Eduardo and Arsenal face mental test at St Andrews

It could hardly be any tighter at the top of the Premier League and another fascinating round of matches awaits this weekend.

Arsenal lie in third place but they have a tough task on Saturday afternoon as they play Birmingham and return to St Andrews for the first time since February 2008 when Eduardo suffered a horrific broken leg and dislocated ankle and his team-mates had a collective mental breakdown.

The game ended in a draw, and Arsenal missed the chance to go eight points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table. Captain William Gallas was so upset by events he staged a one man si- in on the pitch at the end of the match.

The French defender is still out injured and with Thomas Vermaelen suspended after his red card against West Ham, Arsene Wenger is likely to pair the veterans Mikael Silvestre and Sol Campbell together at the back. He will be hoping they perform better than they did against Stoke in the FA Cup when the Gunners shipped three goals.

Unlikely goal machine Nicklas Bendtner is a doubt and that could mean Eduardo gets a rare start at the ground where he career was almost ended.

A win would put Arsenal above Manchester United, who face Bolton in the evening game, for a couple of hours at least. United, like the Gunners, have won their last six league games and they would expect to get the better of Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.

Sir Alex Ferguson knows that the league title is in his hands and has challenged his team to win all their remaining games to make sure of an unprecedented fourth straight championship.

With the small matter of Chelsea next week United are expected to rest Wayne Rooney, who has a slight knee problem.

Bolton are moving away from the relegation places but are not out of the woods yet. They have won three of the last four at home however and Owen Coyle is starting to make an impact on the side.

Second placed Chelsea can move back to the top of the table for the afternoon if they can overcome seventh placed Aston Villa, whose hopes of fourth were dealt a blow with their 1-1 draw against Sunderland in midweek.

Chelsea's season is starting to unravel somewhat and failure to win at the Bridge could be terminal to their title challenge. They have been rocked by the news that defender Ricardo Carvalho is out for a month, but Alex will deputise alongside John Terry.

The Blues injury list now features Carvalho and fellow defenders Branislav Ivanovic, Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole and midfield general Michael Essien.

Villa have won only two of their last six but have the same number of points from those games as Chelsea, who have won three and drawn one. They need a win as badly as Chelsea in order to keep their season alive.

There is a preview of the FA Cup semi-final at White Hart Lane where Tottenham entertain Portsmouth. With Harry Redknapp hunting fourth place he is likely to field his strongest team, but Avram Grant, facing certain relegation with Pompey, could choose to keep his powder dry for the Wembley game.

Vedran Corluka and Sebastien Bassong both picked up niggles against Fulham in midweek and the returning Younes Kaboul may have to fill in for one of them. Jermain Defoe is still suspended.

One player who will not make an appearance is Jamie O'Hara who cannot turn out for Pompey under the terms of his loan deal.

Everton will continue their late run for fourth, they are in eighth but are closing in on Villa and local rivals Liverpool, as they travel to Wolves who are easing away from the relegation places but are still some way from safety.

Below them West Ham will see their game against Stoke as a must win. If they lose they could be joined on 27 points by Hull, who entertain Fulham at the KC Stadium as Ian Dowie searches for a first win as manager.

On Sunday Liverpool, buoyed by the news that Javier Mascherano wants to extend his contract with the club - albeit for a return of £90,000 a week - as they take on Sunderland at Anfield.

When these two sides met earlier in the season Sunderland won thanks to Darren Bent's goal, which was deflected in off a beachball. The Reds will be hoping there will be no freak repeats this time round.

Sunday's other game sees Burnley take on Blackburn in a match they simply must get something from if they are to have any hope of staying up.

Monday night's game sees fourth place chasing Manchester City entertain erratic Wigan, who are still in danger of going down. ·