Impressive Arsenal look to maintain two-point lead

Two points clear of Manchester United, with a game in hand, Arsenal have lit up the Premier League so far this season with five wins and a draw from their first six matches.

 Manager Arsene Wenger, however, urged those who were already talking of the title not to get carried away.

 "With football, I am a bit cautious," he said. "It is just the beginning of the season. We have to show we are consistent throughout the whole season.

 "What is a big strength of my squad at the moment is good togetherness, good camaraderie and that everybody is on the same wavelength.

 "We just want to stay where we are. We have had a good start and want to continue."

   Champions Manchester United are their nearest rivals but they will need to bounce back from a shock defeat at home to Championship side Coventry in the Carling Cup on Wednesday.

 United did play a largely reserve side, but though they have been scraping results, they are not yet at their best and will need the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo to fire on all cylinders as they travel to Birmingham City on Saturday evening.

 Third-placed Manchester City will be hopeful of maximum points against a Newcastle United side that will be without Michael Owen, who is to have a hernia operation.

 All the talk at Liverpool - four points behind Arsenal having played the same number of games - is whether manager Rafael Benitez will start with striker Fernando Torres away to Wigan Athletic.

 The Spaniard was left on the bench for the games at Portsmouth and at home to Birmingham City - games Liverpool drew - and then showed Benitez what he had been missing with a superb hat-trick in the Carling Cup win over Reading in midweek.

 Benitez is keeping his cards close to his chest but Torres said: "You have to accept rotations."

   "When it comes down to it the secret is this - the players believe in the coach and he makes us feel important. The results he has achieved have proved him right. You have to be a team player and conscious of what's best for everybody."

   Sixth-placed Chelsea take on Fulham at Stamford Bridge, chasing their first league win under new manager Avram Grant.

 The Blues boosted their confidence with a 4-0 win at Hull City in the Carling Cup in midweek but will still be without the injured Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

 At the other end of the table, bottom side Derby meet second-bottom Bolton, knowing they need to win their home games if they are to stand a chance of survival.

 "The games coming up will be tough but we are capable of beating these teams, especially at Pride Park," Davies said.

 "Sometimes away from home we know there's going to be opposition like Liverpool and Arsenal that have so much quality and spent so much money, that the gap between us and them is enormous.

 "These teams are not the ones to worry about. We're now going into some games, including Bolton, Reading, Fulham and Everton, when we know we've got to compete."

   In Saturday's other games, Portsmouth face Reading while Sunderland take on Blackburn Rovers. On Sunday, Everton host Middlesbrough while the Monday match sees Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa meeting at White Hart Lane.

DPA