After nearly three weeks away, the Premier League is finally back in full swing with some midweek fixtures. TIBS News is on hand to preview the matches.
Manchester City host Brentford
Manchester City remain top of the table, nine points clear of their closest challengers, and host Brentford on Wednesday night.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been in fine form all season, while their opponents have been enjoying their first ever topflight season and find themselves 14th in the league.
Second placed Liverpool host an out of form Leicester City on Thursday, looking to keep within touching distance of their title rivals.
The Foxes suffered a shocking 4-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup last weekend and look to be on a downward spiral under Brendan Rodgers.
Manchester United travel to Burnley after shock FA Cup exit
Manchester United were also victim to a cup upset, losing on penalties to Championship side Middlesbrough.
They will look to bounce back against Burnley who are fighting and currently losing a relegation battle, sitting bottom of the table.
Elsewhere, any of three clubs could jump into the top four with wins this week, providing United lose to Burnley.
West Ham welcome fellow London club Watford, with the two sides finding themselves in very different scenarios.
The Hammers are just a point outside of the Champions League spaces, while the Hornets are in the bottom three and have just appointed Roy Hodgson as their new manager.
Sixth-placed Arsenal have enough games in hand to push for a top-four spot and can start against Wolves on Thursday.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been one of the most improved since the start of the season, but so have their opposition who are just two points behind the Gunners having played the same number of games.
North London rivals, Tottenham, have the best chance of reaching fourth place.
They’ve played the fewest games and are just two points away from United.
Antonio Conte’s team play Southampton this week, fresh off the back of an impressive 3-1 FA Cup victory over Brighton.
Down at the bottom of the Premier League
At the bottom end of the table, Frank Lampard will take charge of his first league game as manager of Everton.
His side travel to fellow strugglers Newcastle, looking to build on their emphatic cup win over Brentford last weekend.
Norwich City have started to rise up the league since Dean Smith took over and now sit 17th and outside the relegation zone.
They take on Crystal Palace looking to maintain the momentum they’ve been building.
Finally, Leeds United travel to Aston Villa with a squad decimated by injuries, hoping to overcome the odds and pick up another three points.
Marcelo Bielsa’s team have struggled this campaign but find themselves seven points clear of the drop zone.
Chelsea are on Club World Cup duty
Chelsea are participating in the Club World Cup so don’t feature this week and as a result neither do Brighton.
