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LONDON, UK | Xinhua | Arsenal has what looks to be its easiest game in a long time on Saturday when Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leader is at home to bottom of the table Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wolves travel to the Emirates Stadium rock bottom of the table, with just two points and without a win all season and with no sign of improvement under recently appointed coach Rob Edwards, whose four games in charge since replacing Victor Pereira have all ended in defeat.
Arteta still has a long injury list that includes William Saliba, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Magalhaes and Cristhian Mosquera, but Declan Rice should be back after a bad dose of flu, while Gabriel Jesus is also likely to get minutes as he recovers from a long knee injury.
Second place Manchester City visits Crystal Palace, who have climbed up to fourth in the table but with the south-London club suffering an injury setback with the news that central defender Daniel Munoz will be out for a long period due to a knee injury that needs an operation.
Nathaniel Clyne will probably fill in against a Manchester City that has never lost in Selhurst Park since Pep Guardiola became coach.
Chelsea looks to have run out of a bit of steam in recent weeks as shown by a 0-0 draw in Bournemouth and a 2-1 defeat to Atalanta. Enzo Maresca’s side finds it hard to beat rivals that defend deep and that is almost certainly what is likely against an Everton that has kept consecutive clean sheets travels to Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool took a vital Champions League win away to Inter Milan in midweek, with a solid defensive display hinting at improvement after conceding three goals against Leeds United last weekend.
Mohamed Salah, whether in or out of the team, remains the focus of attention when Liverpool entertains Brighton in what would be his last game before the African Cup of Nations if coach Arne Slot decides to recall him after last weekend’s outburst.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa travels to West Ham after 10 consecutive wins in all competitions and brimming with confidence after last weekend’s win against Arsenal lifted the team to third place in the table.
Emery fielded a strong side in Thursday’s Europa League success in Basel, but will have Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rodgers fresh after they began the game on the bench.
The weekend also sees the return of the Wear-Tyne derby between Sunderland and Newcastle, which is one of the biggest rivalries in football.
Newcastle won the last derby two year ago in the FA Cup, when Sunderland was in the Championship, but with Sunderland now a point above its neighbor in the table, this is likely to be much closer and a lot more tense, with the game likely to be decided in the midfield battle between Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki, Granit Xhaka and Enzo Le Fee and Newcastle trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton.
Other matches this weekend see Nottingham Forest at home to a recovering Tottenham, while Brentford will pit its solid home form against Leeds United while Burnley looks to end a six-game losing streak at home to a Fulham side that has to be careful not to get dragged into the relegation dogfight. ■
