Arsenal strive to close the gap on leaders Chelsea

All the pressure will be on Arsenal in tomorrow's derby against leaders Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium as they bid to narrow the eight-point gap currently separating them from the Blues.

Indeed, this will be a real duel that can turn into a London battle although a top-class referee should do his utmost to keep things under control.

The Gunners were firing on all cylinders, scoring in every match they played, but last weekend they found the going tough at Sunderland as they lost their third match on their travels. The other two upsets were at Manchester United and Manchester City.

In other London derbies this season, Arsenal beat Fulham 1-0 (away) and Tottenham 3-0 (home). They also drew 2-2 with West Ham (away). Chelsea, on their part, emerged unscathed from derby clashes with Fulham 2-0 (away) and Tottenham 3-0 (home).

After his team's run of 13 games without defeat was ended by Sunderland, Arsene Wenger said Arsenal 'chocked' at the Stadium of Light.

At Chelsea, Michael Essien will be restored to his usual role in midfield but will not play in an advanced position as he did against Wolves, even if he netted twice.

While a good number of players are being linked with Chelsea in the January transfer window, manager Carlo Ancelotti remarked that he could do without new signings until the end of the season.

Chelsea beat Arsenal 4-1 last season (Alex, Anelka, Toure og, Malouda − Bendtner). The Blues also had held the upperhand in the FA Cup semi-final against the Gunners 2-1 (Malouda, Drogba − Walcott) at Wembley but Wenger's Reds won the return league match at Stamford Bridge 2-1 (Van Persie 2 − Djourou og).

In the Champions League this week, Arsenal and Chelsea registered two fine wins as the Gunners beat Standard Liege 2-0 at home and Blues won 1-0 at Porto.

Manchester United are finding it hard to penetrate defences this season but for the first time in two months the Red Devils netted three in the Premier League at home to Everton last weekend.

Today, United visit the south coast to play guests to bottom-club Portsmouth, now under the stewardship of Avram Grant.

United's weakness in attack came to the fore in the Champions League on Wednesday when they went down 0-1 to Besiktas at Old Trafford.

Portsmouth thought that they would be able to stage a real fight after their home win over Wigan, yet this was followed by back-to-back defeats. Paul Hart's tenure was ended soon after this latest setback.

Tottenham are on cloud nine as striker Jermain Defoe burst the scoring charts with a five-hitter in one match.

The Spurs have given London teams a shot in the arm, making sure that three of the top four clubs hail from the capital following their 9-1 mauling of Wigan.

The last time a Premier side scored nine was in 1995 when Manchester United thumped Ipswich at Old Trafford.

This evening, Tottenham play away at Aston Villa who are three points behind in the standings. Villa won their last two league matches at home, including a 2-1 victory over Chelsea.

You have to go back to 1913 to find a Manchester City draw sequence of six successive matches in the league following the 2-2 stalemate against Liverpool in their last match.

The City fans want their side to return to winning form at home to lowly Hull today. Despite the loss of 12 points from their last six outings, midfielder Stephen Ireland insisted that City's top-four ambitions are still alive.

Liverpool are expected to have Fernando Torres on the sidelines for the Merseyside derby at Everton tomorrow. In the Champions League, the Reds beat Debrecen away on Tuesday but that was not enough to avoid early elimination.

Both Everton and Liverpool are struggling to find their best form of the season. Yet, in these matches players show more determination to finish on the winning end.

Sunderland are just five points outside the top-four zone and if they continue to show the same kind of spirit as they did in their 1-0 win over Arsenal they can be counted among the contenders for a Champions League berth next season.

Today, Sunderland play at Wigan, a team in dire straits after their massacre at White Hart Lane.

After gaining three priceless points at Portsmouth, Tony Pulis's Stoke clash with Blackburn at Ewood Park. Rovers boss Sam Allardyce is currently in hospital after heart surgery and hoping for a speedy recovery to get back to business again.

Blackburn have won all their last five league meetings against Stoke at their own patch.

A Midlands derby, that can spell trouble for the losers even if these are still early times, is the duel at Molineux between Wolves and Birmingham.

The Blues appear to have found their footing, having not lost in the last four league games. Wolves, however, are becoming the whipping boys of the division, having suffered eight goals in two outings.