London, Feb 17 (IANS) Arsenal face a huge test of character on Saturday when they travel to play Aston Villa in the Premier League knowing any slip-up could give Manchester City the chance to pull clear at the top of the table.
Arsenal’s 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester City on Wednesday night saw them knocked off the top spot after a run of two defeats and a draw from their last three matches.
Mikel Arteta has to lift his players, both physically and mentally, for the visit to Villa Park, where the home side’s progress under Unai Emery has been halted by consecutive defeats.
Manchester City face a potentially tricky visit to the City Ground to play Nottingham Forest, whose five-game undefeated run came to a halt with a 2-0 defeat to Fulham last weekend, reports Xinhua.
John Stones is City’s only player out injured and with the return to Champions League action next week, Pep Guardiola has to get his squad rotation right to avoid losing in Nottingham what his side won in North London.
Newcastle United entertain Liverpool in what promises to be a fascinating match, with Liverpool warming up for their Champions League clash at home to Real Madrid the following Tuesday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side improved their recent form in Monday’s win over Everton, but a visit to play Newcastle, who have only lost one game all season, will be a real test.
Newcastle meanwhile have to get back to winning ways after a run of four draws in five matches has allowed Tottenham to close the gap on fourth place.
Chelsea are at home to bottom-of-the-table, Southampton, who will have Ruben Selles in temporary charge after sacking Nathan Jones earlier in the week.
Chelsea looked greatly improved in their Champions League visit to Borussia Dortmund but suffered a defeat due to their inability to turn clear chances into goals.
Leeds United are another side under a temporary coach and it looks as if Michael Skubala could remain in charge until the end of the season. Leeds visit Everton knowing that defeat would see them replace their rivals in the bottom three.
Wolverhampton Wanderers will start to put some ground between themselves and the bottom three if they can beat Bournemouth, whose last league win came in November, before the World Cup.
Fulham visit Brighton in a match between two sides with an outside chance of qualifying for Europe, with Brighton’s Japanese winger, Kaoru Mitoma in excellent form in recent weeks.
There is a south-London derby between Brentford and Crystal Palace, where Brentford’s greater effectiveness in front of goal against a rival that has just 20 league goals all season, could be a factor.
Sunday sees Manchester United, fresh from their 2-2 draw away to FC Barcelona, at home to Leicester City and Erik ten Hag will see his squad stretched to the limit by injuries and the suspension of midfielder, Casemiro.
Finally, Tottenham will again be without Antonio Conte in the dugout for their derby at home to West Ham after the Italian stayed in his homeland after Spurs’ 1-0 defeat to AC Milan on Tuesday. The coach admitted he was finding it harder than expected to recover from a stomach operation, and Cristian Stellini will be in temporary charge.
–IANS
bsk
