Action in the English Premier League resumes on Tuesday night with the pick of the action the clashes between second-placed Arsenal and Fulham, and Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners and Red Devils will be hoping that the weekend’s FA Cup exertions will have taken a toll on their rivals.
Fulham will be nursing sore hearts and bodies after they were thumped 3-0 by Crystal Palace at home. Forest were pushed to extra-time and penalties by Brighton, before eventually prevailing.
League leaders Liverpool also face a tricky Merseyside Derby encounter against Everton on Wednesday.
The wounds of their last derby at Goodison Park will be fresh for Reds fans after the Toffees snatched a dramatic late draw that threatened to derail their title push. They would like nothing more than to stick it to the Toffees at Anfield and pierce the dark cloud brought about by recent cup woes.
Uncertainty surrounding the futures of star trio Mohamed Salah, skipper Virgil van Dijk and right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold have also taken the gloss off their march to the title.
While a win would do little to stop Trent’s move to Real Madrid – a done deal, by most accounts – Liverpool fans could do with some cheer. David Moyes is unlikely to be in a charitable mood, however. Any further blip by Arne Slot’s Reds, who sit on 70 points,12 points clear Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal with nine matches to go, is likely to be just that.
The real drama now seems almost exclusively reserved for the battle for European places.
Ruben Amorim’s inconsistent Manchester United side will be hoping to pounce on any signs of tiredness from Forest if they are to rescue their season. But Forest have proven to be made of sterner stuff this season.
Newcastle United, who are one point behind Manchester City in fifth place and with a game in hand, will hope that they don’t get stung by visiting Bees of Brentford. The Citizens are unlikely to falter against relegation-bound Leicester if that does happen.
Brighton will also be hoping to pounce if the Magpies drop points. The two teams are level on 47 points, with the Seagulls hosting Aston Villa, who are two points further back.
With five points separating Chelsea in fourth and Bournemouth in tenth, the league table could look dramatically different after this round of league matches.
A Crystal Palace side buoyed by reaching the FA Cup semi-final promises to add to Southampton’s struggles at home.
English Premier League midweek fixtures
Tuesday: Arsenal v Fulham (8.45pm), Wolves v West Ham (8.45pm), Nottingham Forest v Manchester United (9pm).
Wednesday: Bournemouth v Ipswich (8.45pm), Brighton v Aston Villa (8.45pm), Manchester City v Leicester (8.45pm), Newcastle United v Brentford (8.45pm), Southampton v Crystal Palace (8.45pm), Liverpool v Everton (9pm)
