Newcastle United's win over West Ham last Saturday was tarnished by Michael Owen's enforced substitution, blamed on a recurring groin injury. Owen looks unlikely to start for the Magpies in Saturday's clash with Manchester City (SS1, 12.30pm) and will surely be a doubt for England's Euro 2008 qualifiers in October.
The Sky Blues are sitting in the top three alongside local rivals and current champions Manchester United, who take on Birmingham United at St Andrew's on Saturday (5.15pm, Setanta1). The Premier League new boys held Liverpool to a goalless draw at Anfield last week and will be keen to continue their recent good run.
Sunday afternoon sees Middlesbrough travelling to Goodison Park to take on Everton (3.30pm, SS1). David Moyes' side are currently in the top half of the table - but only just - while Boro boss Gareth Southgate has injuries to three of his strike force to deal with.
Spurs host Aston Villa on Monday (Setanta1, 7.00pm). Martin Jol's grip on the manager's post is still shaky, not helped by rumours that Spurs would put in a bid to bring Jose Mourinho to White Hart Lane.
The Blues' failure to win the Champions League over the past two seasons might be a bugbear for Roman Abramo-vich but new boss Avram Grant will hope his side can put the departure of Jose Mourinho behind them to force a win over Valencia on Wednesday (SSX, 7.30pm).
Over at Anfield, the Reds face Marseille (SS2, 6.00pm), who have had a poor start to the season in the French Ligue.
The group stages of the Rugby World Cup draw to a close this weekend. Wales are vying with Fiji for second place in Pool B. Saturday's head-to-head is a crucial match for the Dragons if they want to make it into the final eight. It'll be a close-run contest. Last time the sides met, in Cardiff two years ago, only one point separated them - but Wales finished on top. Warm up for the action
on ITV1 from 3.45pm.