Premier League

MANCHESTER UNITED vs BOURNEMOUTH
Old Trafford
Saturday, 12.30pm, SKY SPORTS 1

Newly crowned Football League Cup winners Manchester United will be expected to kick on and secure a top-four spot to guarantee Champions League football next season.
They won’t get a better chance of picking up three points as they host struggling Bournemouth. Jose Mourinho’s side are two points worse off than fourth-placed Arsenal but are in a rich vein of form having lost just once in their last 26 matches in all competitions.
The Cherries, meanwhile, are still chasing their first win of 2017.
Eddie Howe’s men remain just four points above the relegation zone and are on a run of four straight Premier League defeats with many predicting a fifth at Old Trafford.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will pose the biggest threat to goalkeeper Artur Boruc and his defence.

LEICESTER CITY vs HULL CITY
King Power Stadium
Saturday, 3pm

You couldn’t make it up now could you?
Having axed Premier League title-winning manager Claudio Ranieri last week, Leicester managed their first three points of the year with a terrific 3-1 victory over Liverpool last Monday.
Jamie Vardy, who scored a brace, has come under fire for the role he played in the Italian’s dismissal – an accusation he strongly refutes. Nevertheless, Foxes fans will be delighted to see their talisman amongst the goals again.
Visitors Hull remain in the bottom three but are a vastly improving side under boss Marco Silva.

STOKE CITY vs MIDDLESBROUGH
Britannia Stadium
Saturday, 3pm

Stoke were outclassed and outfought in last weekend’s 4-0 reversal at Spurs.
That was the opinion of manager Mark Hughes who will be seeking an instant response from his players when they host Middlesbrough.
Having already racked up 32 points already this term, the Potters are sitting comfortably mid-table and ten points better off than Boro who are just above the relegation zone on goal difference.
Boro suffered a real setback in their fight against the drop having lost to nearest rivals Crystal Palace last weekend.
The club are really struggling for goals having failed to score in their previous three Premier League outings.
Aitor Karanka must find the firepower from somewhere if their fortunes are to change.

SWANSEA vs BURNLEY
Liberty Stadium
Saturday, 3pm

It’s games against Saturday's opposition Burnley where Swansea’s season will be defined, not the 3-1 loss at Chelsea last weekend.
Despite a recent upturn in fortune, the Swans remain perilously close to the relegation zone – just two points better off than third bottom Crystal Palace.
The Clarets, meanwhile, haven’t won away from home all season but their fantastic record at Turf Moor has them wrapped in a comfort blanket of 11th.
Swans boss Paul Clement must go all out to try and secure a precious three points.

LIVERPOOL vs ARSENAL
Anfield
Saturday, 5.30pm, Sky Sports 1

Two wins from the previous 12 doesn’t make pleasant reading for Liverpool supporters. An abject display culminated in a 3-1 defeat at managerless Leicester on Monday night – the first time the Foxes have scored in the Premier League this year. Jurgen Klopp’s men look a side low in confidence and it is showing in their results.
Captain Jordan Henderson was a notable absentee in the defeat to Leicester due to a foot injury and it is unlikely he will return against Arsenal this evening.
The club have been boosted, however, by the recent announcement that Adam Lallana has committed his future to the red half of Merseyside until 2020 and Klopp will be hoping the England International can fill some of the void left by his skipper.
This might just be the kind of fixture Liverpool need to rediscover their mojo, however, opponents Arsenal are also in desperate need of a win as they aim to cement a top-four finish – a position they currently hold.
However, a win for the hosts here would see them leapfrog the Gunners. Arsene Wenger saw his side bounce back from last month’s heavy defeat to Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League and book an FA Cup quarter-final showdown with National League leaders and this season’s cup specialists, Lincoln City.
But some sections of the Arsenal support are becoming increasingly agitated with the Frenchman who has been at the helm since October 1996.
Another top-four finish might not be enough to keep Wenger in a job come the end of the current campaign, or he himself may deem now is the time to bow out and allow someone else to lead the club going forward.
The Gunners suffered another blow with the news that Santi Cazorla has been rule out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

WATFORD vs SOUTHAMPTON
Vicarage Road
Saturday, 3pm

Southampton can count themselves desperately unlucky not to have went into their trip to Watford as League Cup champions following their cruel 3-2 loss to Manchester United in last Sunday’s final at Wembley.
Striker Manolo Gabbiadini turned in a near flawless display and was wrongly denied a hat-trick by the incompetence of the officials.
The Hornets, meanwhile, have been dealt a setback with the news striker Mauro Zarate suffered cruciate ligament damage in the 1-1 draw with West Ham last weekend ruling him out for the rest of the season.
The player has only featured three times for Walter Mazzarri’s side since joining from Fiorentina in January.
The Vicarage Road outfit are currently 12th.

WEST BROM vs CRYSTAL PALACE
The Hawthorns
Saturday, 3pm

There’s more at stake here for Sam Allardyce and Crystal Palace than hosts West Brom.
Despite the 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Middlesbrough last weekend, Palace remain in the bottom three – albeit by the virtue of goal difference.
They must pick up maximum points at venues like the Hawthorns if they are to give themselves any chance of survival.
West Brom, however, are safe in the knowledge that they will be playing Premier League football next season having already hit the 40-point mark this term.

TOTTENHAM vs EVERTON
White Hart Lane
Sunday, 1.30pm, Sky Sports 1

Tottenham needed a result last weekend against Stoke following their shock exit to Belgian side Gent in the last 32 of the Europa League.
Harry Kane certainly showed he wasn’t suffering from a European hangover with a superb hat-trick against the Potters – his third hat-trick of 2017.
The 4-0 win moved Spurs above Manchester City into second in the table, but Everton are likely to provide a much stiffer test at the Lane on Sunday afternoon.
The Toffees are unbeaten in their last nine games, a run that has seen them move to within six points of fourth-placed Arsenal.
Striker Romelu Lukaku continued his recent goalscoring spree with his eighth goal in as many matches in the 2-0 triumph over Sunderland at Goodison seven days ago.
Expect fireworks at this one!

SUNDERLAND vs MANCHESTER CITY
Stadium of Light,
Sunday, 4pm, Sky Sports 1

Two points adrift at the bottom and three points from safety merely underlines the current plight of Sunderland.
Things couldn’t be much tougher with the visit of Manchester City to the Stadium of Light on Sunday but beggars can’t be choosers at this stage in the game.
The Black Cats need victories irrespective of the opposition.
Pep Guardiola’s City are in a menacing mood having put five past Monaco in the Champions League last 16 first-leg almost a fortnight ago.
In midweek, City continued their free-scoring ways, cruising into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-1 win over Championship promotion hopefuls Huddersfield in their fifth-round replay.

WEST HAM vs CHELSEA
London Stadium
Monday, 8pm, Sky Sports 1

Another day another London derby.
League leaders Chelsea make their debut at the London Stadium, home of Slaven Bilic’s West Ham on Monday night.
The Hammers fought from a goal down to earn a point at Watford six days ago but boss Bilic was left to rue umpteen missed opportunities as the Hammers threatened to leave Vicarage Road with all three points.
Visitors Chelsea will be looking to maintain their momentum as they close in on their fifth Premier League title.
Antonio Conte’s men have shown little sign of complacency and will be confident of making the short journey back to west London with another three points in the bag.
The Blues beat West Ham 2-1 on the opening day in August.