Everton are treading water too, and they are really fortunate that they have such a top manager in David Moyes. If he wakes up one morning and decides he is sick of banging his head against a brick wall every day, they are in big trouble.
I saw Moyes being interviewed after Wednesday's defeat by Tottenham and felt his frustration. I got the feeling he is wondering where he goes from here.
I am a big fan of his and he has done an outstanding job but every time people talk about Everton, it is all about how they cannot compete financially.
Bringing in Darron Gibson from Manchester United for £2m would be a decent buy at that price, because they need to replace Mikel Arteta, but all Moyes can do at the moment is shop around for bargains like that.
As for the game, it will be tight. Moyes will gee his players up after the Spurs match, while with Villa you are never quite sure what you are going to get. They were poor in their last home league game against Swansea but comfortable in their FA Cup win over Bristol Rovers.
Because they have home advantage I think they might just sneak this one, although I think Everton might end up a couple of places above Villa come May, if only because I think that even on a bad day they remain very competitive.
Prediction: 2-1
Match preview  Blackburn v Fulham
All of a sudden things look a bit rosier in Fulham's garden after the win over Arsenal in their last Premier League match.
Bobby Zamora is back in the side, and back scoring, but it still appears that while manager Martin Jol is trying to change things, some of his players are reluctant to follow that route.
Fulham will come to Ewood Park full of confidence but the thing about this game for Blackburn is that it is imperative they win it. If you are not beating teams like Fulham at home, you are going to be relegated. And that's not being disrespectful to Fulham because it would be the same if it was the other way round.
I think Rovers might beat Fulham too, but the overall situation at the club is still a frightening mess.
Everything I am reading about Blackburn at the moment is not about who they are going to buy to get themselves out of trouble, but who is going to leave - important players like Chris Samba and Junior Hoilett could be on their way this month.
That's not going to help Rovers boss Steve Kean. If those players leave, where does that leave him other than in a bigger mess than they are already in? And although what we are seeing is a blueprint for how not to run a football club by Blackburn's owners, Venky's, it is Kean who will carry the can for it eventually.
Blackburn fans are going to hold a 24-hour sit-in protest before this game because Venky's will not talk to them and I cannot understand why they have not agreed to meet supporters. But Venky's are not interested in forming any relationship with the fans and that leaves Kean like a burger on the barbecue. I really feel sorry for him.
Prediction: 2-1
Match preview  Chelsea v Sunderland
Chelsea are still winning games despite their problems because they have not suddenly become a bad team.
Gary Cahill might have signed for them by the time this game is played but there is still lots of work for Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas to do. For me, after everything that has happened this season, to finish in the top four would be a real achievement.
They are up against a Sunderland team whose manager Martin O'Neill can do no wrong since taking over, but I think the quality in the Chelsea team will give them the edge in this one.
Prediction: 2-1
Match preview  Liverpool v Stoke
Liverpool will be buoyed by their Carling Cup semi-final first leg win over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday and we are seeing exactly how important Steven Gerrard is to them.
Gerrard is an inspiration in that he makes the whole team play and gives them an intensity that they don't have when he doesn't play. If you watch him, he passes it to people in such a way that makes them control it and play it and keep things moving. That's how good he is.
They are at home, and the likes of Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger and Andy Carroll will be able to cope with what Stoke have got to offer in both boxes, despite the Potters' impressive recent form.
Prediction: 2-0
Match preview  Man Utd v Bolton
You cannot underplay the significance of Manchester United's win over Manchester City in the FA Cup on Sunday. There would have been a huge fall-out for Sir Alex Ferguson's side if City had knocked them out of the Cup.
City deserve the plaudits they got for the way they came back in the second half but I don't think that would have happened if United were 1-0 up at the break instead of 3-0. It only takes one or two United players to think "we will cruise this" and you lose that intensity.
United slipped up in their last Premier League home game against Blackburn and I cannot see it happening again.
I saw Bolton draw 2-2 at Macclesfield in the FA Cup last weekend and, believe me, they are in trouble. If they don't get a replacement for Gary Cahill and they have to continue with Zat Knight and David Wheater at the back, then they are going to get relegated. Teams are going to create lots of chances against them.
I look at Bolton and I wonder what they can do in the transfer market this month. The money Wanderers will get for Cahill is great but let's see how, where and when they spend it.
Prediction: 2-0
Match preview  Tottenham v Wolves
I've just been watching an interview with the Wolves owner Steve Morgan which was really encouraging. They asked Morgan why he never comes out and talks about his manager Mick McCarthy and he said: "Why would I want to do that and destabilise the club?"
Morgan said he would like to be further up the table, would like to be safe from relegation and would like to have a better team - but they are working on it. It was brilliant because it quashed any rumours about McCarthy being sacked or any players leaving.
Essentially Morgan was saying "we know where we are, we have been here before and we think we are doing the right things" - discuss.
Wolves are clearly ready for a relegation battle but I don't think they will have any joy on Saturday. They are playing Tottenham, whose current form is easily the best in the Premier League.
Spurs are playing some absolutely outstanding stuff at the moment. It will be tough for them here because Wolves always give you a real game but I have to back Harry Redknapp's side for the win.
Prediction: 2-1
Match preview  West Brom v Norwich
This is a tough one to call. West Brom have had a bit of a blip of late, but they did get back to winning ways in the FA Cup against Cardiff last weekend.
It seems to be the sort of season for the Baggies where they are just looking to keep their heads above the water. They might lose a couple of games and start looking down to the bottom of the table but then they win a couple of games and start looking up. One of those upward turns should start on Saturday.
I am thinking they will end up on 40-plus points which I think is going to be plenty to keep them up, although I don't think it will please their manager Roy Hodgson if that's all they get.
Norwich don't give too much away and score their fair share too. Because of that, they should stay out of trouble too.
Steve Morison has been a really good signing for them and they have got the legend that is Grant Holt to call upon if they need to. I was going to say Holt is a battering ram but he is far more than that - what they do is bring him on and get players in wide positions to zip crosses in. It's a simple but effective tactic.
The more I see of Norwich boss Paul Lambert, the more I see Martin O'Neill. Both of them have had time at Wycombe and Celtic and, if Lambert tucked his tracksuit bottoms into his socks he would essentially be an O'Neill clone, which is not a bad thing to be.
Prediction: 2-0
Match preview
SUNDAY  Newcastle v QPR
New QPR manager Mark Hughes has got a lot of work to do but this is a great time for him to take over. They haven't won a league game for such a long time that there is no great pressure on him.
Going to Newcastle will not be an easy start but we should remember the Magpies have lost Demba Ba to the Africa Cup of Nations and I think a point is a possibility for Rangers.
Hughes brings with him a good coaching staff in Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki. They are clever boys, who have been watching a lot of Premier League games since leaving Fulham last year. They will have been looking at players and thinking about who they might go for if they get a job with a top-flight side.
That's why I think the QPR team you see on Sunday will be quite different to the one we will see in a couple of weeks, because of who they are going to bring in and the way they are going to start playing.
Rangers' next four games after this one are Wigan, Aston Villa, Wolves and Blackburn. Those are the games where you pick your points up and I think they will get a decent return.
Prediction: 1-1
Match preview  Swansea v Arsenal
If you were a Premier League football, you'd like to be used in this game. You are not going to get humped from one end of the pitch to the other, you are going to get caressed.
Swansea are on a great little run but they are up against a team who are as good at keeping the ball as they are so this is going to be tough for them. They are no pushovers, though, and I fancy them to give Arsenal a game here.
I saw Thierry Henry's goal on his Gunners comeback in their win over Leeds in the FA Cup on Monday. I think we are going to see Henry come on with 20 minutes or so to go quite a lot in the next few weeks but I'm not sure that we will see him find the net too many more times.
In fact I'd be interested to see what the odds are for him not scoring again. I'm willing to make a sportsman's bet that he won't find the net again in any competitive game until he goes back to New York.
He came on against Leeds, a Championship team, late in the game when they were tired. He still has great touch and great vision but I am not sure that will be enough in the Premier League.
I would be delighted if he got a goal in every game he plays in because it is a great story but sometimes it doesn't quite work out that way. Monday night might end up being the start of the fairy story - and the end of it.
Prediction: 1-1
Match report
MONDAY  Wigan v Man City
The first thing I'd say about Manchester City is that their manager Roberto Mancini can't complain his players are tired this time, because they will have had five days rest since the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final. In fact, they might even be a bit rusty by then.
It has been a bad week for them but in a strange kind of way the manner of their defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup last weekend meant they probably didn't feel like they had lost that game.
Against Liverpool on Wednesday, City were the worst I have seen them this season at home but it is only half-time in that one and I do believe they will be much better in the second leg at Anfield. That game will be a lot more open because Liverpool's fans will not let them play so defensively at home.
They should beat Wigan but the pressure will be on because Manchester United and Tottenham both play before them this weekend, and both of them have home games they should win to join City at the top of the table.
It is imperative for City's title bid that they beat the Latics and I think they will, although playing Wigan away is more difficult than you might think - they have a good record against the better teams and City also have a poor record at the DW Stadium.
Prediction: 0-2
Match preview
Mark Lawrenson was talking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan | 
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