Man City, Arsenal, Aston Villa all seek to pull away as Crystal Palace,Chelsea, Man U chase from behind.
By Tanko Bauka
The gap on top of the English Barclays Premier League has been narrowed to just two between the league leader Arsenal in the first position and Manchester City in second position with Aston Villa closely following behind and as actions resumed in the weekend all eyes would be on the encounter between Arsenal and Wolves at the Emirate Stadium in London and Selhurst Park Stadium also in London between Crystal Palace and Manchester City as well as at the Olympic Stadium in London for the encounter between West Ham United and Aston Villa.
Arsenal’s hope of winning the league after so many years has been greatly hampered by the injury crisis the club is currently experiencing, and their quest to win the league is hanging in the balance. Urgent solution is needed to put their title charge back on track.
The Arteta boys started the league brightly but are finding life very difficult, especially with injuries to key players, while both Manchester City and Aston Villa started on the wrong foot but have since picked up and are firing on all cylinders.
Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa have found themselves in a situation where they cannot afford any luxury of losing as those lurking behind are ready to pounce.
Arsenal, after the painful loss to Aston Villa last weekend, welcome Wolves, who are yet to win a single match in the league this season, and may want to use the encounter to launch their survival in the league, while Arsenal would hope for nothing but the three points at stake to consolidate.
Manchester City travel to Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace knowing fully that anything short of three points is a disaster as they would not want the gap at the top to be extended beyond their reach while Unai Emery Aston Villa would want to continue with the momentum that have seen them winning nine match as they confront West Ham United knowing that if they win and Arsenal lose they would be on top of the league table.
Whatever the outcome of this weekend encounter may look like, the three club sides are in a battle for the survival of the fittest.
Liverpool FC, the defending Champion, with their numerous challenges, have Brighton and Hove Albion visiting and would like to look for a possible way to navigate through and snatch the three points, while Chelsea welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge to see if they would bounce back from the poor results of recent.
Manchester United, which seem to have recovered to some appreciable level, need to be consistent week in week out to stand a chance of bringing back the lost glory to Old Trafford and put a smile on the faces of their faithful fans again.
Burnley are fighting for survival as they are currently swimming in the relegation water and would want to use the visit of Fulham to fight for their life if they want to remain in the top flight.
Nottingham Forest ambush Tottenham Hotspurs but they must be in their best form because Tottenham Hotspurs’ resurgence is fast yielding positive results while Sunderland after the setback against Manchester City in the midweek encounter have Newcastle United to contend with for the three points as Brentford tackle Leeds United before Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United round off the week as they battle AFC Bournemouth on Monday.
In the Spanish La Liga, the league leader FC Barcelona host Osasuna to consolidate, while Atletico Madrid welcome Valencia, with Elche travelling to take on Mallorca.
Gatafe battle Espanyol as Sevilla confront Real Oviedo, while Celta Vigo prepare to welcome Athletic Bilbao, with Real Madrid hitting the road to confront Deportivo Alaves.
Lavante host Villarreal with Rayo Vallacano taking on Real Betis.
In the Italian Serie A, Udinese welcome the league leader Napoli, as Inter Milan travel to battle Genoa, with Bologna hosting Juventus.
AC Milan have Sassuolo standing between them and the three points, while AS Roma welcome Cesc Fabregas Como, with Fiorentina battling Hellas Verona, as Torino tackle Cremonese, with Parma hosting Lazio, and Atalanta confronting Cagliari.
In the German Bundesliga, Borussia Monchengladbach welcome Wolfsburg, as Eintracht Frankfurt battle FC Augsburg, with FC St Pauli welcoming Heidenheim.
Bayern Munich host Mainz 05 while Werder Bremen engage Stuttgart, with SC Freiburg confronting Borussia Dortmund, as Bayer Leverkusen welcomes Koln, and Hoffenheim host Hamburger.
Fixtures across Europe
English Barclays Premier League
Saturday
Liverpool vs Brighton Albion
Chelsea vs Everton
Burnley vs Fulham
Arsenal vs Wolves
Sunday
West Ham United vs Aston Villa
Nothingham vs Tottenham
Sunderland vs Newcastle United
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
Brentford vs Leeds United
Monday
Manchester United vs AFC Bournemouth
Spanish La Liga
Friday
Real Sociedad vs Girona
Saturday
Atletico Madrid vs Valencia
Mallorca vs Elche
FC Barcelona vs Osasuna
Gatafe vs Espanyol
Sunday
Sevilla vs Real Oviedo
Celta Vigo vs Athletic Bilbao
Lavente vs Villarreal
Deportivo vs Real Madrid
Monday
Rayo Vallacano vs Real Betis
Italian Seria A
Friday
Lacce vs Pisa SC
Saturday
Torino vs Cremonese
Parma vs Lazio
Atalanta vs Cagliari
Sunday
AC Milan vs Sassoulo
Udinese vs Napoli
Fiorentina vs Hellas Verona
Genoa vs Inter Milan
Bologna vs Juventus
Monday
AS Roma vs Como
German Bundesliga
Friday
Union Berlin vs RB Leipzig
FC St Pauli vs Heidenheim
Hoffenheim vs Hamburger
Monchenglabach vs Wolfsburg
Frankfurt vs FC Augsburg
Leverkusen vs Koln
Sunday
SC Freiburg vs Dortmund
Bayern Munich vs Mainz 05
Werder Bremen vs Stuttgart
