As one of the biggest games in the English football calendar, the stakes on Wednesday night add another layer of pressure. As the Citizens head across the city to Old Trafford, they know the price of not winning. Victory is one more hurdle – the hardest left – to the title, stopping Liverpool from ending three decades of hurt. A draw or a loss, though, opens the floor up to Merseyside.

Manchester United News

Forget rivalry and forget the nonsense about United ‘lying down’ to City to stop a Liverpool title win. City are more than good enough to win at Old Trafford on their own. Untied are in poor form and were eviscerated by Everton at the weekend.

Fitness is not a great issue in terms of injuries – but in terms of form. United look lethargic and they looked tired. If they are to do anything other than play the role of a derby opponent, they need to find many levels more than they have in recent weeks. Expect guts and aggression in midfield, with the potential for Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku to lead the line – both have experience in this fixture.

Manchester City News

The loss of Kevin de Bruyne is, undoubtedly, a blow for Man City. However, they ‘only’ have to consider a line-up of Fernandinho alongside Bernardo and David Silva. What a hard choice. In defence, we expect to see Aymeric Laporte line-up alongside John Stones. They’ll expect some cover from the midfield, while a front three of Sergio Aguero, Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling will start up front.

Expect City to play it cautious, tight and compact: they can wait all night for a goal.

Verdict

City win. United will have to show something here to get the fans back onside, but even at their best they probably aren’t good enough to beat City. Unless hubris gets the better of City on a big away day again, we cannot see anything other than a win for the blue half of Manchester – effectively sealing the league title.

When Fulham came up to the Premier League, many proclaimed them to be the horribly named ‘transfer window winners’ long-term. They signed some names people had heard of, or signed in video games, and thus people got very excited. A couple of La Liga names, a Ligue 1 star in Jean Michael Seri, and also a FIFA World Cup winner in Andre Schurrle. Now, with relegation under Scott Parker almost certain, they have one aim next weekend: play a role in the title race. With Manchester City soon to come, too, can they?

Fulham News

Life sounds stressful this year for Fulham fans. With nearly 70 goals conceded (68), they have a meagre four wins all year. Worryingly for them, their opponents on Sunday have scored as many as they have conceded. In Calum Chambers and Alexander Mitrovic, Fulham have two decent Premier League quality signings who could make a positive contribution to the match.

Outside of that, though, it’s hard to see where the quality comes from. Andre Schurrle has scored a few, but loves to go missing. And in the hapless defence they have, with the likes of Cyrus Christie and Maxime Le Marchand trying their best but not having enough, it’s hard to see where the positivity can come from.

Liverpool News

Depending on what happens on Wednesday night, this could be even more make-or-break for Liverpool. Knowing they likely need to win every league game is hard enough: to do so after what is sure to be a major game in Munich could be even tougher.

For Liverpool, though, injuries are just beginning to die off. The likes of Adam Lallana look properly fit again, and the return of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is finally near. This could help to take the weight off of a side that, for many, lacks spark in midfield.

Verdict

A Liverpool win – but nowhere near as convincing as some might expect. A massive game in Munich awaits, and we can see that being enough to tire out the Reds. If they can keep the pace in the Fulham team quiet, they should have enough to win here: but don’t expect too many fireworks.

With a surprise loss against Newcastle United tipping the title very much in favor of Liverpool, Manchester City got a lifeline in the form of a 1-1 draw against Leicester City. Playing ahead of Liverpool again, City will be looking to cut the gap to 2 points before the Reds travel to West Ham United. With an Arsenal side who don’t often beat City coming into this game in some decent form, it’ll be interesting to see if they can avoid the same shellacking that they received at Anfield.

Manchester City News

With Ederson picking up an injury in the game against Newcastle, we could see a bit of a shock choice in nets for City. If Ederson does play, he likely won’t be close to 100% fit. Other injury concerns over Benjamin Mendy and Vincent Kompany also means that City might need to pull some creative moves, just as Liverpool did when they were forced into an unconventional back three in their home draw.

Other than that, we can expect to see City go full-strength: expect the likes of Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva to be back in the team here.

Arsenal News

Many injuries are beginning to add up for Arsenal, including injuries to the likes of Sokratis and Hector Bellerin. Laurent Koscielny is likely to miss out again, too, with a jaw injury. However, the injury to young Ainsley Maitland-Niles is likely to be the most significant blow, robbing Unai Emery of much-needed cover.

Arsenal are seeing injuries rack up at an alarming rate, and it’s likely to see them forced into some very interesting moves on the day.

Verdict

City win – easily. Arsenal are often horrible away from home in the big games, and they show little sign of finding a backbone in matches like this. A 9-point gap exists between both sides: we suspect that might be about to turn to 12.

When this game was pointed out a few weeks ago, it felt like it might be the executioners’ axe for Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese was sacked earlier, and instead Manchester United arrive to Wembley Stadium with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the bench. Five wins in all competitions is very impressive indeed, and it leaves United just ten points off of Spurs themselves.

This game feels decisive: an away win means catching Spurs soon feels very much possible. A loss, though, probably consigns the Red Devils to chasing fourth spot.

Tottenham News

Spurs are going to be without a couple of players in Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier. Lucas Moura is likely to miss out, too, having run United so ragged in the Old Trafford match. A once-large injury list, though, is beginning to calm down thanks to the return to fitness of Jan Vertonghen.

Mousa Dembele is fit again too, but looks most likely to depart for a move to China. Outside of that, Spurs can also welcome back Ben Davies who is fit once again.

Manchester United News

United meanwhile might be without some important players themselves. Alexis Sanchez looks to have injured himself, while Chris Smalling and Paul Pogba are presently doubts. The loss of the latter would be keenly felt, as his return to prominence has been very much impressive ever since the Norwegian came in as manager.

United will likely see Ashley Young come into the side, while the on-form Romelu Lukaku may join him.

Verdict

We can see Spurs winning this one. While United have been in good form, performances have not really matched results. We could see United struggling a bit here against a more in-from side than those they have faced so far. Expect a tight game, though, but Spurs to edge it.