Ten KEY questions for Matchweek 24's fixtures

Can Spurs build on UCL success to get a season-saving victory over City?

It will not be lost on Tottenham Hotspur supporters revelling in their top-eight finish in the League Phase of the Uefa Champions League that Manchester City historically struggle on this ground. Pep Guardiola has lost more league games against Spurs than any other opponent in his managerial career (8).

Spurs are winless in five Premier League matches but the 2-0 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt could and should reset things for Thomas Frank who, after beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 a week earlier, will hope Champions League performances instil some belief in his players.

Spurs drew 2-2 with Burnley between those two games, but Spurs were forced to dominate possession (62.5%) at Turf Moor and Frank sides tend to perform better when allowed to play a more conservative and transitional game.

The visit of Man City suits Frank’s football a lot better, which we know from Spurs' victory at the Etihad Stadium back in August. The hosts will be able to sit deeper and hit Guardiola’s side on the break, as Manchester United did so successfully at Old Trafford in a 2-0 victory earlier this month.

However, Man City should have renewed confidence of catching Arsenal after moving back to within four points of the top, while Erling Haaland’s well-taken dink against Galatasaray ended his nine-game run without an open-play goal.

Victory for Guardiola’s side could shift momentum a little further in their direction. Anything else reopens questions about Man City’s staying power in this strange and unpredictable season.

Can Carrick pass a crucial tactical test at Old Trafford?

When Michael Carrick was first appointed as head coach until the end of the season, nobody would have predicted he would beat Man City and Arsenal in his first two matches.

But counterintuitively those fixtures might ultimately mean less than a home game against Fulham. That’s because successive Man Utd managers, stretching all the way back at least as far as Jose Mourinho, have pulled off surprise wins against the bigger clubs with counter-attacking tactics.

Arguably the greater challenge is to play well when expectations are high and when Man Utd are made to play expansive possession-centric football. That was certainly the case for former head coach Ruben Amorim.

Victory on Sunday would make it three Premier League wins in a row for Carrick, equalling Amorim’s longest winning run in his 47-game tenure. Carrick has already won over plenty of fans and pundits. Beating Fulham would be another major step forward for him – and for Man Utd's season.

Man Utd are already fourth in the table and positive results for English clubs in Europe this week have made it extremely likely fifth will once again bring Champions League football.

A composite image of Bruno Fernandes, Hugo Ekitike, Joao Pedro and Harry Wilson all celebrating with the Champions League trophy in the centre

The target, then, is effectively to finish above either Chelsea or Liverpool, two clubs in transition. It’s all looking good right now but in football, the story can change at extraordinary speed.

If Man Utd labour this weekend, if they drop points, familiar questions will once again rise to the surface.

Can bullish Leeds create an anxious environment for Arsenal?

This is not the game Mikel Arteta would have wanted to follow the 3-2 defeat to Man Utd that burst their bubble, ended their unbeaten home record in 2025/26 and invited nervousness to creep back in.

Arsenal's greatest enemy is their own anxiety, their own battle with near misses of the past and the weight that bears down after more than two decades without a Premier League title.

It is the kind of anxiety that Leeds United – a powerful, bullish side driven on by a fierce Elland Road atmosphere – will pounce upon.

Leeds are unbeaten in their last five Premier League home games (W3 D2) and have lost just one of their last 10 in the competition, going down to Newcastle United only as a result of two stoppage-time goals. Daniel Farke’s side are stubbornly difficult to beat.

They are also tall, aggressive and clinical. In other words, they have all the qualities that would intimidate or bully any opponents not feeling their best; any opponent whose knees are in danger of wobbling.

Is that Arsenal? So much of the noise around Arteta’s side is an assumption in the media that may have no bearing on reality, although it is difficult to ignore the fact that Arsenal have now gone three Premier League games without a win.

The pressure is on. The league leaders might just feel it at Elland Road.

Is this Newcastle’s chance to finally win at Anfield – or will Salah get in the way?

We tend to get so distracted by memories of those 4-3s in the 1990s that the record between the two sides gets lost, although not on Newcastle supporters.

Their side have failed to win any of their last 29 Premier League matches at Anfield, stretching all the way back to April 1994, when goals from Robert Lee and Andrew Cole gave Newcastle a 2-0 victory against Roy Evans’ side.

In fact, last year’s EFL Cup final was the only one of the last 19 matches between the sides in all competitions that Newcastle won. They will see Saturday’s game as a chance to put that right.

Liverpool are winless in five matches in the league, last having a longer run in a single season between November and January in 2002/03 (11 under Gerard Houllier). Newcastle may never again travel to Anfield with the hosts in such a wounded position.

Then again, Liverpool’s 6-0 victory against Qarabag on Wednesday night may change things, for the simple reason that Mohamed Salah scored a brilliant goal, his first since 1 November.

If this is Salah getting back to his best then it goes without saying: Eddie Howe’s side are in trouble.

Can much-improved West Ham cause an upset against still-adapting Chelsea?

Two consecutive Premier League victories has raised spirits at West Ham United, who are now just five points behind Nottingham Forest in 17th. Considering the quality in the West Ham team and their pre-season expectations, a win at Stamford Bridge would see the prospect of relegation recede significantly.

Liam Rosenior has won his first two Premier League matches as Chelsea head coach and could become only the fourth Englishman to win his opening three in the competition after Bobby Gould (August 1992), Sam Allardyce (August 2001) and Craig Shakespeare (April 2017).

However, Brentford were arguably the better side on Rosenior’s debut and Crystal Palace are in dreadful form and in both performances looked like what they are: a team in transition, still learning the basics of the Rosenior’s tactical approach.

Consequently in-form West Ham will back themselves to sit deep and counter-attack successfully in classic Nuno Espirito Santo style. Led by Crysencio Summerville, who has scored in each of his last two games, the chances of an away win are higher than they might at first appear.

Can Forest ride momentum to drag Palace into the relegation battle?

Palace’s eight-game winless run is starting to become serious. Defeat this weekend could pull them into a relegation battle.

Forest, who have won seven points from their last three matches and have never lost to Palace in 11 previous Premier League meetings, are themselves flirting with danger but with victory would go level on points with Oliver Glasner’s side.

As West Ham and Forest improve, and with Leeds on a superb run, it is looking increasingly possible that the 18th-placed team in the 2025/26 Premier League season will have 40 points or more.

Palace could yet be that side. However, with crisis comes opportunity, and should Palace emerge from the City Ground with three points they may end the weekend 11 points clear of the drop zone, surely enough for supporters to breathe comfortably again.

When will Aston Villa start believing they can win the title?

Eventually Unai Emery will not be able to bat away questions about a title challenge. Beat Brentford on Sunday and that day will be close.

Since the start of Matchday six on 27 September, Aston Villa have won more points (43) and more games (14) than any other side. Keep that up for another three-and-a-half months and the title is theirs.

Much rests on how their new – or rather old – signings pan out. Leon Bailey’s loan has been cut short while Tammy Abraham and Douglas Luiz have both returned to Villa Park, the latter just in time as Villa deal with a midfield injury crisis that has sidelined Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and John McGinn.

Luiz in particular will need to hit the ground running against a powerful Brentford midfield.

Villa’s eight-game winning streak at Villa Park ended in their most recent Premier League home game with a 1-0 defeat to Everton, which adds to the significance of Sunday’s game. If Emery’s side win, the Everton game can be chalked up to an anomaly and Villa, marching on, can start to look up the table.

Is this the chance for Bournemouth to improve their away form?

After an 11-game winless run AFC Bournemouth have now won two of their last three in the Premier League (D1), providing a critical reset for Andoni Iraola.

However, both victories were at the Vitality Stadium and Bournemouth have won just one of their 11 away games so far this season (D5 L5), conceding more goals on the road than anyone else (30).

If Bournemouth are to climb out of the bottom half they will need to improve on that record and, in theory, there is no easier place to do that than at Molineux.

But Wolverhampton Wanderers have kept a clean sheet in each of their last two home games and have lost just one of their last five in the competition. Nevertheless Iraola, on his 100th Premier League game in charge of Bournemouth, will expect victory.

Photos of Rayan in a Bournemouth shirt and celebrating a goal with Vasco da Gama team-mate Philippe Coutinho and challenging Santos player Neymar

Will struggling Brighton wish they had a striker like Barry?

Since the start of December only Burnley (five) and Wolves (six) have won fewer points than Brighton & Hove Albion (eight), who are on a run of just one victory in their last 10 Premier League games.

Goalscoring continues to be a problem for Fabian Hurzeler’s side, with Brighton scoring just five goals in their last four games.

It has been a problem for Everton, too – until recently. Since 6 December, around the same time Brighton’s poor form began, Thierno Barry has scored five goals (from just 10 shots).

Barry’s goalscoring streak – four in his last five – could be the difference in a low-scoring game at the Amex.

Can Sunderland end their difficult winter by compounding Burnley’s?

It has been a tough winter for both Burnley and Sunderland.

Scott Parker’s side are winless in 14 Premier League games, last tasting victory at Wolves on 26 October, whereas Sunderland have won just three of their last 14, stretching back to the start of November.

That makes their head-to-head this weekend particularly important. Both need a win; both will see the other as a vulnerable opponent there for the taking. Sunderland, however, have the advantage.

Regis Le Bris’ side have lost two of their last three Premier League matches (W1), as many as in their previous 13 combined but they remain the only side unbeaten at home.

The Stadium of Light has proved to be a formidable place to visit. Even without Granit Xhaka they will anticipate winning three points, ending their difficult winter and compounding Burnley’s.