Saturday: Manchester United v Manchester City (4.30pm kick-off UAE)
Straight in at the deep end for new United interim manager Michael Carrick with a derby clash at Old Trafford. The Red Devils have won once in six league games leaving them four places and 11 points behind second-place City.
Pep Guardiola’s side go into the match on the back of three consecutive draws, allowing Arsenal to open up a six-point advantage at the top of the table. City, though, did enjoy a 2-0 League Cup semi-final first-leg win at Newcastle on Tuesday night.
Prediction: Man United 0 Man City 2
Chelsea v Brentford (7pm)
Three draws and two defeats in their past five games has seen Chelsea drop down to eighth in the standings, four points outside the top four. New manager Liam Rosenior then saw his team lose 3-2 to Arsenal in their League Cup semi-final first-leg clash on Wednesday.
Brentford’s 3-0 beating of Sunderland two weeks ago made it four victories in five games for The Bees, extending their unbeaten run to six matches and lifting them up to fifth place.
Prediction: Chelsea 2 Brentford 1
Leeds United v Fulham (7pm)
Leeds became only the sixth team to take the lead three times in the Premier League only to lose the match when they were beaten 4-3 by Newcastle last time out. But it was their first defeat in eight games and Daniel Farke’s side are eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Fulham are enjoying their own unbeaten streak, having not lost in the league since December 7 – a run of six matches, the last of which was a West London derby win over Chelsea, which leaves them in ninth place.
Prediction: Leeds 2 Fulham 2
Liverpool v Burnley (7pm)
Liverpool are fourth in the table, but three draws in a row – against Leeds, Fulham and Arsenal – leaves them eight points behind Aston Villa and Manchester City – and 14 shy of Arsenal.
Burnley’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United meant the Clarets secured only their third point in 12 games, leaving Scott Parker’s side second bottom, eight points from safety.
Prediction: Liverpool 3 Burnley 0
Sunderland v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Sunderland’s defeat at Brentford made it five games without a win – albeit four of those were draws – for the Black Cats, who have dropped down to 10th in the table
Palace will be looking for an instant response after their FA Cup humiliation at sixth-tier Macclesfield last weekend. The Eagles’ league form is also a source of concern, with Oliver Glasner’s side having now gone six matches without victory, dropping down to 13th place, two points behind Sunderland.
Prediction: Sunderland 1 Palace 0
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (7pm)
Tottenham’s disastrous run of form – one win in six games – has seen them plummet down to 14th place, while only Wolves (four) and West Ham (seven) have secured less than their nine points at home this season. Spurs were also knocked out of the FA Cup by Aston Villa last weekend.
West Ham are third bottom and in serious relegation trouble after losing to fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest, who opened up a seven-point gap on Nuno Espirito Santos’ men. The Portuguese coach has secured only 11 points from his 16 games in charge of the Hammers.
Prediction: Spurs 2 West Ham 0
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal (9.30pm)
Forest’s win over West Ham was a welcome relief to manager Sean Dyche whose side had lost their previous four matches. But Forest were beaten by second-tier Wrexham in the FA Cup last week with Dyche saying some of his players needed to have a “look in the mirror” after the loss.
Arsenal’s goalless draw with Liverpool meant they missed the opportunity to extend their lead at the top to eight points and ended a run of five successive league wins. But the Gunners have still only lost two out of their 21 games, topping both the home and away league tables.
Prediction: Forest 0 Arsenal 3
Sunday: Wolves v Newcastle United (6pm)
Wolves are enjoying something of a renaissance of late with a three-game unbeaten run, including a first win of the campaign, but remain rock bottom, 14 points from safety.
Newcastle’s three league wins on the spin has lifted them up to sixth place, but could only follow up a penalty shoot-out FA Cup victory over Bournemouth last Saturday by losing 2-0 at home to Man City in their midweek League Cup semi-final.
Prediction: Wolves 1 Newcastle 3
Aston Villa v Everton (8.30pm)
Villa’s goalless draw at Palace meant they missed out on the chance to close the gap on leaders Arsenal but Unai Emery’s men remain level on 43 points with Man City in second and have lost only once in 15 matches across competitions, including 13 wins.
Everton have won just once in six league games and were knocked out of the FA Cup at home by Sunderland last weekend. David Moyes’ side are 12th in the table, well safe from relegation but need wins on the board if they want to jump back into running for a European spot.
Prediction: Villa 2 Everton 0
Monday: Brighton v Bournemouth (midnight)
Brighton have lost just once in five league matches – although three of those were draws, including a point at Manchester City that could easily have been three. The Seagulls are 11th but need to find some consistency if they want to challenge for European football next season.
Bournemouth ended an 11-game winless run by beating Spurs thanks to Antoine Semenyo’s last-gasp goal but the winger has since left for Manchester City and the Cherries were knocked out of the FA Cup by Newcastle last weekend.
Prediction: Brighton 1 Bournemouth 1
