With Manchester City involved in the Capital One Cup Final at Wembley this weekend, London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal have a chance to move six and five points respectively ahead of the Manchester side.
Chelsea will make the short trip trip the road to local rivals Fulham expecting to pick up all three points given Fulham’s position at the bottom of the Premier League and Chelsea’s seven-game unbeaten record at Craven Cottage.
If the leaders suffer a shock slip against Felix Magath’s team, Arsenal will hope to capitalise by regaining top spot with a rare victory at Stoke.
Arsene Wenger’s side have won only one of their last five visits to the Britannia Stadium and the physical nature of Stoke’s play has often unsettled Arsenal. This is the kind of fixture that Arsenal typically drop points in, and to will be a sign of their title credentials if they can get a rare win at the Britannia.
Fourth placed Liverpool head to Southampton with a chance to leap over Man City and keep in touch with Chelsea.
Liverpool sit just four points behind the leaders having emerged as surprise title contenders. Playing one game a week is keeping Brendan Rodgers side fresh and that might be the telling factor in the title race with the teams above them all battling on multiple fronts.
English Premier League fixtures
Saturday
Everton v West Ham
Fulham v Chelsea
Hull v Newcastle
Stoke v Arsenal
Southampton v Liverpool
Sunday
Aston Villa v Norwich
Swansea v Crystal Palace
Tottenham v Cardiff
