Sunderland vs Crystal Palace
This is an excellent time to be facing out-of-sorts Crystal Palace - who haven't won now in 10 league matches - and Sunderland could climb out of the relegation zone if they can capitalize. However, Sam Allardyce's men are no better off either. Save for the spirited win over United in match week 24, the Black cats have been winless in 6 games and languish in 19th spot.
Sam Allardyce is no stranger to this situation and stated after Saturday's 1-0 loss to West Ham that he hopes his target of 38 points will be sufficient for survival this season.
Sunderland won at Selhurst Park earlier in the season but how Palace would like to return to the optimism of that time following their recent wretched run.
Having spoken of European ambitions before Christmas, Alan Pardew fully acknowledges his side are locked in a relegation fight, with just eight points separating them from the drop zone.
They have dropped like a stone from fifth to 14th during this win-less spell and would take three points by any means right now. Set-pieces could be key - 15 of Palace's 29 goals this season have come from them. Palace continue to flounder in front of goal and paid dearly for the shabby showing of the team in the first half against West Brom where they shipped in 3 goals. A spirited comeback in the second period was however not enough to earn them anything in the game. looks poised for a cagey proceedings given the knack of Tony Pulis' team to stifle opponents.
Norwich City vs Chelsea
There are real concerns now that the Canaries' promotion to the top-flight will be short-lived. Only goal difference is keeping them above the relegation zone and their form is worse even than Villa's.5 defeats in their last 6 games with just a point in between does not make for a good reading for a club that has an ambition of remaining in the topflight. Many would quickly point out how unlucky they were to lose to Leicester on Saturday. Point is, when you fail to put away your chances, you get punished. At a time in that game Norwich could have easily gone 2 or 3 goals up with legion after legion of chances they created but unfortunately, there is only one winner here and Leicester showed they wanted it more
Alex Neil says his players are 'fighting for their lives' and pledged to go on the offensive against Chelsea, who remain undefeated in the league since Guus Hiddink's return.
Saturday's late loss at Leicester was another mortal blow for City, who have lost six of their past seven league games and scored just two goals since their dramatic 4-5 loss to Liverpool.
Chelsea, who remain trapped in mid-table, know the FA Cup and Champions League are more significant priorities as they try and salvage something from a forgettable and regrettable season.
They do come into this one following back-to-back wins and are making gradual, but unmistakable, improvements.
Chelsea on their own part want to redeem their season and continue their steady climb up the table. A Win for Hiddink's men could take them as far as the 8th position on the table. Doesnt seem so hard any more does it?
Leicester City vs West Bromwich Albion
Leicester continues to dream and confound doubters who still doubt their title credentials. Those neutrals who desperately want Leicester to upset the natural order and claim a historic Premier League triumph will have been heartened by their last-gasp win over Norwich at the weekend.
It was the unmistakable hallmark of potential champions, fighting on right until the end, and they may require similar qualities of patience and perseverance against West Brom.
While much was made of their late loss to Arsenal the weekend before, remember that Claudio Ranieri's have still won four of their last five games and they retain a slender two-point lead. Suddenly the blip suffered in the loss to Arsenal has been forgotten but hey, Poch's men are not far off from the table toppers but the good thing is that the team is not under any immediate pressure. While their title rivals are still embroiled in one competition or the other , they just have the Premiership to concentrate on
Leicester's players - and mascot Filbert Fox - celebrate Leonardo Ulloa's late winner against Norwich
Ranieri continues to insist that Spurs are the title favourites, but the stats favour Leicester, certainly here.
They have gone seven hours and 43 minutes since they last conceded at home in league competition, have lost just one in 16 at the King Power and know that history is with them too - 10 of the past 12 teams top on March 1 have won the league. Unfortunately for the King Power outfit, N'golo Kante who has been a solid shield of the back four all season was lost to injury in the hard-fought win over Leicester. It is left to be seen how they cope without him.
The Baggies will be typically tricky customers and had their confidence boosted by a sensational first-half in their 3-2 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, which reduced the pressure on Tony Pulis.
ASTON VILLA V EVERTON
A listless Villa side that is dishing out points to the opposition like freebies. Rooted to the bottom of the table with no signs of redemption, Remy GARDE and his wards are staring relegation in the face with every passing game and look set to receive more misery from Robert Martinez' men who have had an extra week rest with the shift of their premiership clash with Liverpool due to the latter's involvement in the Capital One Cup against City.
WEDNESDAY (8:45 pm NIGERIAN TIME)
Arsenal vs Swansea City
Are Arsenal about to bottle it again? These questions and many more bug the Arsenal Faithful especially their manager who has been at the butt of criticisms for the team's listless title run -in antecedents. Time and again, the Gunners show a lot of promises and flounder miserably in the run-in. Whether that would be the case this term is yet to be seen but with their title rivals picking up points, the least expected of the Gunners is to start picking maximum points starting from tomorrow Their history over the past decade shows that the Ides of March seen to curse them with greater regularity than most clubs and Sunday's loss to Manchester United's youth division hardly inspired optimism for a first title since 2004.
The home match with relegation-threatened Swansea should be just the ticket for them to get back on track. Two wins out of six is hardly the kinda stats a supposed title contender would want to be associated with.
Certainly ahead of Saturday's north London derby at Spurs, they cannot afford any slip-ups otherwise they could be out of contention by this time next week. Swansea on the other hand, must have felt hard done by with the loss against Spurs where they capitulated in the dying moments and have lost back to back in 6 games. Stats in this fixture is however firmly in favour of the gunners.
Stoke City vs Newcastle United
Every match from now on in is of crucial importance for Newcastle but their away record is so abysmal their fans will approach their midweek visit to Stoke with some trepidation.
The Magpies have lost 16 of their last 20 Premier League road trips (including the last five on the bounce) and the sinking feeling of results like their 5-1 thrashing at Chelsea last time out is all-too familiar. In this run, Newcastle have scored just nine times and conceded 48. Stoke have won back to back games for the first time after their three game losing streak and are showing some consistency and what a way to continue that form with a game against the Magpies as Steve Mclaren continues to wallow in abject self pity. Whats more? the Brittannia remains a fortress dreaded by even the strongest teams.
But, as Norwich, Swansea and others continue to falter, there remains a hope that Newcastle can preserve their top-flight status though they encounter a Stoke side in good form.
Marko Arnautovic celebrates one of his two goals in Stoke's 2-1 win over Aston Villa at the weekend
Steve McClaren issues instructions to his Newcastle players in training ahead of their visit to Stoke
West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur
This is one of the fiercest London derbies and added spice this time is offered by West Ham's desire to derail Tottenham's title push.
Mauricio Pochettino's team just keep finding ways to grind out wins and will go to Upton Park for the final time either two or five points off the top depending on Leicester's result.
A high-pressure situation, then, in what will be a volatile atmosphere, especially with Slaven Bilic's Hammers still in firm contention for a European spot.
Michail Antonio celebrates after scoring West Ham's winner against Sunderland
Pochettino has banned title talk within the Spurs camp but positive returns from this game and Saturday's showdown derby with Arsenal will have the fans dreaming.
West Ham actually have a poor record against Spurs - winning only three of the last 17 meetings in the league - but have surprised a fair few this season.
And both teams have fared well this season in the capital mini-league with Spurs earning 11 points from their five derbies and West Ham nine points from their four thus far. The battle in midfield between the likes of Payet, Kouyate, Song on the one hand and Erikson, Lamela & Dembele on the other would be an intriguing one and could be the perfect banana peel for Spurs as the clash with Arsenal looms on Sunday.
Harry Kane and Danny Rose celebrate the decisive goal as Tottenham beat Swansea on Sunday
Liverpool vs Manchester City ( 9PM Nigerian time)
Just three days after Manchester City emerged victorious in the Capital One Cup final at Wembley, they meet Liverpool again desperately needing a win to reignite their title challenge. One thing is for sure, the Citizens would be full of confidence and could upset the apple cart of their North West rivals.
Home losses to Leicester and then Tottenham have seen Manuel Pellegrini's side fall nine points off the pace and that could be 12 by the time they kick-off at Anfield.
While it's all about priorities for Pellegrini and his over-busy City side, their first leg advantage in their Champions League tie with Dynamo Kiev means focus can return fully to the league for now.
Liverpool's players are a picture of dejection after their shoot-out loss to Manchester City on Sunday
Manchester City claimed the first silverware of the season when they beat Liverpool in the League Cup final
But their record at Anfield is pretty poor - they have gone a dozen games without tasting success there and they were beaten 4-1 by Jurgen Klopp's team on their own patch back in November.
Liverpool have played just three times in the league this month and are down in ninth but must show a bit more consistency.
Manchester United vs Watford (9pm Nigerian time)
All seems well again at Old Trafford with Louis van Gaal flush with the joys of youth following the performances of Marcus Rashford and his fellow academy graduates in the last few games.Gone are the long faces seen at Old traffford in recent weeks before United embarked on a 3 game winning streak in all competitions. In his pre-match presser, Louis Van Gaal gave injury updates amid positive news that the trio of Anthony Martial , Smalling and Matteo Darmian are set to return to give the team a timely boost. He also confirmed that Rojo suffered just a knock in the win against Arsenal and would be fit to feature.
The emergence of the 18-year-old, Marcus Rashford, who followed up his two debut goals against Midtjylland with two more against Arsenal on Sunday, has alleviated speculation about Van Gaal's future - for now.
Marcus Rashford became Manchester United's latest hero when he scored four goals in his first two games
Watford's Troy Deeney controls the ball during Saturday's 0-0 draw with Bournemouth
But as they prepare to face Watford and try to close the three-point gap to City in fourth, you know anything less than a win would start it all up again.
Luckily, United will be well-fancied to beat the Hornets, having done so in their last 10 meetings in all competitions.
Watford have enjoyed a fine season on their return to the Premier League and will be easily assured of a second season, though a failure to score in five of their last seven league games is of concern for Quique Sanchez Flores.
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