Chelsea will aim to deepen Arsenal’s misery in their Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, while leaders Liverpool will face Aston Villa at Anfield before the international break.
Elsewhere in the English top flight, Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge of his final game as interim manager of Manchester United, while injury-hit Manchester City will face Brighton on Saturday.
If results go against Arsenal, the Gunners could find themselves eighth in the Premier League by the time they kick off against London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s men have picked up just one point from their past three league games and lost their midweek Champions League clash against Inter Milan 1-0.
Arteta was upbeat despite the defeat at the San Siro, where captain Martin Odegaard made a welcome return to action after being absent since late August.
But defeat against in-form Chelsea plus a win for Liverpool would leave Arsenal, runners-up in each of the past two seasons, 10 points off top spot.
Thierry Henry said on CBS Sports that if Liverpool and City win at the weekend and Arsenal lose, his former side could be out of the title race.
“It would be extremely difficult because you (would) have too many teams to catch… I don’t see two teams collapsing,” he said.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have become so accustomed to success that three straight defeats feels like a major crisis.
Carabao Cup quarter-final draw: Spurs host Man United as Liverpool face Southampton
Last week City were ousted from the League Cup by Tottenham.
Their 32-match unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end at Bournemouth before Sporting Lisbon beat them 4-1 in the Champions League – ending another long unbeaten stretch.
Guardiola’s men, gunning for a fifth consecutive Premier League title, are just two points behind league leaders Liverpool but will be wary of losing further ground.
Midfielder Bernardo Silva says the club’s multiple injury worries are not an excuse for their poor form but he admits the international break, which starts after the weekend, comes at a good time.
“At the moment with the injuries that we have and the psychological part as well, it will be good to have that rest, but before that we have a big game again,” Silva said.
One positive for City in their defeat to Sporting was the return of Kevin De Bruyne, who came on as a late substitute after seven weeks out of action.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has won 14 of his first 16 games in charge of the Reds in all competitions.
The club had a relatively kind fixture list at the start of the season but they show no signs of letting up – taking seven points from games against Chelsea, Arsenal, and Brighton in recent weeks and boasting a perfect record in the Champions League.
Liverpool have also beaten two Premier League teams, West Ham and Brighton, on their way to the League Cup quarter-finals.
Premier League: Chelsea draw Man United at Old Trafford
Liverpool have a tough run of fixtures coming up, starting with Aston Villa at home on Saturday, but so far they have proved they have what it takes.
Below are the Premier League fixtures scheduled for the weekend:
Saturday
Brentford v Bournemouth
Crystal Palace v Fulham
West Ham v Everton
Wolves v Southampton
Brighton v Manchester City
Liverpool v Aston Villa
Sunday
Manchester United v Leicester
Nottingham Forest v Newcastle
Tottenham v Ipswich
Chelsea v Arsenal
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