Our football writers preview what could be a momentous few days at both ends of the Barclays Premier League table. Arsenal could see their season implode within a week following Champions League defeat to Barcelona, while Tottenham must get a result against their north London rivals if they are to keep pace with Leicester. Meanwhile, it’s also looking like a crunch week for Big Sam too....
Tottenham Hotspur
I’ll be at Upton Park tomorrow evening and I’m very eager to see whether Tottenham can overcome the first of two extremely tough London derby matches in a four-day period that will tell us so much about their title ambitions.
Despite their excellent recent form, Tottenham could be five points adrift of Leicester City again by the time they go to West Ham tomorrow night. It will be a hostile atmosphere – the last time this fixture will be played at Upton Park, sadly – and, with West Ham in fine form themselves, it will be a huge test of Tottenham’s newfound resolve. Then comes the small matter of a north London derby at home to Arsenal on Saturday. I’m fascinated to see how they come through these two assignments. Oliver Kay, Chief Football Correspondent
Arsène Wenger
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Arsène Wenger admitted this morning that Arsenal have had a “very, very bad week,” so the Frenchman now desperately needs a good one. Arsenal’s fate is in their own hands as they seek to win their first Barclays Premier League title in 12 years, but those championship hopes could be extinguished if they fail to win at least one and preferably both of this week’s matches against Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur. As Arsenal are all but out of the Champions League following their first leg home defeat to Barcelona, another bad week could effectively end their season, as a crucial seven days concludes with an FA Cup replay at Hull City next Tuesday. Wenger will be desperate to ensure that Arsenal have more to play for at the end of it than the FA’s consolation prize. Matt Hughes, Deputy Football Correspondent
Sunderland
Off the pitch, the conclusion to the Adam Johnson trial will rightly bring uncomfortable questions for the football club, while on it, Sam Allardyce’s team face pivotal matches against Crystal Palace and Southampton. For all their improvement in organisation and performance since the manager’s arrival in October, they remain locked in the bottom three and, as the manager said yesterday, the time for “pussy-footing,” is at an end. George Caulkin, Northern Sports Correspondent
Crystal Palace
Alan Pardew was exaggerating only slightly when he said yesterday that Crystal Palace are in a relegation battle. His side are, after all, still eight points ahead of Newcastle; their tally of 32 means that a couple of wins should see them safe.
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That, however, may be rather easier said than done. Palace have not won in the Premier League in 2016; they have picked up just three points in the ten games since the win at Stoke on December 19. Even by Pardew’s standards - few managers have quite such a snakes and ladders approach to form - it is an alarming slump.
They may not yet be in danger of dropping into the mire, then, but they are not far off. They travel to Sunderland tonight and host an unpredictable Liverpool on Saturday. Lose both and the drama may well turn into a crisis. Rory Smith
Andy King
It all began with Andy King. The Leicester City midfielder’s 86th-minute winner against West Ham United last April started a staggering run of results for his team that warded off relegation and has left them top of the Barclays Premier League with 11 games left of this campaign. The Welshman has spent most of this season on the bench, his only two league starts since August coming at Christmas as a replacement for the injured Danny Drinkwater. But now an injury to N’Golo Kanté means King will be thrust back into the team for games this week at home to West Bromwich Albion and away to Watford. Can he deliver? Bill Edgar
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Arsenal fans
Bubbling with anger about Wenger’s failings on social media in the past few days, they rarely display anywhere near enough energy and noise required to lift the side at the Emirates Stadium. Hosting Swansea City could one of those frustrating nights and home fans could learn a leaf from their Tottenham counterparts who were patient, even when losing, on Sunday. Gary Jacob
Sam Allardyce
It’s a big week for Sam Allardyce who was left pondering that most difficult of dilemmas after his team’s defeat to West Ham on Saturday. He can cope with winning ugly but losing elegantly is a headache. One crass defensive error aside, Sunderland were okay. They were fine. It makes the next team talk a bit too equivocal given that the club are in dire straits. Alyson Rudd
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Roberto Martínez
Eleventh in the Premier League and with only the FA Cup left to play for in a season of under-achievement, Everton have, nevertheless, enjoyed arguably their most exciting week for several years after Fargad Moshiri’s investment in the club was confirmed on Saturday.
The feelgood factor was particularly tangible at Roberto Martínez’s press conference yesterday at which the Everton manager spent more time discussing his excitement at Moshiri’s staged takeover than he did previewing tonight’s Premier League game away to Aston Villa.
Within the euphoria, though, is an acceptance that Moshiri’s ambition will engender a heightening of expectations and from Martínez’s point of view there would certainly be no better time to ensure that his team begins punching its weight on a regular basis and stops being less than the sum of its parts.
Moshiri wants Everton to become a Champions League club and while a top-four finish is out of the question this season, Martínez will know that a positive finish to the campaign and creating genuine momentum would not only add to the current feelgood factor, it would also increase his own job security. For the manager and everyone else at Everton, it’s time for their potential to start being realised. Tony Barrett