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Over the weekend, the English Premier League will treat its viewers to high-quality football matches. On Saturday, fans will watch the league leaders Arsenal take on Manchester City at their stronghold, while on Sunday, Tottenham and Liverpool will face off.
Manchester City vs. Arsenal The sixteenth round of the English league will kick off on Saturday at 2:45 PM with Manchester City hosting London's league leaders Arsenal, who will be looking to bounce back after a somewhat unsuccessful previous week.
Managed by Manuel Pellegrini, the team has been flawless at home: winning 7 out of 7 games and scoring 29 goals. Despite trailing the future opponents by 6 points, the great form shown by the City team at the Etihad stadium gives fans hope that this gap can be closed.
Due to injuries, Manchester City will be without three defensive players - Gael Clichy, Matija Nastasic, and Micah Richards.
The Arsenal defenders will try to stop the threatening opponents' attack. Playing away, they have earned 16 points out of 35. The Gunners show creativity and defensive stability.
Managed by Arsene Wenger, the team still holds the top spot in the league table, but the past week has not been the most successful. After winning three games in a row, a victory against Everton slipped from their hands, and their first place in the UEFA Champions League Group F was taken over by Borussia Dortmund.
Arsenal will be without midfielders Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby, as well as forward Yaya Sanogo. It is uncertain if Lukas Podolski has regained match fitness after an injury, and Bacary Sagna may step onto the pitch from the first minute.
Predicted lineups: Manchester City: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov; Toure, Fernandinho, Silva, Nasri; Negredo, Aguero. Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Arteta, Flaimini, Ramsey, Cazorla, Ozil; Giroud.
Tottenham vs. Liverpool Starting with a clash of giants, the round will end with another one. On Sunday evening at White Hart Lane stadium, Tottenham's struggling players will meet the injury-ridden Liverpool team.
After a humiliating 0-6 defeat to Manchester City, coached by Andre Villas-Boas, the team's situation is stabilizing. The club's attack, which started to score goals despite its shaky defense, has begun to collect points. Currently, Tottenham is in sixth place in the league table.
After the defeat against Manchester City, Tottenham played a draw with Manchester United and won two consecutive games. They ended the UEFA Europa League group stage with six wins out of six.
Tottenham will be without one of their main defensive pillars, Jan Vertonghen, who is expected to return in January. It is still unclear if the other two defenders, Younes Kaboul and Vlad Chiriches, will take the field.
Liverpool, managed by Brendan Rodgers, has been inconsistent lately. The injury-depleted team is in second place with 30 points, trailing the league leaders by 5 points.
After a high-scoring draw in the city derby against Everton, they unexpectedly lost to Hull City and achieved solid victories over Norwich City and West Ham, with forward Luis Suarez leading the charge.
The team has been affected by the absence of Daniel Sturridge and the injured left-back Jose Enrique, as well as their captain Steven Gerrard, who will be out for about a month.
Predicted lineups: Tottenham: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Chiriches, Rose; Sandro, Dembele, Paulinho, Lennon, Chadli; Soldado. Liverpool: Mignolet; Johnson, Škrtel, Sakho, Flanagan; Allen, Lucas, Coutinho, Henderson, Sterling; Suarez.
