Arsenal will be banking on their strong away league record this season as they look to strengthen their grip on top spot when they travel to Aston Villa on Monday.
The Gunners are currently leading the way on 45 points, just one ahead of Manchester City who could go temporarily top if they beat Newcastle away tomorrow.
Arsene Wenger’s team have been consistent away from the Emirates Stadium this season after recording seven league victories and will be confident they can take all points against the struggling Villans.
The Gunners also have a score to settle with Aston Villa as they beat them 3-1 in north London back in August.
The Gunners will be without winger Theo Walcott who suffered a cruciate knee injury in the 2-0 FA Cup win over Tottenham that will sideline him for the rest of the season. On a more positive note Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is nearing full fitness.
Villa manager Paul Lambert is under intense pressure after seeing his charges suffer a disappointing home defeat to Sheffield United in the FA Cup.
Villa Park is a happy hunting ground for the Gunners.
In fact, in the last decade of Premier League football the Midlands side failed to topple the Londoners at home, thus:
2012 Nov.: Villa-Arsenal 0-0.
2011 Dec.: Villa-Arsenal 1-2.
2010 Nov.: Villa-Arsenal 2-4.
2010 Jan.: Villa-Arsenal 0-0.
2008 Dec.: Villa-Arsenal 2-2.
2007 Dec.: Villa-Arsenal 1-2.
2007 March: Villa-Arsenal 0-1.
2005 Dec.: Villa-Arsenal 0-0.
2005 Feb.: Villa-Arsenal 1-3.
2004 Jan.: Villa-Arsenal 0-2.
Second-placed Manchester City have been one of the most in-form teams in England lately.
In midweek, the Citizens all but secured their place in the League Cup final after crushing West Ham 6-0 in the semi-final first leg at the Etihad Stadium.
This weekend, they have a tricky match at St James’ Park to face a Newcastle side still smarting from a surprise exit to Cardiff City in the FA Cup third round.
City are hoping to have prolific scorer Sergio Aguero back by the end of the month but Alvaro Negredo has made the Argentine’s absence going almost unnoticed with a hat-trick against the Hammers on Wednesday.
Jose Mourinho steered Chelsea into the next round of the FA Cup with a win at Derby and this afternoon the third-placed Blues stay on their travels to play Hull as they look to keep the pace with Arsenal and Manchester City.
After avoiding a cup upset to Oldham for a second successive year, Liverpool play Stoke at the Britannia Stadium tomorrow.
This week, Reds boss Brendan Rodgers urged his fringe players to step up their game as they could be decisive in the team’s push for success this season.
Elsewhere, misfiring cham-pions Manchester United will be looking to avenge their FA Cup defeat to Swansea City when they host the Welsh club again this evening.
Man. United are in desperate need of points not to fall behind in the race for the top four positions in the standings and the same goes for fifth-placed Everton who play relegation-troubled Norwich City at Goodison Park.
After their upset in the derby, Tottenham will be involved in another London clash, this time playing hosts to Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane.
Fixtures and forecast
Premier League
Cardiff-West Ham X
Everton-Norwich 1
Fulham-Sunderland X
Hull-Chelsea (13:45)2
Man. United-Swansea (18:30)1
Southampton-West Brom 1
Tottenham-Crystal Palace 1
Tomorrow:
Newcastle-Man. City (15:05) 2
Stoke-Liverpool (17:10) 2
Monday:
Aston Villa-Arsenal (21:00)2
Standings: Arsenal 45; Man. City 44; Chelsea 43; Liverpool 39; Everton 38; Tottenham 37; Man. United 34; Newcastle 33; Southampton 27; Hull City, Aston Villa 23; Stoke City 22; Swansea, West Brom 21; Norwich City 20; Fulham 19; Cardiff City 18; Crystal Palace 17; West Ham 15; Sunderland 14.
The Championship
Blackburn-Doncaster 1
Blackpool-Middlesbrough X
Bolton-Nottm Forest X
Brighton-Birmingham 1
Charlton-Barnsley 1
Huddersfield-Millwall 1
Ipswich-QPR2
Sheffield Wed.-Leeds (13:15) X
Watford-Reading 1
Wigan-Bournemouth 1
Yeovil-Burnley 2
League One
Bradford-Bristol City X
Brentford-Port Vale 1
Colchester-Gillingham 1
Leyton Orient-Carlisle 1
MK Dons-Shrewsbury 1
Notts County-Sheff. United 2
Oldham-Stevenage 1
Rotherham-Crewe1
Swindon-Peterborough 1
Tranmere-Walsall 2
Wolves-Preston 1
Tomorrow:
Coventry-Crawley (16:00) X
League Two
Accrington-Newport X
AFC Wimbledon-Torquay 1
Bristol Rovers-Exeter 1
Burton-Cheltenham 1
Chesterfield-Bury 1
Dagenham-Fleetwood X
Hartlepool-Rochdale X
Mansfield-Scunthorpe 2
Morecambe-Wycombe 1
Northampton-York X
Oxford-Portsmouth 1
Plymouth-Southend X
Hot Four
Everton, Manchester United, Southampton, Tottenham.