All the attention this week will be on Manchester United’s FIFA Club World Cup matches in Japan, and Sunday’s tantalizing Arsenal against Liverpool battle. But spare some thought for the matches on Saturday. On paper, it looks like it could be one of the most boring matchdays in the history of the Premier League.

Here are the matches that are scheduled on Saturday:

  • Blackburn Rovers vs Stoke City,
  • Bolton vs Portsmouth,
  • Fulham vs Middlesbrough,
  • Hull City vs Sunderland, and
  • West Ham United vs Aston Villa.

From a football perspective, few of the matches stir much passion. Given their current form, West Ham against Aston Villa could be an entertaining match (Saturday, 12:30pm ET, Fox Soccer Channel). The other games televised on US TV: Bolton against Portsmouth (Saturday, 10am ET, Fox Soccer Channel) and Hull City vs Sunderland (Saturday, 7:45am ET, Setanta Sports).

Am I missing any storylines or am I being too pessimistic? Click the comments link below and let me know.