It has been a big week for Manchester United and there will be plenty of discussion to come ahead of their Super Sunday clash with Chelsea. But there are intriguing stories right across the Premier League fixture list this weekend.
Here, we delve into some of the standout talking points – and remember, as well as tuning into the games live on Sky Sports, you can follow all of these matches with our live blogs.
Find them on the Sky Sports website and app, where you can also watch FREE match highlights of every Premier League game.
Tottenham renew top-four battle with Aston Villa
Tottenham thought they had landed the big blow in last season’s race for the top four when they thrashed 10-player Aston Villa 4-0 in March.
That win at Villa Park moved Spurs two points off Unai Emery’s side with a game in hand – but it was Villa who ultimately prevailed in the fight for the Champions League qualifying spots last season, with Spurs slipping away badly at the end, winning just four of their final 11 league games.
Ange Postecoglou’s players have ground to make up again, sitting five points off fourth-placed Villa going into this weekend’s match-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
They go into the contest with a spring in their step after the midweek Carabao Cup win over Man City, though, and have mostly delivered at home this season, winning six of their seven fixtures there across all competitions (just don’t mention the north London derby).
Their fans may also be buoyed by slight slip-ups from Villa over the past week, with a Carabao Cup exit to Crystal Palace following last weekend’s draw with Wolves, when Villa blew a two-goal lead.
But Villa – winners in north London 12 months ago and so far revelling in their return to Europe’s top table – have a formidable away record, threat off the bench and will be highly charged for what has become an intriguing Premier League rivalry.
A decisive weekend in the relegation battle as bottom six face off
It has been hard work for the bottom six so far this season but they have the opportunity to pick up vital points this weekend when they face one another. Of course, there is also the prospect of slipping behind relegation-battle rivals. A few days on from Halloween, it is a terrifying prospect for the more pessimistic fans at those clubs.
Ipswich, Southampton and Wolves are the only sides without a win this season and will be aiming to end that wait when they play host to Leicester, Everton and Crystal Palace, respectively. But these three contests are surely too tight to call.
Everton and Palace can point to recent upticks in results but Southampton and Wolves will feel they have deserved more from their opening nine games. Ipswich will hope their goalscoring sharpness from the painful last-gasp defeat to Brentford a week ago can do the damage against a Leicester side that shipped five at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Whatever angle you take in the build-up, the final results come Saturday evening could have a big bearing on who goes down and who stays up come May.
Man City threadbare ahead of tricky trip to Bournemouth
Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol at the back. Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan, Rico Lewis and Bernardo Silva in midfield. Phil Foden and Erling Haaland in attack.
Pep Guardiola might not get much sympathy from anyone with a Bournemouth allegiance when he talks about Manchester City being in “trouble” with their injury crisis, given the quality of players he could still field at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
But the strain on the defending champions is real, with Manuel Akanji and Savinho added to their lengthy injury list on Wednesday night. Dias was also said to be “struggling” after going off at half-time against Spurs in the Carabao Cup loss. Guardiola says he has not experienced anything like it during his nine years at City.
The international break cannot come soon enough for them but first three tricky away days await, with Bournemouth being followed by Sporting in the Champions League and Brighton at the Amex. Whether their rivals buy their excuses or not, City know there is little room for slip-ups in the Premier League title race. They must dig deep into their reserves against a Bournemouth side who have beaten Arsenal and drawn with Aston Villa in their past two outings.
Arsenal’s most important week of the season?
Newcastle away, Inter Milan away, Chelsea away. Arsenal know this could be a week that defines their season.
The depleted Gunners were much-improved in their valiant 2-2 draw with Liverpool last weekend but the harsh reality is Mikel Arteta’s side have not picked up a win in their last two Premier League games. With the margins so fine, slip-ups are costly and winless runs are unacceptable.
The two tricky trips to Newcastle and Chelsea are games Arsenal dropped points in last season. It barely gets any easier after the break with Nottingham Forest, a frustrating opponent for many – including Liverpool, next on the list.
This is a time where Arsenal, who have added Ben White to their defensive injury list this week, need to stand up and show their credentials.
Fulham need to start turning dominance into points
Winless in three games and set to face their ‘bogey rivals’ in Brentford, Marco Silva’s Fulham arguably face a crossroads in their season on Monday night.
The Cottagers looked well-built at the start of this season and their five-match unbeaten run, before this current slump, had many of their fans dreaming of a return to Europe again.
But recent poor finishing has let them down. In their defeat at Man City, Adama Traore should have scored a hat-trick but was wasteful at the Etihad Stadium. Andreas Pereira’s missed penalty against Aston Villa was the crucial moment in a topsy-turvy game, while missed chances away at Everton last time out came back to bite them with Beto’s late equaliser.
In fact, Fulham would sit third in the Premier League table if games were decided by Expected Goals (xG). Only Liverpool and Man City have a better record of dominance this term.
There is a lot to like about Silva’s team this season. Emile Smith Rowe’s arrival has breathed fresh life into an attack which has seen resurgences from Alex Iwobi, Raul Jimenez and Traore, while Sander Berge’s discipline allows attacking full-backs Antonee Robinson and Kenny Tete to add to that frontline.
But another slip-up to Brentford, who they have only beaten once since the Bees’ promotion to the top flight, would see them slide further away from their continental dreams.
