Although this is the morning before the Premiership weekend round of matches, not a lot is happening apart from the typical few niggling injuries and suspensions.

Should be a cracking round of games today, with Chelsea looking to win their first game in three Premier League ties against Fulham; Arsenal face bogey side West Ham at Upton Park; Liverpool take on Wigan and Manchester United have a late kickoff against Birmingham- you can read previews and predictions here.

Another point raised about Liverpool are their amount of match winners; yes, everyone knows about Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard but do they have any other players capable of turning a game at any moment? Read and debate here.

Chelsea’s title credentials get questioned and last but not least, Ahmed gets slightly irritated with the Guardian’s Daniel Taylor- read about it and vent your abuse (at Taylor, not Ahmed of course ) here.

Now, time for today’s Premiership Roundup.

Alisher Usmanov Increases Stake

Arsenal are the only top four club to remain under English ownership; that will not continue for much longer if Alisher Usmanov gets his way. Usmanov owns the investment vehicle Red and White Holdings (which ex-Arsenal vice chairman David Dein is head of) and increased his stake in the London club to around 23%. Usmanov’s aim is to get 25% of the club and thus a blocking stake; he is willing to pay over the odds as each share cost him £10,000 making the total around £6 million.

Usmanov also fought back as a source revealed that he felt that he was being “treated with disdain” and “denigrated by comments” from the current Arsenal board- he plans to reveal his plans for the club to Arsenal fans in the next few weeks as a result of this.

Forgotten American shareholder Stan Kroenke is thought to favour the current setup and may attend the next AGM as a show of support.

Drogba May Return for Fulham Game

Some good news for Chelsea at last- Didier Drogba is well on his way to full fitness and may even make a surprise return against Fulham. Whilst it is unlikely that the Ivory Coast striker will start the game, he should at least make the bench- very good news for Chelsea considering the past two weeks that they have just had.

Other players also have fared well in fitness tests, and although they will not play against Fulham tomorrow, important first team members Frank Lampard and Ricardo Carvalho should make it back within the next week. On the negative side however, Avram Grant has received a minor slap on the wrist and been told not to criticize referees. The warning was not given by the Football Association however, but by owner Roman Abramovich, who feels that the poor behaviour of both players and staff (Steve Clarke was cautioned for abusive language during the Manchester United game) is affecting the club in a bad way.

Heat Getting to Tottenham’s Martin Jol

Martin Jol seems to be going slightly mad under the pressure; first claiming that Tottenham’s young talent is only matched by Arsenal’s, next saying that Mourinho would do no better at Tottenham.

These bizarre outbursts come in a week when Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy admitted that Jol’s future is in doubt, so not all is well at the north London club. Tottenham have picked up just five points off their first seven games and currently sit in the relegation zone; these events will do nothing to solidify positions at the club.

Jol appears to be in great danger, especially if he does not sort out the bad form quickly, and all Tottenham fans will hope that for the team’s sake performances pick up. With a winnable fixture coming up against Aston Villa at home in this round of Premiership fixtures it seems that the least Jol can do is have Spurs pick up the three points- should he not do that, repercussions will almost certainly be felt.

The Tinkerer Explains His Rotation Policy

Yesterday I bashed every bit of Rafa Benitez’s rotation policy and how it was affecting Liverpool’s quest for honours; it seems like we have an esteemed reader of SoccerLens as Benitez quickly moved to try and explain his rotation today (:D).

Benitez was of course critisised for not playing Torres in the 0-0 draw at Anfield against Birmingham, however he does have some good points, saying that his players will be fresher at the end of the season, the time when trophies are battled out. Benitez used the rotation scheme with great effect at Valencia, helping them pick up La Liga twice as well as the UEFA Cup in 2003/04.

Rafa has won the Champions League and FA Cup with Liverpool, and will be looking to help a decent Liverpool team win the top flight of England for the first time in seventeen years. If he pulls it off he will be regarded as a genius; should he fail he will be called a madman, such is the nature of football today. Liverpool do have a squad filled with quality in both first teamers and replacement players, and those who sing at Anfield will hope that glory is coming home at last.

Papa Bouba Diop Joins Portsmouth

One would have thought that the transfer window was closed; it seems not as every other day we see a Premiership side bring in some player or the other. This time it’s Papa Bouba Diop, leaving Fulham to join Portsmouth. Diop’s career has been troubled with injury in the last few years, and the move to Portsmouth should be a good one for all involved parties. The fee for the player remains undisclosed, as quite a few Premiership transfers are these days.

Diop was happy to join the south coast club, talking about the benefits of playing with Sulley Muntari in Pompey’s midfield. He will hope to help Portsmouth challenge heavily for European qualification; whilst the Champions League is definitely out of the question they will hope they can sneak into the UEFA Cup.

Portsmouth have started off the season somewhat poorly, picking up just nine points from their first seven games; they did however have some testing games, playing all members of last year’s top four. They will hope to push on now that they have a run of ‘easier’ teams, and Diop should help them do that.

Fergie Backs Chelsea

Manchester United had been missing from today’s roundup until now; don’t worry however as there is always news about the Red Devils. Ferguson has called for calm, warning that it would be foolish to write off Chelsea at this moment in time despite their recent troubles on and off the pitch.

Ferguson also admitted that Manchester United’s tally of six goals from seven games was unlike their usual attacking exploits, and that the return of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo from injury and suspension respectively would help them in and around the goal area at the opposition end of the pitch.

Manchester United were also boosted by promising injury news for summer signing Owen Hargreaves and right-back Gary Neville; Hargreaves should feature on the bench for the game against Birmingham while Manchester United’s captain should play in a reserve game against Liverpool next week.

Those reserve players that featured in the Carling Cup loss to Coventry City will probably be sent out on loan, with the manager wanting the likes of Dong Fangzhou, Chris Eagles and Jonny Evans to gain some experience of regular football week in, week out.

Also: Make Your Weekend Predictions Here..