Ten KEY questions for Matchweek 35's fixtures

Here we identify the main talking points for the upcoming Premier League matches, including Aston Villa v Spurs and Everton v Man City

Will Arsenal take a commanding lead in the title race?

Every Arsenal game is a cup final now, of course but of the four remaining Premier League matches, this Saturday's meeting with Fulham might just feel like the most significant.

A win would put Mikel Arteta's side in a commanding position, creating a bit of breathing room and a moment to calm the anxiety in what has felt like the most high-pressured title race in a generation.

Throughout the 2025/26 campaign, Arsenal’s greatest challenge has been psychological. It would be huge, then, for the Gunners to move six points clear with them having just two more league matches left to play, piling pressure onto Manchester City at a crucial juncture in the campaign.

Man City play two days later, on Monday, meaning that for a full 48 hours Arsenal will have daylight, while their rivals will know they simply have to continue their winning streak through a run of six games in 21 days.

And it gets better for Arsenal. If they win on Saturday, they can begin to feel confident about the remaining games, too. First, it would be proof they can continue to juggle the title race alongside exhausting Uefa Champions League semi-final matches against Atletico Madrid and second, it would arguably leave just one tough game to go.

Arsenal end the campaign at home to relegated Burnley, the most straightforward fixture of the campaign and then away at Crystal Palace, who might be preparing for the Europa Conference League final just three days later.

By that measure, Fulham (H) and West Ham United (A) are the two matches to worry about. Ticking one off, winning consecutive league games for the first time since March, and moving six points clear before Man City’s congested fixtures start, would be a major step forward.

How good will this Man City side look against middle-class opposition?

On paper, this is a very winnable game for Man City, unbeaten in their last 17 Premier League games against Everton (W14 D3) since a 4-0 loss in January 2017. They are also undefeated in their last 11 league games (W8 D3), winning more points (24) and conceding fewer goals (8) than anyone else during that run.

But "on paper" doesn’t mean very much during The Run In. What is of greater interest is Everton's playing style and league position.

Intriguingly, throughout Man City's recent flurry of wins, they have exclusively beaten either "Big Six" sides (Arsenal twice, Liverpool, and Chelsea) or clubs one would expect them to easily defeat (Burnley and Southampton).

The former group consists of teams happy to open up and come onto Man City, creating stretched contests that benefit dribblers like Antoine Semenyo and Jeremy Doku, while the latter group isn’t much of a test at all.

So, with four consecutive Premier League games to come against the division's "middle class" – Everton, Brentford, Palace and Bournemouth – it could be argued that Pep Guardiola’s in-form team are essentially untested for The Run In.

David Moyes' Everton side will hold a solid midblock, soaking up pressure without the ball far more readily than Man City’s "Big Six" opponents and far more effectively than Burnley. Brentford and Palace will do the same.

The result is not a foregone conclusion. How Man City play – the style and confidence, as much as the final score – will have enormous ramifications for what’s to come over the next few weeks.

Do West Ham need to beat Brentford to avoid the drop?

West Ham have won 22 points from their last 13 Premier League games, the sixth-highest tally in the division in that time. This has improved their situation from seven points behind 17th place to two points clear of the drop zone. The form guide is in their favour and yet this weekend’s trip to Brentford feels like a must-win.

Arsenal (H) and Newcastle United (A) are clearly very difficult matches and, outside of a relegation scrap, West Ham would not realistically be expected to win either game.

It means that failure to beat Brentford on Saturday could leave the Hammers relying on the final-day clash with Leeds United for points – and by then, even another three points against Daniel Farke's side might not be enough.

Nuno Espirito Santo won’t see it that way, of course. His counter-attacking tactical setup regularly over-performs against clubs whose supposed superiority allows Nuno teams to sit back and play as the underdogs.

However, that theory hasn’t worked in practice this season. West Ham have not won a single match against the Premier League’s current top nine (D6, L10), a record that includes a 2-0 defeat at home to Brentford in October.

That piles pressure onto the trip to the Gtech Community Stadium. Anything short of three points might prove fatal.

Will Villa’s Europa League semi-final give Spurs a big chance?

In ordinary circumstances, a visit to Villa Park would be considered Tottenham Hotspur’s most difficult remaining fixture but that is complicated by Aston Villa’s Europa League semi-final matches either side of Sunday’s Premier League game.

Villa head coach Unai Emery has been superb at juggling both competitions throughout his career and this season has been no different: his current team have won nine and drawn one of their 12 Premier League matches immediately following a Europa League game in 2025/26.

However, Spurs can consider themselves lucky that Villa are not in good form. Emery’s side have won just two of their last seven Premier League games, losing as many (four) as in their previous 24.

Contrast that with Spurs, whose 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers could be the catalyst for a revival, and suddenly a trip to Villa Park doesn’t look quite so daunting for Roberto De Zerbi.

It is must-win. Defeat at Villa most likely means that even victory against Leeds in Matchweek 36 would leave Spurs at least level on points with West Ham when they travel to Chelsea for their penultimate fixture.

Supporters are dreading that scenario. They will be hoping Villa are physically and emotionally exhausted from their Thursday-night football.

Can Brighton capitalise on Newcastle’s poor form to take charge of sixth?

Brighton & Hove Albion are in exceptional form, winning 19 points from their last eight Premier League matches to soar up into sixth, a position that will bring Champions League qualification should Villa finish fifth and win the Europa League.

Having won six of their last eight matches, Brighton will be raring to go at St. James' Park and fans will expect their team to capitalise on Newcastle’s poor form. Eddie Howe’s side have lost their last four in a row in the Premier League, a downturn that began after the damaging 7-2 defeat against Barcelona in the Champions League.

Looking at a league table based only on results since 20 February, Brighton are top of the table and Newcastle are all the way down in 17th, on six points from eight games.

This is encouraging for Brighton, who can truly make sixth place their own, emerging head and shoulders above a crowded pack.

That’s because Brighton will have daylight if they beat Newcastle, before back-to-back games against Wolves (H) and Leeds (A) present Fabian Hurzeler’s side with an excellent opportunity of continuing the hot streak until the final day.

Can McFarlane end Chelsea’s losing streak or will Forest’s run continue?

Chelsea have lost, and have failed to score, in each of their last five Premier League games. This of course culminated in Liam Rosenior's departure and the promotion of Callum McFarlane, who promptly guided the team to a 1-0 victory over Leeds in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend.

McFarlane taking charge has brought an upturn in energy and performance levels, although a one-off cup tie at Wembley is a very different scenario to a Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge, which is to say Monday’s game is a truer test of whether he can break Chelsea out of their poor form.

Nottingham Forest, juggling Europa League football on either side of this match, are only five points above the relegation zone and very much still scrapping for points. There is confidence in their ranks though, after scoring nine goals in their last game-and-a-half of Premier League action.

Indeed, Forest are unbeaten in their last six Premier League games and have won the second-most points in the division (12) since the beginning of March.

The contrasting recent fortunes of the two sides makes Monday’s headline game arguably the biggest of the weekend; the one contest with just as much on the line for both clubs.

Will Leeds take a golden chance to win the final three points they need?

Leeds have a lot riding on this match. They are already on 40 points, which in most seasons would be enough to survive the drop but judging by the form of those below, this year 42 or 43 may be required.

In other words, Farke needs just one more win, and his side will not get a better chance than the visit of Burnley, particularly given their strong recent form; Leeds are unbeaten in five Premier League games.

There is a small chance Leeds slip back into trouble almost unnoticed, especially if they were to lose to Burnley, a confidence-sapping result that would make their upcoming fixtures against Spurs and West Ham six-pointers.

Lose all four matches and Leeds would finish on 40 points, while Spurs and West Ham would be guaranteed to have a minimum of 37 and 39 respectively. One more win for both, on top of beating Leeds, would likely relegate Farke’s side.

No need to catastrophise just yet. But there is pressure on this game.

Is Man Utd v Liverpool a straight shoot-out for third?

It’s rare this fixture has so little riding on it in terms of season targets, but Manchester United and Liverpool both appear safe in the Champions League places. Opta’s "super computer" gives Man Utd a 99.91% chance of qualification and Liverpool a 96.92% chance.

However, with just three points separating the two rivals, the winner of this match is likeliest to finish third. That could feel significant for both clubs, beyond winning roughly an extra £2.5-million in prize money and beyond even bragging rights,

Man Utd have won more points (29) than any other side since Michael Carrick’s arrival and his stock will only rise further if he can record a win against Liverpool and make the club the "best of the rest" behind Arsenal and Man City.

Meanwhile, Liverpool, after three consecutive league victories, would be boosted substantially by a victory at Old Trafford.

Will Vitality Stadium host the game of the weekend?

Andoni Iraola is leaving Bournemouth this summer and he could be leaving on the biggest high so far.

The Cherries have never finished above ninth and never won more than 56 points in the Premier League, the total they achieved last season. Currently in seventh, another eight points – taking them to a club-record 57 – should be enough to stay in that position, or even climb further.

Palace have won only 13 points from 13 games immediately following a Europa Conference League match, making Bournemouth slight favourites, although the only thing we can accurately predict is that it will be an excellent watch.

Palace (2.03 metres per second) and Bournemouth (1.88 metres per second) have two of the highest three direct speeds in the Premier League and have two of the lowest five averages of open-play sequence times (8.16 seconds and 8.26 seconds respectively).

Like the 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture, this should be end to end.

Can Sunderland prevent their brilliant season from petering out?

Wolves v Sunderland is arguably the only fixture of the round with nothing major hanging on it. The story at Molineux will either be the Premier League's 20th-placed side managing to claw themselves above Burnley – which they could do with a victory – or Sunderland getting their first win in three matches.

It’s particularly important for the latter who are in danger of letting a superb campaign peter out, following their 4-3 defeat at Villa and 5-0 loss to Forest.

Remarkably, Sunderland are only six points above Leeds. It would feel disappointing to some supporters if the Black Cats did not at least finish as the best-performing promoted side.

Wolves is their most winnable remaining match. Anything less than three points would threaten to take the shine off an excellent season.