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LONDON | Xinhua | The Premier League has two vital matches this weekend which could produce a change of leader and have a huge saw in the final destination of this year’s title.
The big game of the weekend, and perhaps the entire season, sees second place Manchester City visit league leaders Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. A win for City would see them leapfrog Jurgen Klopp’s side to the top of the table, but a Liverpool win would swing the title race in their favor.
Man City coach Pep Guardiola has only won once in eight league visits to Anfield, but was able to rest several key players in their Champions League win at home to Copenhagen on Wednesday, while Klopp saw his side romp past Sparta Prague on Thursday.
If Sunday’s match is a draw, the big winners could be Arsenal, who are at home to Brentford on Saturday evening.
Mikel Arteta’s side go into the game after humiliating Sheffield United 6-0 away from home on Monday night and have won last seven Premier League matches, scoring an incredible 21 times in their last four outings.
A win for Arsenal would put them ahead of both Man City and Liverpool before Sunday’s game and add extra spice to the game at the Ethiad Stadium, while the game could offer a chance for Brentford striker Ivan Toney to impress after a likely summer move.
The weekend kicks off with Manchester United at home to Everton, which is a big game for both sides as United need to recover after being outplayed by Manchester City last weekend, while Everton’s defeat to West Ham left them still in the relegation dogfight.
Saturday also sees Bournemouth look to take advantage of Sheffield United’s shattered morale to end any lingering threat of relegation this season. The only problem for Bournemouth could be that Sheffield must surely improve on Monday’s lamentable display against Arsenal.
Crystal Palace performed well for 70 minutes away to Tottenham last week and there are hopes Oliver Glasner’s aggressive style can bring three big points at home to a battling Luton.
Wolverhampton’s efforts to qualify for Europe next season could be derailed by hamstring injuries to Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan and there are slight doubts over Pedro Neto and Jose Sa for the visit of an always-difficult Fulham on Saturday.
Sunday gets underway with a key match for fourth place as fourth place Aston Villa host fifth placed Tottenham. Villa boss, Unai Emery rested key quartet of John McGinn, Leon Bailey, Matty Cash and Alex Moreno at the start of Thursday’s Conference League visit to Ajax knowing the importance of the game, where a win would give his side an eight-point cushion over their rivals.
Brighton’s Europa League hopes all but ended on Thursday night with a heavy defeat in Rome and they need to recover at home to fourth bottom Nottingham Forest, who are still smarting over their 99th minute defeat at home to Liverpool a week ago.
West Ham have a great chance to win their third consecutive league game when they entertain second from bottom Burnley. The visitors look increasingly doomed to relegation after four consecutive defeats and have conceded 60 goals this season, with only Sheffield having a worse record.
The round of matches ends on Monday when Chelsea take on Newcastle United, with Mauricio Pochettino needing a convincing display after being booed by fans during last week’s 2-2 draw at Brentford. ■
