A look at the weekend's matches in the English Premiership
Liverpool v Arsenal
Last Sunday had a restorative effect on both clubs. Arsenal produced the performance of the day in the north London derby while Liverpool savoured the achievement of winning the League Cup final. Liverpool are unbeaten in nine league games at home but seven have been drawn while Arsenal have lost six times on their league travels already.
WBA v Chelsea
The assumption that André Villas-Boas’s future as Chelsea manager hinges upon the outcome of their Champions League knockout tie against Napoli rather assumes the London club will not be embarrassed in any of their domestic fixtures ahead of the second leg, with a trip to The Hawthorns suddenly looking daunting. Albion have won their last two games by four-goal margins.
Wigan v Swansea
Wigan probably need to win a minimum of four of their remaining Premier League fixtures to have a chance of staying up and at least a couple need to come this month, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal waiting at the start of April. Roberto Martínez spent several seasons with Swansea as a player and manager, but will put those memories to one side.
Tottenham v Manchester U
Tottenham have an undistinguished record against Manchester United and will be without Scott Parker because of his red card in the 5-2 ordeal at Arsenal last week. This is one of Uniteds more challenging assignments this season. A draw would be reasonable for them before a run of seven games against teams from the bottom half of the table.
QPR v Everton
QPRs run-in is so wretched that if they do not get anything from this game, their chances of avoiding relegation will suffer drastically. New signings Samba Diakité and Djibril Cissé are suspended but manager Mark Hughes can at least welcome back several injured players, as can David Moyes. Everton look better on paper.
Blackburn v Aston Villa
Things are not looking good for Aston Villa. Alex McLeishs side have only one win in their last seven games. Still, Blackburn have not kept a clean sheet since April last year. Rovers were meek against Manchester City last week but, as they showed at Manchester United, they are capable of beating big teams and they will fancy their chances today.
Newcastle v Sunderland
Events in Abidjan and Addis Ababa will have a bearing on the latest episode of an intensely parochial rivalry. Sunderland forward Stephane Sessègnon was delayed in Paris yesterday after missing a connection to Newcastle following Benins international in Ethiopia but Cheik Tioté made his way back from his game with Ivory Coast.
Manchester C v Bolton
Manchester City continue the great game of applying pressure on Manchester United by hoping to defeat Owen Coyles strugglers before United travel to Tottenham for the late kick-off on Sunday. Expect Roberto Mancini to select a strong 11 that will fancy their chances of an easy afternoon against the leagues second-bottom team.
Stoke v Norwich
Norwich should have both their January arrivals available for the first time. The former Leeds captain Jonny Howson came through a reserve match unscathed after recovering from a knee injury and Ryan Bennett has returned from Peterborough, where he had been on loan since signing for Norwich during the last transfer window.
Fulham v Wolves
Wolves fans will look back on August with fondness. Back then, with Mick McCarthy in charge, they had a 2-0 win over a subdued Fulham side and on to the top of the table. But how things have changed. A solitary point separates them from the relegation zone and they face a Fulham side that have only lost one of their last five league games.
