Tuesday and Wednesday bring a full slate of Premier League action to us as the reverse fixtures of the opening weekend are played. Tonight I’ll preview Tuesday’s action, tomorrow night I’ll preview Wednesday’s action. Remember all times are Eastern.

Portsmouth v Chelsea (2:45 pm live on Fox Soccer Channel). Portsmouth have had plenty of time to prepare for Chelsea after having a ten day break. Pompey will have seen Chelsea barely scrape by Juventus and Wigan Athletic. They will have heard Guus Hiddink say that Chelsea need to find a killer instinct. The last three Chelsea performances have proven that they can be had in the second half. The question is can Portsmouth take advantage? I don’t think so, but not for a lack of trying. Portsmouth 0 Chelsea 1

West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal (2:45 pm live on Setanta Xtra. On Setanta Sports 5:00 pm). The two sides who probably at present have the most in common. Plenty of ‘pretty passing’, but no goals to show for it. Arsenal have certainly had their chances, West Bromwich Albion not so much. Both sides are desperate for points for their own individual reason. The one thing that Arsenal have going for them is the fact West Brom leave massive gaps at the back. I just don’t think they can exploit them. Yes until Arsenal can prove they can score goal for two consecutive matches, my prediction for their matches set themselves. West Bromwich Albion 0 Arsenal 0

Liverpool v Sunderland (3:00 pm live on Setanta Sports). Liverpool will be without Fernando Torres  and Alvaro Arbeloa, but will be looking to respond after their horrific performance against Middlesbrough. Sunderland have had plenty of time to prepare for Liverpool, but right now I don’t think it matters much. Liverpool will be looking to take out their bad performance against Boro on somebody, Sunderland will get to face the brunt of that revenge. This one won’t be pretty. Liverpool 3 Sunderland 0

Other Stories
So the story that seems to be getting the most legs tonight is Guus Hididnk’s pledge that he will chase Manchester United until the end of the season for the title. Well he’s right in one thing, it’ll be an uphill battle. As a Chelsea fan, I know this title race is over. There will be no repeat of what happened last season.

Sol Campbell feels that clubs that continue to see racial abuse towards players should see points deductions. That’s a start.

Brad Friedel is comparing Aston Villa’s remaining schedule as ‘11 cup finals‘. Talk about strong talk for a side just looking to get into the Champions League.

Cristiano Ronaldo is saying that Chris Foy wrongly booked him for diving in the Carling Cup Final. From my eyes watching the game, it sure looked like he got it right.

Speaking of the Carling Cup Final, Ben Foster will not have any action taken against him after it was revealed he used his video iPod to watch Tottenham players take penalties during the break between extra time and penalties.

And finally, David James warns there is still plenty of work to do in order for Portsmouth to avoid the drop.

Related posts:

1. Premier League On Par For Closest Ever Title Race
2. Weekend Premier League and Carling Cup Final Television Schedule and Preview
3. Premier League Teams Appearing Most Often On Fox Soccer Channel

It’s Friday, so if you’re in the mood for I’d-rather-be-reading-than-working, here are several very revealing Premier League-related articles from around the world. Enjoy.

• “Credit Crunch Makes Premier League Clubs Feel The Squeeze” (The Telegraph). Read how the Credit Crunch, which started in the U.S., is having a major impact on Premier League clubs this summer.
• The Premier League Is Considering Playing A Couple Of Carling Cup Games In Asia (BBC Sport). This idea is ridiculous. Premier League clubs already don’t care about the early rounds of the Carling Cup. How much less will they care about it when those matches are played overseas?
• “Peter Kenyon Pushing The Wrong Game In Basketball-Obsessed China” (The Telegraph). The amount of money that Manchester United makes in China is about the same as the club makes from match-day pie concessions.
• UK Internet Traffic To Football Websites And Fantasy Football Sites (Hitwise). No surprise. Fantasy Premier League is number one.
• Sirius Satellite Radio Will Be Broadcasting Premier League Matches In The States Again (Fang’s Bites). The blog also features Sirius’s schedule for the first few weeks.
• “Why Is The Premiership So Popular In India?” (Goal). Read why the match-day commentary is a key to the success of the league in India.
• “Brad Friedel’s Premier Soccer Academies Hosts Its First Big International Tournament” (The Cleveland Plain Dealer). If you build it, they will come.
• “GolTV Scores Time Warner Cable Launches” (Multichannel News). Take that DISH Network!
• Tottenham Launches New Look To Their Matchday Programme (Tottenham Hotspur). Who says football programmes are dead?
• Football Film Festival Coming To London (Fulham FC). I wish I was there.
• “ITV Expands Football Website For New Season” (The Guardian). The Gloryhunter sounds like a winning formula. Shame the bloody video doesn’t work for me. I get an ugly error message.
• “Cheapest Way To Watch Football This Season” (The Mirror). The Brits do make it complicated, don’t they, ‘eh?
• ITV Regional Football Highlights From 1968-1983. Exhaustive research into the history of football on ITV. For me, I grew up on HTV.

Related posts:

1. Premier League News From Around The World
2. English Premier League: All Around The World
3. Required Reading Material For Followers Of Premier League