With the 2022/23 Premier League season approaching the business end, the margins tend to shrink, and the intensity heightens.
A host of eye-catching match-ups are waiting in the wings this weekend, and it’s time to look at the five headline stories to watch out for over the next two days.
Manchester City v Leeds United – Haaland chasing more records
Man City and Leeds will face each other in contrasting Premier League circumstances on Saturday, with the hosts back at the top of the league and the visitors battling against the drop.
Pep Guardiola’s men have a clear upper hand in this match-up, especially with Erling Haaland looking to add to his record-breaking 35-goal tally in the Premier League this season.
After becoming the most prolific player in a single Premier League campaign, the Norwegian frontman has five more matches to hit a 40-goal landmark.
Leeds could prove a perfect victim to move him closer to this milestone.
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace – Hodgson to test Spurs’ defensive calamity
A heartbreaking 4-3 defeat at Liverpool last weekend condemned Tottenham to a fourth consecutive winless league game (D1, L3) and effectively ended their top-four hopes.
But what’s even more worrying for interim boss Ryan Mason, his men conceded an alarming 15 goals during that four-game stretch at an average of 3.75 per match.
Since Roy Hodgson returned to Selhurst Park in April, Palace have scored at least twice in four of their six top-flight outings, including a 4-3 home win over West Ham United last weekend.
After rediscovering their scoring touch, it’s hard to put it past the Eagles to recreate an emphatic 3-0 victory from this corresponding fixture in 2021/22.
West Ham United v Manchester United – It’s time to address travel sickness
Man Utd will be looking to bounce back from a last-gasp 1-0 loss at Brighton & Hove Albion when they meet bottom-half West Ham at the London Stadium.
A third top-four finish in four years is no longer a safe deal for the Red Devils after Liverpool whittled down the gap to four points, largely thanks to United’s form woes on hostile turf.
Thursday’s defeat at the Amex Stadium marked Man Utd’s fourth winless contest on their last five Premier League road trips (D1, L3), highlighting the team’s travel sickness as the weakest aspect of Erik ten Hag’s reign.
Now would be a perfect time for the three-time European champions to defy their underwhelming form on the road.
Liverpool v Brentford – Can the Reds make a late top-four push?
After a narrow 1-0 home win over Fulham on Wednesday helped Liverpool rack up a five-game winning streak in the Premier League this season, Jurgen Klopp’s side will welcome Brentford to Anfield in high spirits.
Some faint hopes of pipping Man Utd to a fourth-placed finish have surfaced on the back of the Reds’ resurgence, but everything’s still in United’s hands.
However, Klopp’s men must hold up their end of the bargain and win every game until the end of the season, starting with avenging a 3-1 reverse defeat against Brentford on Saturday.
Newcastle United v Arsenal – ‘Make or Break’ contest on Tyneside
The stakes couldn’t be higher for Newcastle and Arsenal ahead of their mouth-watering encounter at St James’ Park.
A victory would all but seal the Magpies’ return to the Champions League after over two decades, which would, at the same time, end the Gunners’ title hopes.
Despite sharing the spoils in an uneventful scoreless draw at the Emirates Stadium in January, both sides may deploy a more proactive approach on Sunday as neither would benefit much from another stalemate.
With that in mind, St James’ Park could witness a spectacle this weekend.
