back up-front soon.

Wes Brown was the goal scorer in this game that got the conspiracy theorists tongues wagging. That was his sixth goal for Man United, unfortunately it came while he was wearing the colours of his new club Sunderland. It was a poor game that was possibly overshadowed a bit by the fact that SAF was celebrating his 25yrs as manager of the club. A phenomenal achievement!

Hernandez and Wellbeck played up front. Ferdinand was recalled to the starting line-up and United gained their second clean sheet since Vidics return from injury.

Arsenal v WBA

October player of the month RVP continued his astonishing, goal-scoring run, scoring one but also assisting two in Arsenals 3-0 victory. One of the assists was for Vermaelen who started the game after his many injury woes. His first goal since Feb 2010. Arteta also got on the scoresheet. A welcome clean-sheet for Arsenal and theyre going from strength to strength. Arsenal are in seventh and sit a tantalising three points behind Chelsea who are in fourth.

Stoke v Bolton

Stoke beat Bolton 5-0 in the FA Cup semis last year and at the weekend Bolton returned the favour. Klasnic and Eagles got two apiece while Klasnic threw in two assists for good measure, one of the assists for Kevin Davies. Incredibly Bolton hadnt picked up any points at home before this game. Shawcross missed out in this one and Stoke will be desperate to get him back on this showing. They wont want to stew on a 0-5 for too long but after their Europa League efforts the international break is maybe what is required for the weary-looking Potters.

Liverpool v Swansea

It was a familiar story for the Reds - more dropped points at home. Their home record reads W-2, D-4, L-0. It was another fairly disappointing display from Liverpool, but yet again they had their chances to win. Chief culprit was Carroll who somehow hit the bar from six yards. Kuyt came on for Henderson at H-T and thought he had scored right at the death but was correctly ruled to be marginally offside. Sinclair was a sub for Swansea wholl be delighted with another clean sheet and a rare away point. Plus points for Liverpool- Agger played his 2nd game after injury(a 2nd clean sheet) and theyre unbeaten in 6.

Villa v Norwich

Agbonlahor has found his mojo again after last years Houllier debacle, and hes been rewarded with an England recall for their upcoming pumping from Spain. He scored one and put in two superb crosses for strike partner Bent to gleefully put away with aplomb. It was a nervous start and finish for Villa who are finding it hard to appease their ever-demanding supporters. Pilkington and Holt were in amongst the action again. Holt set up for Morison after Pilkington scored a beauty of a free-kick. De Laet remains benched. Jenas made his long-awaited debut coming on for Heskey after 67mins.

Blackburn v Chelsea

Bosingwa was dropped for this one which meant Alex came in at CB and Ivanovic was moved to RB. It possibly doesnt bode well for Bosingwa that Chelsea got their first clean-sheet in 10. Blackburn are still waiting for their first of the season. Ivanovic put in a beautiful cross for Lampard to score his sixth league goal of the season. Sturridge, Mata and Malouda started while Torres was on the bench. He came on at half-time for Malouda and missed an absolute shocker, its hard to believe its the same player from 2-3 years ago. Blackburn were possibly a bit unlucky not to grab a point and their performances have slowly been getting better. They now have a run of games that theyll be expecting to pick up some points from - Wigan (a), Stoke (a), Swansea, Sunderland (a), WBA, Bolton.

QPR v Man City

After their 6-1 win at Old Trafford, it was important that City consolidated their lead at the top of the table and theyve managed to do that. It was far from easy for them though. Silva recovered in time after his back-strain and its probably an indication of how important he is to Mancini and City that he played this one. He wasnt at his best here but still got on the scoresheet. Last year he scored four and assisted seven, this year he has already scored four and assisted six and were not even a third of the way into the season.

Dzeko, who seems to be firmly back in the good books after his dummy-spit, scored one and assisted. Kolarov started and assisted for Yayas goal.

QPR who had 20 shots and 57% possession scored through Helguson and Bothroyd who both had excellent games. They can take confidence from this performance. 3-2 City.

Newcastle v Everton

A potentially tricky game against Everton couldnt stop Newcastles momentum. They were helped by a disastrous own goal from Heitinga. This was followed by a stunning volley from Ryan Taylor. Rodwell pulled one back with a header from Drenthes corner. Bad news for Newcastle with Cabaye coming off injured.

Newcastle have let in less goals than anyone but unsure if thatll stay the case when you look at their next three fixtures - Man City (a), Man United (a) and Chelsea. Ouch! Im looking forward to these games to see how Newcastle fare against the best. 2-1 Newcastle.

Wolves v Wigan

Caldwell was suspended for this one and depending on your viewpoint this could be classed as either a good thing or a bad thing. As it happened it didnt make much difference as Wigan leaked more goals and failed to pick up any points. James McCarthy - who has had the biggest clubs in England sniffing around since he made his debut in the SPL aged 16 - was sub not for the first time this season. Hes been one of the biggest disappointments for me this year so far.

OHara with his third goal in four games gave Wolves the lead straight after Rodallega had missed an absolute sitter. Ben Watson then equalised with the rebound from his own penalty that Hennesey saved.

Wolves had their chances and Al-Habsis heroics couldnt stop Edwards and Ward giving them a 3-1 win. Thats two six-pointers in a row that Wigan have failed to pick up any points from - their next crucial game is against Blackburn at home. They need to pick some points from that one after eight straight losses.