Ten KEY questions for the midweek matches

Here we highlight the pivotal talking points for every Matchweek 21 fixture

Who will buckle in the first true six-pointer of the 25/26 relegation battle?

There have been plenty of fixtures between sides in the bottom five this season but arguably Tuesday night's game is the first true six-pointer; the first time a game has felt loaded with the pressure of a battle against relegation.

Looking at the Premier League table, it seems increasingly likely that at least one of these two clubs will go down. For either West Ham United or Nottingham Forest - the former a Uefa Europa League quarter-finalist just two years ago, the latter harbouring dreams of Uefa Champions League football in early 2025 – relegation would be tough to take.

Unsurprisingly, both clubs enter this game in poor form.

West Ham are winless in their last nine Premier League games (four draws, five losses) and were beaten 3-0 by Wolves last weekend, a game Nuno Espirito Santo called “embarrassing, because I don't recall one day that I felt so bad on a football pitch like today”.

Losing to Forest, and therefore falling seven points short of 17th, doesn’t bear thinking about – and yet hosting the team in 17th ought to be seen as an opportunity to put things right.

Sean Dyche’s side have lost their last four Premier League games. Make it five and West Ham will only be one point behind them.

Neither Dyche nor Nuno can afford anything less than a win. But something has to give.

Will Fletcher lean into Man Utd’s attacking principles and a back four?

Darren Fletcher, a former Manchester United player under Sir Alex Ferguson, is almost certain to embrace the popular demand to reinstate the club's identity.

There aren’t many English clubs with a footballing philosophy but Man Utd are one of them. Their supporters expect direct attacking football via wing play and Fletcher will surely embody this mentality from the off.

Although he would have preferred to start at Old Trafford, Fletcher has been handed a start that might well encourage an all-out attacking approach, not unlike how Ruud van Nistelrooy blew away the cobwebs of the Erik ten Hag era just over a year ago, winning matches against Leicester City and PAOK.

Fletcher’s job is to restore some joy after a difficult final few months under Amorim. If he can do that, if he can unleash United’s attacking players, he could put the club in a surprisingly strong Premier League position before the break for the FA Cup.

Can Arteta capitalise on Liverpool’s tepid form to complete a perfect festive period?

It has been a perfect few weeks for Arsenal, who after defeat at Villa Park in early December entered the Christmas period slightly on the back foot.

But Arsenal have won every single game over the busy festive period. If they can cap it off on Thursday they will be in a superb position to accelerate away as the games become more spread out through January and February.

Only once in the past five years has a Premier League club won every single one of their Festive Fixtures, with Manchester City doing so in 2021/22 on their way to the title, winning 93 points.

It would be symbolically significant, then, for Arsenal to do the same. The form guide suggests they will.

Arsenal have won their last seven home Premier League matches, while Liverpool’s recovery continues to stall away from Anfield.

Since winning their first five Premier League games of the campaign Liverpool's only away wins in the competition were against West Ham on November 30 and nine-man Tottenham Hotspur on December 20.

In fact, every single Liverpool away win in the 2025/26 season has been against a team that received at least one red card.

As long as Arsenal keep everyone on the pitch, they should be able to overpower a Liverpool team struggling to create chances or score goals without Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, and potentially Hugo Ekitike.

Will Brighton’s expansive football help or hinder Man City?

There is a small risk that Man City are slowing down just when everybody expected them to speed up.

Pep Guardiola’s side have drawn each of their last two Premier League matches while Erling Haaland has failed to score in any of the last three. If those two records continue then Arsenal can move eight points clear this week, a significant margin even at this stage.

They just might. Brighton beat Man City 2-1 in the reverse fixture at the Amex Stadium in August, and as ever Fabian Hurzeler’s side will welcome an open and expansive game, meaning we could see a repeat of the chaotic scenes in the second half of City’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

Guardiola’s side are currently without nine senior players and central midfield has taken a particularly big hit, as we saw when Chelsea opened up at the Etihad and grabbed a late equaliser.

Without control in the middle – with Rodri not quite at full speed – Man City might be vulnerable to the chaotic football Brighton so often produce.

They will also be without centre-back duo Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, which further increases the load on City's midfield.

However, in the reverse fixture Haaland had several good chances to put the game to bed in the first half. There is just as much chance this is the perfect game for Man City to stretch their legs and reassert their dominance, capitalising on the open spaces to end Haaland’s mini-goal drought and prevent Arsenal from pulling clear.

Can Fulham seize a rare opportunity to win the derby?

Chelsea’s point at the Etihad is not necessarily a sign that results will soon turn in their favour. It was a strange game and one that lacked any of the fire or fury we can expect from the derby at Craven Cottage, where Fulham will present the opposite challenge to Man City.

Marco Silva’s side will soak up pressure and happily allow Chelsea to play a more passive possession game, potentially bringing out the worst in a team who, with new head coach Liam Rosenior, will have had very little time to change the patterns of the Enzo Maresca era.

Chelsea have won just one of their last eight Premier League games (five draws, two losses). Meanwhile Fulham are unbeaten in five matches and were the better team in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

Fulham have only beaten Chelsea once at home in the last 20 years. They might not get a better chance than this.

Will an unthinkable win at Selhurst Park leave Villa believing in a title challenge?

Aston Villa supporters are simply resigned to losing this fixture.

Villa have gone six consecutive matches against Crystal Palace without a win and have lost the last three against Palace by an aggregate score of 10-1. That doesn’t include a 5-0 defeat in May 2024.

The record is even worse at Selhurst Park, where Palace have won nine of the last 13 in the Premier League, including six of the last seven and the last three in a row.

But Palace’s recent form has fallen off, losing four of their last five games and winning none of their last five at Selhurst Park. Either Villa is just the tonic they need, or Wednesday’s game is the moment Unai Emery finally beats Oliver Glasner.

For Villa fans, beating Palace at Selhurst Park is scarcely more believable than challenging for the Premier League title through until May. Pull off an unthinkable win here, then and Villa might start to truly believe this is going to be a special year.

The stats indicate as much. If Villa win, they will have 45+ points from their opening 21 matches of a league campaign for just the third time – and the first since the 1800s.

The other two times Villa have done that, in 1895/96 and 1898/99, they went on to lift the First Division title.

Is this Wolves’ last chance of mounting the greatest of great escapes?

Wolves’ 3-0 win against West Ham last weekend simply has to be the turning point. There isn’t enough road left for Wolves to do anything other than win at Everton this week.

It would be the greatest of great escapes if Wolves could somehow survive from here and to do so they will need to put together a winning streak befitting a club seeking Champions League qualification.

One game at a time, they could just do it, starting at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, where Everton have lost their last two and conceded four goals to Brentford most recently.

Can Brentford enter the UCL race by running at faltering Sunderland?

Sunderland are beginning to tire, it would seem, with Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) absences making them considerably weaker than in the first few months of the campaign. Regis Le Bris’ side were flat for long periods at Spurs last weekend – and we can expect a similar pattern at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Brentford have won six of their 10 home Premier League matches this season, while Igor Thiago has scored 14 goals, just one short of the most by a Brazilian player in a single campaign in the competition.

The signs point to a home win, then, which would propel Brentford into an unlikely challenge for Champions League spots.

Manager changes at Chelsea and Man Utd make that long shot even longer but nevertheless Brentford could be as high as fifth by the time we break for the FA Cup third round.

Will entertainers Bournemouth draw out a more Frank-like Spurs?

Frank's Brentford were defined by smart transitions and a style of counter-attacking football, mixed with quick-tempo passing combinations in midfield, that drew plaudits for its very modern complexity.

Spurs haven’t seen much of that yet, which is understandable considering how much time is needed to radically change the tactical foundations of the club.

Perhaps they will see some of it at Bournemouth, where Andoni Iraola’s side have become highly vulnerable to fast breaks. Defensive lapses and Iraola’s insistence on high-octane football has made them the league’s entertainers: Bournemouth have scored at least twice in eight different Premier League games they’ve failed to win this season.

Spurs will be given space to counter-attack, to play at the high tempo we were used to seeing at Frank’s Brentford.

With Bournemouth winless in 11 in the Premier League, Frank has an opportunity to show supporters what his tenure could look like.

Are Newcastle about to put the Premier League into a predictable shape?

Two wins on the spin for Newcastle United has seen them climb into the top half and considering they have won each of their last five home games against promoted sides, victory against Leeds United is definitely on the cards this week.

That could make the whole Premier League table calm down and finally make some sense.

It has been a wildly unpredictable first half of the campaign but if Newcastle win and Brentford and Sunderland draw then Eddie Howe’s side would go seventh, making the top seven consisting entirely of ‘Big Eight’ teams: the ‘Big Six’ plus Aston Villa and Newcastle.