Arsenal vs. Bournemouth
Seeking a fourth Premier League win on the bounce to remain in control of their title destiny, Arsenal welcome relegation-threatened Bournemouth to the Emirates on Saturday afternoon.
The Gunners thumped Everton 4-0 on Wednesday night to extend their lead at the summit, while the Cherries’ most recent contest ended in a 4-1 defeat to Manchester City.
Replicating their one-goal victory over the league leaders at Goodison Park from a few weeks ago was always going to be a tall order for Everton, who shipped goals at will to Arsenal once their resistance was finally broken in the 40th minute.
Gabriel Martinelli – who netted a brace – and Bukayo Saka both hit double figures for the Premier League season, while Martin Odegaard also got in on the act in the second half, as the Gunners’ stellar revival from their mid-season blip continued in front of their ardent fans.
Having made full use of their game in hand, Arsenal have re-established a five-point lead over Man City in first place – taking a whopping 60 points from their opening 25 games of the season – although the champions can close that gap for a couple of hours when they meet Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime.
Victory over Everton marked just a second win from their last five Premier League contests at the Emirates for Mikel Arteta‘s men, but they are firmly back to their free-flowing best and have proven adept at breaking down low blocks – thanks in no small part to the creative influence of Oleksandr Zinchenko, whose “magic” assist for Saka’s opener was lauded by Arteta.
Manchester City vs. Newcastle United
Off the back of contrasting results in two different cup competitions, Manchester City and Newcastle United lock horns at the Etihad Stadium for a Premier League clash on Saturday lunchtime.
While the Magpies are seeking to bounce back from their EFL Cup final heartache last weekend, the Citizens will be looking to build on their comfortable FA Cup fifth-round victory in midweek.
Manchester City completed their run of five successive away games unbeaten when they eased to a 3-0 victory at Bristol City in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday, courtesy of a Phil Foden brace and a late strike from Kevin De Bruyne.
The Citizens – who have set up a quarter-final tie with Vincent Kompany‘s Burnley later this month – had previously cruised to a 4-1 win away against Bournemouth in the Premier League to ensure that they remain in touch with leaders Arsenal in the title race.
The reigning champions still have some catching up to do, though, as they remain five points behind the Gunners with 13 games to play, while in-form rivals Manchester United are hunting them down in third, sitting six points further back with a game in hand.
Following a lengthy period away from the Etihad Stadium, Pep Guardiola‘s side will welcome a return to home soil, with four of the next five matches to be played on the blue side of Manchester including Saturday’s clash with Newcastle, who the Citizens have beaten in each of their last 13 Premier League home meetings – only Everton against Fulham (14) have ever had a longer winning home run against an opponent in the division.
Chelsea vs. Leeds United
Chelsea will seek to ease the pressure on Graham Potter and end their six-game winless run when they welcome relegation-threatened Leeds United to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Saturday.
The two teams have endured similar runs of form since the turn of the year, with the Blues winning just one of their last nine top-flight matches and the Whites picking up maximum points in only one of their last eight.
Following a disastrous run of just three wins in his last 17 games in charge, Graham Potter reportedly faces two make-or-break fixtures to save his job as Chelsea manager, with Saturday’s clash against Leeds followed three days later by a crucial Champions League last-16 second-leg tie with Borussia Dortmund.
Remarkably, Manchester City have won more games involving Chelsea (three) than Chelsea themselves (two) over the last three months, while February was a month to forget for the West Londoners, who failed to win any of their five matches across all competitions, with Joao Felix scoring their only goal in a 1-1 draw at West Ham United.
Indeed, goals have been hard to come by for the Blues this season, scoring just six times in their last 15 games in all tournaments since November 6, which is the fewest of any team in England’s top-four divisions – Manchester United, meanwhile, have scored 50 goals in the same period with Marcus Rashford netting 18 of those.
After losing 2-0 to London rivals Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Chelsea fans are rightly losing their patience and the club’s fortunes must turn around quickly if they wish to keep their slim chances of securing a top-four spot alive. The Blues are languishing in 10th place at present and 14 points adrift of Spurs in fourth with a game in hand.
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Having both suffered lowly midweek defeats, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur will endeavour to get back on track in Saturday’s Premier League contest at Molineux.
Julen Lopetegui‘s crop fell to a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday evening, while the Lilywhites’ bid to end their 15-year trophy drought became all the more difficult as they lost 1-0 to Sheffield United in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Familiar faces lined up against one another on the field and in the dugouts at Anfield on Wednesday, as Liverpool and Wolves met for the fourth time in 2023 already, with the West Midlands side seeking to emulate their exhilarating 3-0 success over the Reds from a few weeks ago.
However, lightning would not strike twice for Lopetegui’s bottom-half battlers, who were handed a reprieve when Darwin Nunez‘s opener was ruled out for a foul by Diogo Jota on Max Kilman, but Liverpool continued their assault and netted quickfire strikes through Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah in the final 20 minutes.
