Duel of perfect-season starters at The Valley

The two Premier League sides still boasting a 100 per cent record, Charlton and Chelsea, clash at The Valley this afternoon.

While Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho has led his side to five wins without conceding a goal, Alan Curbishley can be equally satisfied that his defence lines have only been pierced on one occasion.

Curbishley celebrated his 600th league game at Charlton with another fine win at Birmingham City last Saturday. He is currently the second longest-serving manager in the Premiership, behind Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

One of Charlton's latest signings, striker Darren Bent, has been awarded the player of the month accolade for scoring in every match for the Valiants.

Since losing at Manchester City on October 16, 2004, the Blues are undefeated on the away front in a sequence of 16 league matches.

In midweek, Chelsea toppled Anderlecht 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in their first Champions League outing of the season.

On the eve of the match, Mourinho echoed what Alex Ferguson said a week earlier, that the Champions League as a competition engenders more adventurous encounters and has a higher standard than the World Cup.

In the only six Premiership confrontations at The Valley the outcome is a balanced affair with three wins apiece (Charlton scores first):0-4, 4-2, 2-3, 2-1, 2-0, 0-1.

Liverpool vs Manchester United. One of the top fixtures of the season is on tomorrow at Anfield where Liverpool host arch-rivals Manchester United.

Both teams had away excursions in Spain for their opening Champions League group matches.

Holders Liverpool gave a disciplined performance to win 2-1 against Real Betis while Manchester United also registered a positive result after holding on to a goalless draw at Villarreal despite having striker Wayne Rooney sent off.

It was silly of Rooney for that act that saw him dismissed and left his mates to battle on with a man less.

In the domestic scene, the contestants are still undefeated. Last Saturday, the Mancunians dropped their first points of the season in the Manchester derby, while Liverpool are still to concede a goal after three matches but have only netted once.

Roy Keane is sidelined for two weeks with a hamstring problem while Gabriel Heinze is out with a serious knee injury.

Rafael Benitez remarked that his outfit must be sharper up front if they are to threaten the top three this season.

United have a most impressive record in the Premiership at Anfield, having won seven and drawn twice in 13 meetings.

Manchester City vs Bolton. Manchester City's boss Stuart Pearce has been rewarded for his club's undefeated opening of the campaign by being named Manager of the Month.

After their fine performance in the derby, acquiring a vital point against United at Old Trafford, they will be involved in another all-Lancashire affair tomorrow against Bolton.

The Wanderers enjoyed a fine European debut on Thursday, beating Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2-1 in their UEFA Cup first round, first leg match.

Sam Allardyce has stressed that success in the domestic arena must come before European glory.

Last season, Bolton won this fixture 1-0 after three straight defeats (2-6, 0-2, 0-1).

Arsenal vs Everton. Ten-man Arsenal had to stretch every sinew to emerge 2-1 winners against the continental minnows FC Thun.

On Monday night, they will be keen to improve on their home displays when they host Everton.

The Londoners, having already lost twice in four league games, are without their prolific striker Thierry Henry for four weeks.

Arsene Wenger is confident that Henry will sign a new deal before the end of the year.

The Evertonians chalked up ten points from their first four games last season but they are currently with a tally of three.

Everton's poor start to the season continued in the UEFA Cup where they were trounced 5-1 by Dinamo Bucharest.

Aston Villa vs Tottenham. Following their 4-0 thrashing at West Ham, Villa will be keen to claim another home victory to redeem themselves.

Tottenham are undefeated in their two league travels and have not let in a goal. But the Londoners are struggling in their attacking exploits, having drawn blanks in the last three games.

Jermaine Jenas, one of their new signings, stated that his side had set their sights on finishing fourth in the Premiership.

The Clarets lost only once in ten home league confrontations with Tottenham: 0-1 (Sheringham) in 2002-03.

Newcastle struggles

Blackburn vs Newcastle. After the Toon fans thought that their season would really kick off last Saturday against Fulham, with the debut of Michael Owen in attack, they had to be content with only one point.

Yet, Owen will prove that he is still a reliable scorer throughout the campaign, even though he is not worth the £17 million Newcastle paid to sign him from Real Madrid.

His co-striker Alberto Luque has been ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring injury.

Newcastle hope to topple the Rovers in the Premiership at Ewood Park after 10 negative calls.

Wigan vs Middlesbrough. The Latics are glad to find themselves in mid-table after four games, having claimed six points with back-to-back wins against Sunderland (home) and West Brom (away).

The Boro have made up for that 2-0 rollicking to Charlton at home with a 2-1 victory against Arsenal.

On Thursday night, in another home clash against Greek side FC Xanthi in the UEFA Cup, Middlesbrough won 2-0.

Fulham vs West Ham. These teams have both claimed vital points in their last outings, the Cottagers earning a well deserved draw at Newcastle, while the Hammers mesmerised Aston Villa with a 4-0 rout at Upton Park.

Alan Pardew is doing a decent job in his debut season in the Premiership.

American striker Brian McBride, of Fulham, netted his third goal of the season at Newcastle.

On the only two occasions the sides met at Fulham's lair in the Premiership, West Ham held the upper hand with 1-0 victories.

Portsmouth vs Birmingham. Pompey's fans never imagined that their team could go to Everton and bag the three points.

On the other hand, the Blues' followers were shocked to watch their team lose for the third time at St Andrews this season, when last term they went down five times in their entire home league programme.

The sides' managers were in the news last week: Alain Perrin was mentioned as main contender to win the 'sack race', as the first to go, while Steve Bruce was again linked with Newcastle.

Yet, if Birmingham keep on with their dismal performances, Bruce could find himself bracketed with the likes of Perrin.

Sunderland vs West Brom. The last time the Black Cats were around they created a number of negative records in the Premiership. They must improve, especially against sides like West Brom, not to stay anchored to the bottom of the table.

The Albion opened their season with a positive away draw (at Manchester City) and a home win (against Portsmouth), but now they have lost three in a row, suffering a total of nine goals.