Manchester Metropolis journey to Aston Villa on Saturday desperately looking for to halt their dramatic slide whereas Chelsea have the possibility to go prime of the Premier League, if solely briefly.
Present leaders Liverpool face a tough journey to Tottenham after a wobble whereas Manchester United are looking for to win two Premier League video games in a row for the primary time this season.
AFP Sport picks out a few of the main speaking factors forward of the weekend motion.
Pep out to show himself once more
Manchester Metropolis misplaced 1-0 away to Aston Villa final December however that proved to be their remaining defeat of the season as they romped to a fourth straight Premier League title.
That loss for Pep Guardiola’s males got here after three straight attracts — which was then a hunch by Metropolis’s sky-high requirements.
This time they journey to Birmingham in a deep rut, with eight defeats from their previous 11 matches in all competitions.
Metropolis’s possibilities of successful a fifth straight English top-flight title look like over however they need to one way or the other halt their astonishing slide.
Guardiola took the blame after final week’s painful 2-1 derby defeat to Manchester United, saying he was not “adequate”, although Phil Foden stated the gamers nonetheless believed of their boss.
Fifth-placed Metropolis, 9 factors behind Liverpool having performed a recreation extra, have misplaced 5 of their previous seven Premier League video games, as many as that they had of their earlier 67 matches mixed.
Seventh-placed Villa have been inconsistent however injury-hit Metropolis have misplaced the behavior of successful — struggling an obvious collective disaster of confidence.
Liverpool’s Slot faces new problem
Arne Slot has made changing Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool supervisor look simple. However is he about to face his first main problem?
Earlier this month, the Reds had been 9 factors clear on the prime of the Premier League and seemingly heading in the right direction for a record-equalling twentieth English top-flight title.
However they might kick off at Tottenham on Sunday behind Chelsea, who’re looking for a sixth straight league win at struggling Everton earlier within the day.
Liverpool have drawn their previous two league matches, towards Newcastle and Fulham, however beat Southampton within the League Cup quarter-finals this week to remain on monitor for a primary trophy of Slot’s reign.
They’re nonetheless agency favourites to win the league however Chelsea are gathering momentum below new supervisor Enzo Maresca.
It’s tough to foretell which Tottenham group will flip up on Sunday after seven wins and 7 defeats of their 16 league video games to date.
However one factor is for certain — Ange Postecoglou’s group won’t sit again — solely Chelsea have scored greater than their tally of 36 league targets this season.
Wolves determined for brand spanking new supervisor bounce
Leicester and Wolves have each sacked their managers this season, spooked by poor begins to the Premier League marketing campaign.
The 2 sides meet on the King Energy on Sunday in a must-win match for the guests, who this week appointed Vitor Pereira as their new coach following the dismissal of Gary O’Neil.
Wolves are second from backside of the Premier League after 4 straight defeats, with a paltry 9 factors from 16 video games — 5 factors behind Leicester, who’re simply outdoors the relegation zone.
Chairman Jeff Shi thanked Pereira, a league winner in Portugal and Greece, for taking over the robust problem at Molineux.
The fact is that the Midlands membership are already operating out of time.
After the Leicester match, Wolves head into a frightening run of fixtures towards Manchester United, Tottenham and high-flying Nottingham Forest.
Ruud van Nistelrooy began off brightly at Leicester, successful his first match and drawing the second however the Foxes suffered a demoralising 4-0 defeat at Newcastle final week and if outcomes go towards them they might finish the weekend within the drop zone.
Fixtures
Saturday (1500 GMT except said)
Aston Villa v Manchester Metropolis (1230), Brentford v Nottingham Forest, Ipswich v Newcastle, West Ham v Brighton, Crystal Palace v Arsenal (1730)
Sunday (1400 except said)
Everton v Chelsea, Fulham v Southampton, Leicester v Wolves, Manchester United v Bournemouth, Tottenham v Liverpool (1630)
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