Easy task for Arsenal as Man City visit Crystal Palace and Wear-Tyne derby returns

London, Dec 12 English giants Arsenal have what looks to be their easiest game in a long time on Saturday when Mikel Arteta's Premier League leaders are at home to bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Wolves travel to the Emirates Stadium, rock bottom of the table, with just two points and without a win all season, and with no sign of improvement under recently appointed coach Rob Edwards, whose four games in charge since replacing Victor Pereira have all ended in defeat.

Arteta still has a long injury list that includes William Saliba, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Cristhian Mosquera, but Declan Rice should be back after a bad dose of flu, while Gabriel Jesus is also likely to get minutes as he recovers from a long knee injury, reports Xinhua.

Second-placed Manchester City visit Crystal Palace, who have climbed up to fourth in the table, but with the south-London club is suffering an injury setback with the news that central defender Daniel Munoz will be out for a long period due to a knee injury that needs an operation.

Nathaniel Clyne will probably fill in against a Manchester City that has never lost in Selhurst Park since Pep Guardiola became coach.

Chelsea look to have run out of a bit of steam in recent weeks, as shown by a 0-0 draw in Bournemouth and a 2-1 defeat to Atalanta. Enzo Maresca's side finds it hard to beat rivals that defend deep, and that is almost certainly what is likely against an Everton that has kept consecutive clean sheets when they travel to Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool took a vital Champions League win away to Inter Milan in midweek, with a solid defensive display hinting at improvement after conceding three goals against Leeds United last weekend.

Mohamed Salah, whether in or out of the team, remains the focus of attention when Liverpool entertain Brighton in what would be his last game before the African Cup of Nations if coach Arne Slot decides to recall him after last weekend's outburst.

Unai Emery's Aston Villa travel to West Ham after 10 consecutive wins across all competitions and are brimming with confidence following last weekend's win against Arsenal, which lifted the team to third place in the table.

Emery fielded a strong side in Thursday's Europa League success in Basel, but will have Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rodgers fresh after they began the game on the bench. The weekend also sees the return of the Wear-Tyne derby between Sunderland and Newcastle, which is one of the biggest rivalries in football.

Newcastle won the last derby two year ago in the FA Cup, when Sunderland was in the Championship, but with Sunderland now a point above its neighbor in the table, this is likely to be much closer and a lot more tense, with the game likely to be decided in the midfield battle between Sunderland's Noah Sadiki, Granit Xhaka and Enzo Le Fee and Newcastle trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton.

Other matches this weekend see Nottingham Forest at home to a recovering Tottenham, while Brentford will pit their solid home form against Leeds United, and Burnley look to end a six-game losing streak at home to a Fulham side that has to be careful not to get dragged into the relegation dogfight.

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