AFP – Manchester City face the stiffest test of their recent revival when they travel to Arsenal this weekend as Bournemouth seek to take down Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Third-placed Nottingham Forest host Brighton hoping to banish memories of last week’s 5-0 hammering at Bournemouth, while slumping Tottenham aim to stop the rot at Brentford.
AFP Sport picks out some of the major talking points ahead of the action. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City won four of their past five Premier League games to climb back into the top four after a miserable run of results.
In midweek they survived a huge scare against Club Brugge to scrape into the Champions League play-off round, further evidence that they may have turned a corner at last.
So is it back to business as usual for the four-time defending Premier League champions?
The fixture list has been relatively kind in recent weeks but they now have a daunting run, with a trip to Arsenal followed by games against Newcastle, Liverpool, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest.
Their prize for survival in the Champions League is a tough play-off against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners are unbeaten in 14 league games at home since a 2-0 defeat by Aston Villa last April and cannot afford to drop points as they hunt down Liverpool.
Second-placed Arsenal have been pipped to the title by City in each of the past two seasons, but will kick off six points above their old rivals, determined to state their credentials as serious challengers.
Despite Tottenham’s plunge down the table, relegation talk has appeared fanciful, with an eight-point buffer between themselves and the bottom three.
But when will Ange Postecoglou’s injury-hit team turn their form around?
Fellow strugglers Everton and Leicester both closed the gap on Spurs last weekend. The slide has been dramatic for Postecoglou’s men. In late November, Tottenham were sixth and just four points off second place. Since then, they have slumped to 15th, 23 points off second.
