LONDON — The English Premier League returns from a three-week hiatus this weekend with huge clashes in the battle for the title, European places and survival.
Arsenal can shrug off their domestic cup disappointment by moving ever closer to a first league title in 22 years when they host Bournemouth before Manchester City travels to Chelsea.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot cannot afford another damaging defeat when Fulham visit Anfield with Champions League qualification on the line.
Tottenham have turned to Roberto De Zerbi to save them from the drop for the first time in nearly 50 years and the Italian takes charge for the first time at Sunderland.
AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of this weekend’s action:
Defeat in the League Cup final to City and at second-tier Southampton in the FA Cup have quickly turned Arsenal’s quest for a quadruple into dreams of a Premier League and Champions League double.
Mikel Arteta’s men can go 12 points clear at the top with victory over Bournemouth on Saturday, with City not in action until Sunday.
A 1-0 Champions League victory at Sporting Lisbon got the Gunners back to winning ways, but they needed heroics from goalkeeper David Raya after another unconvincing performance.
City, by contrast, appear to be hitting top form after thrashing Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup quarterfinals and will smell blood should Arsenal stumble at the Emirates.
Pep Guardiola’s men still have a game in hand on Arsenal and the two face off next weekend in a potentially decisive clash in the title race.
Slot conceded the English champions were outclassed in defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday and they face a battle just to make the competition next season.
“We were in survival mode for large parts of the game but maybe also in the period of the season we are in, we are in survival mode,” said Slot after a run of one win in six games.
The top five in the Premier League will qualify and Liverpool occupy fifth for now.
But only seven points separate them from Bournemouth in 12th.
The wretched form of both Liverpool and Chelsea has offered hope for the chasing pack.
Fulham are among them and can close to within two points of the Reds should Liverpool suffer a fourth consecutive defeat.
Slot has already lost the confidence of large sections of the Liverpool support less than a year on from winning the title.
And a disgruntled fanbase are also set to protest this weekend over planned ticket price rises in line with inflation for the next three seasons.
Spurs could be in the bottom three by the time of De Zerbi’s debut should West Ham beat bottom-the-table Wolves on Friday.
Tottenham begin the weekend one point above the drop zone but without a league win in 2026.
De Zerbi has just seven games to try and save a club that has not experienced life outside the top flight since 1978.
The Italian has been lured to north London despite Spurs’ perilous position thanks to a lucrative five-year deal.
The fiery former Marseille boss established a positive reputation for himself in England during a two-year spell as Brighton manager between 2022 and 2024.
