3 To See – The Weekend’s Football (12.9.09 – 14.9.09) – Manchester City, Tottenham, Birmingham City

From the teams chosen for last week’s Three to See we witnessed Cameroon keep their World Cup hopes alive with a 2-0 win away in Gabon, a late equaliser from naturalised Braziloguese Liedson doing much the same for Portugal and an impressive show of ruthlessness from Brazil in swatting aside Argentina 3-1 in Rosario.

This week we’ve got a bit of an Anglocentric Three to See for you, with the following tasty looking fixtures:

1, Manchester City vs Arsenal (English Premier League) 15.00 GMT, Saturday 12th September 2009

Manchester City are a bit of a rebel’s hideout this year. They possess in their squad players if not hated then certainly deeply disliked by all of Manchester United, Aston Villa, Everton and this weekend’s opponents Arsenal. Emmanuel Adebayor appears to be one of those players, and it will be interesting to see if the Togolese striker can continue an impressive start to the season which has seen him score in all of City’s 3 league games. Even more interesting will be Adebayor’s reaction if he does score – a rhythmic African jig in front of the away end anyone?

Arsenal are on a slight downer after the international break having lost 2-1 to Manchester United two weeks ago. That misery was further compounded when arguably their best player in that game, Andrey Arshavin, was injured on international duty for Russia. Arsene Wenger was certainly not best pleased. Nonetheless the Gunners are gelling well as a unit and this game provides a good marker of just how well-equipped they are for a title challenge.

City for their part are flying, with a 100% win record in the league thus far. Their first game against a Champions League side will reveal to us more of what they are made of. Carlos Tevez misses out, again injured on international duty, while Kolo Toure is in line for a much better reception from Gunners fans than Adebayor. This one looks fiery.

2, Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United (English Premier League) 17.30 GMT, Saturday 12th September 2009

I think the best preview for this most mouthwatering of ties is offered by the Guardian’s Joy of Six feature on the best six Spurs v United clashes of recent times (although quite how the incredible 5-3 comeback at White Hart Lane in 2001 doesn’t make it and a drab, dull 0-0 punctured only by a horrendous refereeing error does is beyond me).

To me Tottenham vs Manchester United is one of those classic, quintessentially English football fixtures – one with a distinct charm to it that rings through the ages. Every time the two clubs meet it feels less like a stand-alone football match and more like another contribution to a vast and historic legacy. I picture Match of the Seventies, George Best and Pat Jennings – swashbuckling football played by swaggering demi-gods clad in white and red.

This season’s first instalment promises to be a good one too. Spurs have 4 wins from 4 and sit with Chelsea at the top of the table. Harry Redknapp has found a good blend at White Hart Lane, with the midfield knitting together well and Jermain Defoe in great form, though Luka Modric’s absence may upset the balance somewhat. Wilson Palacios has been exceptional thus far.

United can’t really afford to lose having already lost to Burnley so there will be pressure on Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, but they can at least draw encouragement if not from the quality of football played against Arsenal then certainly from the resilience shown. And the three points of course. Both teams like to play an expansive, attacking brand of football so, as is often the case with this fixture, it should be highly entertaining.

Despite the early kickoff St. Andrews is sure to be rocking for this local derby, often known as the Second City derby. Since relegation in 2007/8 Birmingham City fans have had to swallow the unfortunate fact that Aston Villa have won the last four derby matches, including a 5-1 thrashing of the Blues at Villa Park last time out. Revenge is very much in the minds of Blues supporters heading to the game on Sunday.

Alex McLeish’s side have started the season fairly quietly, but when you consider they are around mid-table and have already played Spurs and Manchester United away I think they are doing quite well. Just as they were in the Championship last season McLeish’s team is compact and defensively sturdy, and with the increasingly promising Joe Hart in goal Birmingham have a keeper they can rely on, the importance of which I’m sure Peter Enckelman can testify.

Aston Villa can go into the game confidently given their recent derby record. In those four straight wins the Villans have conceded just 3 goals and scored 11. An up and down start to the season, something we discussed with Chris, the Villa supporting co-host of the twofootedtackle podcast I recently guest appeared on, has seen Villa win at Anfield but lose at home to Wigan before crashing out of the Europa League (how quickly we adopt these monikers) to Rapid Vienna.

The jury is still very much out on Aston Villa this season, but a testing trip to the home of their fierce rivals should give us a few more clues as to how well we can expect Martin O’Neill’s side to fare in 2009/2010.

And for the record, I fancy Cristian Benitez to score.

The only question remaining is – which games will you be watching? Feel free to discuss any of the weekend’s fixtures here.

Arsenal, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, English Premier League, Manchester City, Manchester United, Three to See, Tottenham Hotspur