London: Manchester City can go to the top of the Premier League, albeit for just over 48 hours when they visit Fulham on Sunday afternoon, while league leader Arsenal doesn’t play Chelsea until Tuesday evening.
City produced one of the best displays of the season to beat Arsenal in a game that most consider to be a title decider on Wednesday night, with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland running riot against a rival that was a yard slower in key moments.
The 4-1 win didn’t flatter Pep Guardiola’s side, but it will count for little unless they are able to take three points from their visit to play Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Guardiola played a more direct football against Arsenal, using Haaland’s power to control long passes, but could return to their more common passing game against a rival likely to sit much deeper than Arsenal did, a Xinhua report said.
With the UEFA Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid on the horizon, expect some changes to the City’s starting 11, with Aymeric Laporte, Julian Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez all in line to start.
Newcastle will expect to take another step towards assuring a top-four finish when they entertain bottom side Southampton, who looks condemned to the drop after losing at home to Bournemouth in midweek.
Manchester United’s defensive problems were again evident as they surrendered a 2-0 lead away to Tottenham on Thursday, and they now face a fascinating game at home to Aston Villa.
Unai Emery’s side is sixth, level on points with Tottenham, who plays seventh-placed Liverpool. Villa has eight wins and two draws from their last 10 league games, and Ollie Watkins will be a big test for a defense missing Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane.
Three consecutive wins have given Liverpool a chance to qualify for Europe and they host Tottenham, who showed a new spirit under Ryan Mason to fight back against Manchester United.
Liverpool looks to have recovered their high-press, while Harry Kane and Son Heung-min continue to be the Spurs’ biggest threat.
Nottingham Forest ended an 11-game run without a win to beat Brighton 3-1 on Wednesday to throw themselves a survival lifeline, but Steve Cooper’s men now face a difficult visit to Brentford, who are boosted after their comfortable 2-0 midweek win away to Chelsea.
Brighton looked drained after their FA Cup exertions last weekend as they capitulated in Nottingham, but should have recovered their legs again in their home game against Wolverhampton.
The match promises to pit Brighton’s passing game against Wolves’ organization, as Brighton chases a place in Europe, while a win would probably assure Wolves is safe from relegation.
Crystal Palace is on 37 points – the same as the Wolves – after their revival following the return of Roy Hodgson as coach. That revival has stuttered with a draw and a defeat in their last two matches, and they now play West Ham, who has 34 points after their narrow defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday.
Bournemouth’s win over Southampton lifted them seven points clear of the bottom three, and they entertain Leeds, who are two places and one point above the drop zone with three defeats and a draw in their last four games.
Leicester City will test their recovery at home to second from bottom Everton, who has just 25 goals in 33 games.
Arsenal will hope to have defender William Saliba back as they take on a Chelsea side in disarray with five defeats in five games since Frank Lampard returned and no sign of any improvement.
(IANS)
