Ten KEY questions for the midweek matches

Is Arsenal v Villa the biggest match of the season so far?

The essential question for the 2025/26 Premier League season has always been whether or not Arsenal can go one step further and win the title, a question always inextricably linked to their performances against bogey team Aston Villa, who have now won three of their last four meetings with the Gunners.

Arsenal supporters and indeed neutrals might have circled this fixture a long time ago, coming, as it does, in the middle of a gruelling winter schedule. But nobody would have expected it to be a six-pointer; a monumental moment for both clubs and indeed for Manchester City, lurking between the two sides and waiting to pounce.

Victory for Villa would be the single biggest win of the Unai Emery era and the result that will make it impossible for him to deny the club are now locked in a battle for the Premier League trophy.

Victory for Arsenal would represent a hug stride forward for Mikel Arteta’s side, shaking off Villa and effectively reducing the title race down to two. A draw is a victory for Man City.

It will be another tight game, another battle of Villa’s deep line and frustration tactics aimed at slowing Arsenal down before catching them on the counter-attack.

To their advantage, Arsenal remain hampered by significant injuries while Ollie Watkins’ brace in Villa's 2-1 win at Chelsea last Saturday signals his return to form just in time to play at his favourite ground; Watkins has scored four goals in five matches at Emirates Stadium.

Could that be the difference? Having won 11 consecutive matches in all competitions there is no reason not to back Villa to keep this run going. Make it 12, and the comparisons to Leicester City will, from Emery’s perspective at least, grow to feverish levels.

Will Bournemouth’s expansive football gift Maresca relief from a poor run?

Two teams in a bleak run of form meet at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening and the tactical battle points to Chelsea exhaling deeply at the final whistle and ending 2025 on a high.

Enzo Maresca’s side have won just two of their last eight games in all competitions and one of those was against League One side Cardiff City in the EFL Cup, while AFC Bournemouth’s heavy 4-1 defeat against Brentford at the weekend made it nine Premier League games without victory.

Their issues in that game were alarming. Andoni Iraola’s high-pressing football is expansive and expensive; a bold playing style that becomes defensively vulnerable when legs are tired or confidence is low. Summer sales across the defence are starting to take their toll, too.

Brentford scored three times on the break against Bournemouth and a couple of games earlier Manchester United drew 4-4 in one of the wildest end-to-end matches in Premier League history.

That favours Chelsea, because if they can repeat their high-energy first-half performance against Villa they should stream through this wide-open Bournemouth side.

Will Frank’s return bring pangs of nostalgia for the Spurs head coach?

Thomas Frank returns to the Gtech Community Stadium for the first time since leaving Brentford, the club that promoted him to his first head coach role and whom he promoted to the Premier League.

Frank managed 278 league games for Brentford between 2018 and 2025. Anyone in his position would feel the pangs of nostalgia. But the contrasting fortunes of his Tottenham Hotspur and his old set-piece coach Keith Andrews’ Brentford might deepen the feeling.

Brentford have won eight of their last 12 Premier League home games, including four of the last five, and sit just three points off fifth, which could again be a Uefa Champions League spot this season. Their 26 points from 18 Premier League games is a new club record.

Frank will fondly remember the days when, like Andrews, he was hailed for overachieving on that scale. It stands in stark contrast to how things are going at Spurs, although victory at Crystal Palace on Sunday offered some relief after a run of one win in eight Premier League games.

Returning to Brentford will be bittersweet whatever the outcome. But defeat will hurt more than usual.

Can Man City end Sunderland’s unbeaten home record and capitalise on Arsenal v Villa?

It promises to be a huge Matchweek at the top no matter what happens at Emirates but over at the Stadium Light the drama could be just as significant.

Sunderland and Arsenal are the only Premier League clubs still unbeaten at home. Regis Le Bris’ side have held Aston Villa and Arsenal to draws at the Stadium of Light already this season. If they do the same to Man City it will be seen as a huge missed opportunity for Pep Guardiola, who knows at least one of his title rivals will drop points on Tuesday.

He won’t expect to miss it. Man City appear to be entering one of their imperial phases, having won each of their last six Premier League matches, their longest run since winning the final nine of the 2023/24 campaign.

Rayan Cherki is in unstoppable form and his battle with Granit Xhaka and a powerful Sunderland midfield will be fascinating to watch, while Erling Haaland plays at the Stadium of Light for the very first time. He has scored at 23 of the 24 English stadiums he has visited in the competition, only failing to do so at Anfield.

So far, nobody seems able to stop these two from steamrollering through. Sunderland – and their fans – will put up a serious challenge.

Will Parker’s new formation make the most of the Magpies’ poor away form?

Burnley are showing signs of life, drawing each of their last two Premier League games to end a seven-match losing streak.

Better still, the 0-0 draw with Everton was their first clean sheet of the campaign against a non-promoted club and they did it with a new 3-4-3 formation that showed promise.

The timing of this fixture is good for Scott Parker, bad for Eddie Howe. Newcastle United have lost five of their last six Premier League away games and have won just one of their last 12 on the road. Only Leeds United, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers have won fewer away points this season.

Newcastle won the reverse fixture earlier this month but only 2-1, courtesy of a penalty winner despite Burnley being down to 10 men for over half of the match.

On home soil this time, and buoyed by a more secure 3-4-3, Burnley will fancy their chances of getting at least a point.

Will be a major upset when Man Utd host Wolves?

There is no immediate logical reason to assume that Wolves, rock bottom with just two points and on the wrong end of a 4-1 drubbing at Molineux when the sides met earlier this month, can get something from Old Trafford.

But there is a feeling in the air that something could happen here. Manchester United were somewhat chaotic in a new back four at the weekend, holding just 34% possession in victory over Newcastle as Ruben Amorim’s changes left “the most bizarre Manchester United 11 I’ve ever seen on the pitch at the end of a game”, in the words of Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville.

Some of that confusion can be put down to injuries and absentees at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which will continue to disrupt Man Utd for Thursday’s game.

As for Wolves, they will recall to mind winning 1-0 at Old Trafford last season and they travel to Manchester under no pressure or expectation. They also played very well at Anfield at the weekend, narrowly losing 2-1.

If they play like that, and if Man Utd are hesitant, then an upset could just happen.

Will Wirtz and Frimpong give Liverpool the edge this time?

Leeds’ first full match in their 3-5-2 formation was the 3-3 draw between these two sides at Elland Road earlier in December, and despite a trip to Anfield being considerably more difficult it is plausible Daniel Farke’s new system will halt Liverpool’s in-form players.

Florian Wirtz, who scored his first Liverpool goal against Wolves, may struggle to find space among a back five, as he did at Elland Road, while Jeremy Frimpong – who didn’t play in the reverse fixture but assisted against Wolves – may struggle to get into dangerous overlapping positions when facing a wing-back and outside centre-back.

However, an injury to Joe Rodon is a huge blow for the Leeds defence. Hugo Ekitike remains the likeliest player to flourish even accounting for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goalscoring streak.

Can Hutchinson outshine Grealish at the City Ground?

Jack Grealish returns after missing Saturday’s game at Burnley, where Everton could have done with his creativity as they huffed and puffed to a 0-0 draw. With Illiman Ndiaye at AFCON and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall still out, Everton will be relying on Grealish at the City Ground.

Battling on the other flank will be Omari Hutchinson, who made a slow start to life at Nottingham Forest since his big summer move from Ipswich Town but has found form in the last couple of games, culminating in his first goal for the club in the 2-1 defeat to Man City at the weekend.

As ever, Forest were tough to break down in that game. David Moyes’ Everton are typically the same. In a game with little goalmouth action, the head-to-head between Grealish and Hutchinson could prove decisive.

How can West Ham bounce back from the damaging Fulham defeat?

West Ham United’s 1-0 defeat at home to Fulham felt like a particularly damaging result for Nuno Espirito Santo, whose honeymoon period is well and truly over. After a brief upturn in performances at the beginning of his tenure, West Ham’s form has dropped back

They are winless in seven Premier League matches and in danger of getting cut adrift in the bottom three, with a five-point gap now stretching up to ever-improving Forest. West Ham’s record of 13 points from 18 matches is their fewest since 2010/11, when they finished 20th.

That’s the pessimistic angle, and of course it’s one West Ham cannot afford to take. Nuno must find a way to lift spirits, remind the players of their quality, and attack Brighton with gusto.

Do goal-shy Palace present Fulham with the opportunity to make it four in a row?

Oliver Glasner’s very vocal plea for new signings in January shows just how difficult the situation has become at Palace, who after a brilliant 2025 start 2026 in poor form.

The issue, as Glasner has repeatedly pointed out, is a lack of goals. Palace only had two shots on target against Spurs on Sunday and have scored just once in their last three Premier League games. Over the season they have scored 21 goals from an Expected Goals (xG) of 29.4, the biggest under-performance (8.4) in the division.

Naturally this hands Fulham the opportunity to win at Selhurst Park, particularly given that Marco Silva’s side have kept consecutive clean sheet as part of a three-game winning streak in the Premier League.