Manchester City could move to the top of the Premier League this Saturday when they host relegation-threatened West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium, ahead of Arsenal’s later trip to Everton.
Pep Guardiola’s side trail league leaders Arsenal by two points and would go provisionally top with a victory. City arrive in formidable form, having lost just once in their last 11 home matches and winning six consecutive games across all competitions. Although injuries to Rodri and John Stones persist, and Omar Marmoush and Rayan Aït-Nouri are away on international duty, City’s squad depth and attacking strength make them strong favourites against a West Ham team rooted in the relegation zone and without a win in five matches.
City’s dominance over the Hammers is well established — they are unbeaten in their last 19 league meetings since a 2–1 home loss in September 2015.
Arsenal face a challenging evening fixture at Everton, who have shown signs of revival by winning four of their last six games. Mikel Arteta’s side have been inconsistent of late, managing only three wins in their last six league outings. A setback at Hill Dickinson Stadium could give City a crucial psychological advantage as the busy festive schedule approaches.
The Gunners are also dealing with a mounting injury crisis, with Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhães, Cristhian Mosquera, Max Dowman, Ben White and Martin Zubimendi all absent from training on Tuesday.
This round of fixtures is the first since players departed for the Africa Cup of Nations. Sunderland are the most affected, with six squad members away on international duty. Despite this, they continue to exceed expectations and sit eighth in the table ahead of their trip to Brighton & Hove Albion, who are three points behind in 10th.
Manchester United face a stern test on Sunday when they visit third-placed Aston Villa. Villa are just three points off Arsenal, while United sit sixth on 26 points. Ruben Amorim’s side will be without Bryan Mbeumo, Noussair Mazraoui and Amad Diallo due to AFCON commitments, adding to the difficulty of the task.
The weekend action gets underway with Newcastle United hosting Chelsea, while Saturday evening sees Tottenham Hotspur welcome Liverpool in North London as both sides look to lift morale. At the bottom of the table, winless Wolverhampton Wanderers continue their search for a first victory of the season when they take on Brentford at home.
