All eyes will be on the Emirates Stadium this evening when Arsenal play hosts to Manchester United in the Premier League’s most attractive fixture of the weekend.

Both Arsenal and United have failed to sparkle so far and it’s no surprise that they are bracketed among the title outsiders at the moment.

The Gunners are currently sixth in the standings, on 17 points, following a 2-1 defeat to Swansea in their last outing. The Red Devils have one point less despite a hard-fought 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

This week, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insisted there are no plans to part with Lukas Podolski after the German suggested he could leave in January.

Arsenal right-back Mathieu Debuchy is on the mend after ankle ligament damage during a 2-2 draw with Manchester City in September while forward Olivier Giroud could be included in the squad for today’s match against United after an early recovery from a broken leg.

Meanwhile, United’s defensive problems have worsened with news that Dutch utility man Daley Blind could be sidelined for several weeks after being forced off against Latvia.

But on a more positive note, winger Angel Di Maria, goalkeeper David De Gea and midfielder Michael Carrick are expected to feature despite suffering injuries during the international break.

Man. United skipper Wayne Rooney is coming from a memorable week after making his 100th appearance for England in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia and then hitting a brace against Scotland on Tuesday.

The last ten meetings between Arsenal and United in London denote three wins apiece:

2014: Arsenal-United - 0-0
2013: Arsenal-United - 1-1
2012: Arsenal-United - 1-2
2011: Arsenal-United - 1-0
2010: Arsenal-United - 1-3
2008: Arsenal-United - 2-1
2007: Arsenal-United - 2-2
2007: Arsenal-United - 2-1
2006: Arsenal-United - 0-0
2005: Arsenal-United - 2-4

Leaders Chelsea start favourites to maintain their unbeaten run this afternoon when they host West Brom at Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho’s men are currently enjoying a four-point lead over Southampton as all other title rivals have failed to match the Blues’ consistency this season.

West Brom, who lost to Newcastle at the Hawthorns in their last match, are keen to hold on to striker Saido Berahino who is attracting a lot of interest from other Premier League sides.

On Monday, Southampton take a trip to the Midlands to play Aston Villa at Villa Park.

James Ward-Prowse is the latest Southampton player to catch the eye of Roy Hodgson with the England manager considering to bring in more competition for Jack Wilshere as the country’s midfield lynchpin.

At the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City play hosts to Swansea City.

The Citizens will be determined to take all three points as they look to put their title bid back on track after picking just one win from their last three matches.

Following their comeback win over Arsenal, fifth-placed Swansea will be looking at Jefferson Montero to produce another impressive performance to add more woes on Manchester City.

West Ham make the trip to Goodison Park to face Everton in search of their first win after two successive draws. The Toffees are hopeful of having Leighton Baines available after the wing-back picked up a hamstring injury during training with England.

Tomorrow, Liverpool travel to London to clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

The misfiring Reds suffered another injury setback this week with news that England forward Daniel Sturridge has suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury and is out for a further six weeks.

Fixtures and forecast

Premier League

Arsenal-Man. United (18:30) - X
Chelsea-West Brom - 1
Everton-West Ham - 1
Leicester-Sunderland - X
Man. City-Swansea - 1
Newcastle-QPR - 1
Stoke-Burnley - 1

Tomorrow:
C. Palace-Liverpool (14:30) - 2
Hull-Tottenham (17:00) - 2

Monday:
Aston Villa-S’hampton (21:00) - 2

Standings: Chelsea 29; Southampton 25; Man. City 21; West Ham, Swansea City 18; Arsenal 17; Man. United, Newcastle 16; Stoke 15; Everton, Liverpool, Tottenham 14; West Brom 13; Sunderland 12; Hull, Aston Villa 11; C. Palace, Leicester 9; QPR 8; Burnley 7.

The Championship
Blackburn-Leeds - 1
Blackpool-Bolton - 2
Bournemouth-Ipswich - 1
Charlton-Millwall - X
H’dersfield-Sheff. Wed. (13:15) - 1
Norwich-Brighton - 1
Rotherham-Birmingham - 1
Watford-Derby - X
Wigan-Middlesbrough - X
Wolves-Nottm Forest - 1

League One
Bradford-Gillingham - 1
Bristol City-Preston - 1
Chesterfield-Barnsley - 1
Colchester-Coventry - X
Crawley-Scunthorpe - 1
Fleetwood-Walsall - X
Leyton Orient-Crewe - 1
MK Dons-Port Vale - 1
Notts County-Yeovil - 1
Peterborough-Swindon - X
Rochdale-Doncaster - 1
Sheffield Utd-Oldham - 1

League Two
Accrington-Cambridge - X
Burton-Luton - X
Bury-Newport - 1
Cheltenham-Wycombe - X
Dagenham-Carlisle - 1
Exeter-Shrewsbury - 2
Hartlepool-York - X
Mansfield-Plymouth - X
Northampton-Stevenage - 1
Oxford-AFC Wimbledon - 1
Portsmouth-Morecambe - 1
Tranmere-Southend - X

Hot four
Chelsea, Everton, Manchester City, Newcastle United.