A couple of weeks ago nobody would have given Derby a chance but Colin Todd, new assistant manager, will have given the whole set-up a kick up the proverbials, while Leicester are likely to be reeling ever so slightly after successive defeats to Man Utd and Liverpool. Derby will present a different challenge, and I've a hunch they won't lay down and die. One of those unlikely results that give heart to the 'smaller' clubs in the Premiership. In truth, though, whatever side Fergie puts out for midweek Champions League defeats, he still comes back strongly at weekends. Goalless draws are becoming an endangered species - something which must give great joy to the people who see football as 'entertainment' rather than sport.
Goals are exciting.
Coventry, who shipped six last week at Stamford Bridge, might beg to disagree. With the likes of Phillips and Quinn, Aloisi and Bellamy, all primed for action, it might seem perverse to say this game will finish scoreless. Let's try it anyway. Let's face it, it's high time that West Ham actually won a game at Upton Park. After all, they can call on the likes of Stuart Pearce and Rio Ferdinand in defence, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Michael Carrick in midfield, Paolo Di Canio and Davor Suker in attack.