Ten KEY questions for the midweek matches

Will Newcastle’s flying fullbacks outwit this narrow Spurs team?

The problems keep mounting for Thomas Frank and Tottenham Hotspur and when you’re down on your luck sometimes it feels like everything goes against you. A trip to St James' Park could hardly have come at a worse moment.

Newcastle United are rejuvenated by the return of Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento, who excelled at the weekend by providing cutting attacking energy with their overlapping and underlapping runs. They are the perfect weapon with which to approach a Spurs team that have been overly narrow of late.

Frank has moved to an ultra-narrow 4-2-2-2 formation for the last two matches and although the 2-1 defeat by Fulham might trigger a rethink, there is still a strong possibility the basic shape will remain – leaving Spurs open, particularly in transitional moments, to those flying Newcastle full-backs.

Spurs' average positions of their starters against Fulham shows just how narrow they were, with Mohammed Kudus, No 20, the only player providing width.

Livramento and Hall would revel against a system like that, especially considering Newcastle are at their best when able to win the ball in midfield and explode into the final third at speed.

A low-confidence Spurs are the ideal opponent for Howe to build some momentum after a 4-1 victory at Everton on Saturday, their first away win of the season.

Can Chukwueze capitalise on Nunes' vulnerability?

Leeds United’s almost-comeback has cast fresh doubt over Manchester City’s ability to stride through winter and apply pressure to league leaders Arsenal and certainly Fulham will be analysing that game for clues as to how to hurt Pep Guardiola’s side.

The most obvious conclusion is on Matheus Nunes’ side. He still does not quite look comfortable as a right-back and was at fault for the first Leeds goal, an unforced error that allowed Dominic Calvert-Lewin to score.

It just happens to be the side of the pitch where Fulham look strongest, thanks to the form of loan signing Samuel Chukwueze, who after a slow start to the season has assisted a goal in each of his last two Premier League appearances.

Chukwueze’s superb cross from the left set up Raul Jimenez’s winner against Sunderland and then his sharp run down the left assisted the opener at Spurs last weekend.

He could win his battle with Nunes and cause a shock at Craven Cottage.

How will Chelsea cope without Caicedo against a physical Leeds midfield?

If Enzo Maresca had to pick the Premier League match he most needs Moises Caicedo for, he might choose the trip to Elland Road.

The rivalry between Leeds and Chelsea means this will be an intense, full-blooded battle, while the physicality of the Leeds midfield means Maresca’s side will need to be at their most bullish, their most bruising, to emerge unscathed.

Caicedo, the engine and tackler in chief, is an essential part of the Chelsea side but he misses out after receiving a straight red card against Arsenal for a reckless challenge.

Chelsea’s title bid rests on their ability to play without Caicedo; on this young, inexperienced team – and Andrey Santos in particular – rising to the unique challenge of this fixture without the one player tailor-made for it.

The tenacity and fight Leeds showed at Man City at the weekend is another reason for Chelsea fans to be wary, although Daniel Farke has only won three matches this season - against Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United.

Chelsea should win. Anything less and the bold performance against Arsenal will be forgotten.

Will Odegaard and Saka rediscover their connection?

Brentford’s stubborn low block has the potential to make this game a banana skin for Arsenal, who often struggle to break down an ultra-defensive team in any way aside from set-pieces – and Brentford’s Expected Goals Conceded (xGC) of 2.14 from set-pieces is the lowest in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta needs his creative players to pick the lock, which is to say he needs Bukayo Saka to build on his assist in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Chelsea and Martin Odegaard to get back up to speed fast.

Odegaard is still on the road to recovery and is unlikely to start but he may well be needed off the bench if Saka cannot provide a moment of magic in open play before then.

Saka’s assist against Chelsea was his first in the Premier League for 365 days, a record that has slipped under the radar but shows the Arsenal right-winger isn’t the creative force he was last season, when he weighed in with 10 assists in the league.

Not without Odegaard, anyway. If these two can get on the pitch together and rediscover their old connections, Arsenal will have no trouble beating a side with only three points on the road, the joint-second lowest total in the division.

Do high-pressing Brighton offer Villa the chance to improve their creative record?

Aston Villa continue to look laboured in attack, their obvious lack of speed or natural width becoming a serious problem despite results.

At the moment long-range strikes (56% of their total goals have been scored from outside the box) are getting Villa out of trouble but clearly that is not a sustainable tactic.

Counter-intuitively, a couple of tough matches this week – Brighton & Hove Albion away, then Arsenal at home – could be what’s needed to rediscover some of the old attacking rhythms.

Villa looked slow and static against Wolves and Leeds partly because it is difficult for Unai Emery’s side to play against a low block but when teams come at Villa, like hard-pressing Brighton will, they could revel in an end-to-end contest and the space it creates.

Brighton's 116 high turnovers is the best in the division this season, while they are second for pressed sequences, with 164.

The Seagulls will come out and advance on Villa, potentially creating the lanes for Youri Tielemans’ line-splitting passes to get Morgan Rogers on the half-turn.

If Ollie Watkins is back in the side, he can expect some joy with runs in behind.

Will Salah bounce back – or will Slot keep him on the bench?

The last time Liverpool won a Premier League match, impressively beating Aston Villa 2-0 at Anfield, they then beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Champions League – only to crash back to earth with consecutive 3-0 defeats.

It goes without saying Liverpool have to ensure their latest victory is a real turning point, which gives Arne Slot a difficult decision to make.

Mohamed Salah was dropped for the 2-0 win at West Ham, where Liverpool looked more balanced with Dominik Szoboszlai starting on the right to help his team dominate in central midfield. There is logic in continuing with that selection on Wednesday, although Slot will need to rotate as the busy winter period begins.

What’s more, if there is momentum from the win at West Ham, this could be an opportune moment to bring Salah in, especially if Alexander Isak – who scored at West Ham – is now feeling more confident, and ready to link with the right-winger.

Salah needs to play his way into form. He cannot do that from the bench.

Is this the perfect opportunity for Edwards to get a first win?

Rob Edwards had his first full week on the training ground with the first team in the build-up to the weekend game at Villa and the difference in performance levels was stark.

Wolves were very unlucky to lose to a Boubacar Kamara thunderbolt, with Emiliano Martinez putting in a brilliant performance to give Villa a win they arguably didn’t really deserve.

Assuming they took heart from the performance, Wolves should be in a good position, then, to finally get their first win of the season on Wednesday.

Nottingham Forest have only won one away game this season, and although that was their most recent one, the tactical shape of their 3-0 win at Liverpool could not be more different from what they are presented with at Molineux.

Wolves will sit deep and hope to launch their own counter-attacks, potentially nullifying Sean Dyche’s favoured playing style.

There are easier games than this but Forest are 16th in the table. If Wolves are to avoid relegation, they will need to win every single one of their home games against bottom-half opposition.

Will Nuno continue his strong record against Amorim?

Nuno Espirito Santo beat Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United twice last season.

His Nottingham Forest side won 3-2 at Old Trafford in early December, not long after Amorim was appointed and then 1-0 at the City Ground in April. On both occasions Forest scored the opener within the first five minutes.

Nuno will instruct his West Ham team to race out of the blocks, to put Man Utd under early pressure and see if they again buckle.

However, West Ham are nowhere near the level of Nuno’s Forest in 2024/25 and with Lucas Paqueta suspended and Crysensio Summerville still injured, Man Utd host the Hammers at a very good time.

United's victory at Crystal Palace wasn't pretty but it was another impressive moment in Amorim’s recovery. With Wolves (A) and AFC Bournemouth (H) up next, there is a real opportunity here to string some wins together and move into a strong position for UEFA Champions League qualification.

What has happened to Bournemouth’s defensive record?

Bournemouth’s dip in form is unfortunately timed. As the matches start to come thick and fast, Andoni Iraola’s energetic football might slow down substantially, making their current four-game winless run a worry.

If they continue to look this tired and this defensively leaky through the festive period, Bournemouth could find themselves stuck in the bottom half.

It isn’t difficult to see where they need to improve. Bournemouth have conceded 12 goals in their last four Premier League matches, having conceded only 11 in the nine before that (1.2 per game).

Everton at home presents an opportunity to correct their record.

Following a fast start to the season, Everton have only scored more than once in one of their last six Premier League matches, while Jack Grealish has now gone five games without a goal involvement.

Will Burnley get cut adrift during the festive schedule?

Starting Tuesday, there are 80 Premier League matches to be played in the 38 days up until 8 January. Across four weekends and three midweek rounds each team will play, on average, every 4.75 days.

It has taken almost four months to play the first 13 rounds of the 2025/26 Premier League season. The next eight – 62% of 13 – will be played in a quarter of that time.

When the fixtures lessen in January the league table will look very different and generally it is those with the fewest resources who struggle the most during a busy run of matches.

Burnley are clinging on at the moment but they risk falling away through winter. Palace at home is tough but it may also be one of the easier matches they have in December.