1) Long goodbye for Wenger at Old Trafford

Arsène Wenger has experienced his fair share of unforgettable moments at Old Trafford, from that Marc Overmars winner in 1998 to Sylvain Wiltord’s title-clinching goal in 2002, to that farcical adventure into the stands in 2009, and it feels right that the Frenchman will get to enjoy one last bout with the team who shaped the greatest rivalry of his Arsenal career. Sir Alex Ferguson won’t join him on the touchline, of course, so Wenger will have to make do with his Portuguese best friend for company and there is bound to be plenty of nostalgia before the game. Yet it would be very out of character for José Mourinho to let any sentimental thoughts cloud his mind. United’s manager will not want his players to be merciful towards a team without an away point in 2018 – the kind of statement that underlines why Wenger is leaving. Mourinho will surely tell Alexis Sánchez to demonstrate why he had to leave Arsenal in January. Wenger, without a league win at Old Trafford since 2006, could be in for a long afternoon. JS

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2) Southampton to come out swinging?

Southampton fans live in hope – not much, but a little – of extricating themselves from their current pickle, but the timidity of their team’s recent performances suggests relegation is a formality. A win against Bournemouth would give them some much needed confidence and a small chance of dragging themselves out of the abyss, but given the porousness of their defence, the glacial speed of their build-up play and reluctance to play a passing game in favour of slinging hopeful balls in the general direction of Charlie Austin and/or Shane Long, it is difficult to see them troubling a Bournemouth side with little or nothing to play for. If Southampton are going to go down, they might as well go down swinging. If Mark Hughes is to avoid the ignominy of steering two different teams towards relegation this season, he needs to release the handbrake and just let his players play. Well, that or pray for a Stoke miracle. BG

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Charlie Austin is Southampton’s top scorer in the league this season with seven goals. Photograph: Richard Calver/Rex/Shutterstock

3) Neutrals must support Stoke at Anfield

There are certain managers who would instruct Stoke’s players to give their Liverpool counterparts a few meaty clatters early doors on Saturday to see whether they fancy a rumble before the second leg of the Champions League semi-final. Paul Lambert would surely not issue such an order but Jürgen Klopp may choose to keep many of his key players out of harm’s way all the same. Resting Mohamed Salah seems an obvious precaution but his most difficult decision is in midfield, where Liverpool have only three senior players available – which is why they should preserve them for the duel in Rome. That would be a boon for Stoke, whose best outfield players are all midfielders (Badou Ndiaye, Xherdan Shaqiri, Joe Allen and Moritz Bauer, a right-back who has been deployed in midfield in the last two matches). If Stoke were to muster their first league win at Anfield since 1959, that would be a fine thing for neutrals, simultaneously adding fresh intrigue to the race for the top four and the battle against relegation. PD

4) André Ayew needed to stop Swansea slump

Is the Carlos Carvalhal revival grinding to a halt at the worst possible moment? Swansea have picked up three points from five games since beating West Ham on 3 March and have failed to take advantage of a few winnable fixtures. They could find themselves just a point above the bottom three if results go against them this weekend, and perhaps the biggest concern before they host Chelsea is that the goals have dried up. With Tammy Abraham ineligible against his parent club, the onus is on André Ayew to show why Swansea paid £20m to bring him back to the Liberty Stadium in January. The Ghanaian forward has not scored since his move from West Ham. JS

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5) Huddersfield to make sure of survival?

Should Swansea and Southampton embark on ridiculously implausible winning streaks, Huddersfield Town could need as many as seven points from their remaining four matches to guarantee the Premier League safety many “Einsteins” (but not this one) presumed would elude David Wagner’s promoted side. Last gasp Houdini acts are rare but not unheard of – in 2008, Bolton and Fulham electro-shocked themselves out of the bottom three at the expense of Birmingham City and Reading, despite having been in all sorts of bother with just a few games to go. Three points would almost certainly see Huddersfield safe, but they cannot afford complacency. With matches to come against Manchester City (a), Chelsea (a) and Arsenal (h), they will scarcely find three points easier to come by than those on offer at home against Sam Allardyce’s much and justifiably maligned Everton. BG

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Huddersfield Town are on course to secure a second season in the Premier League despite gloomy pre-season predictions. Photograph: Matt West/BPI/Rex/Shutterstock

6) Rice can redeem himself against rampant City

The emergence of Declan Rice has been a rare positive in a dreadful season for West Ham, but the teenage centre-back was the villain in Sunday’s 4-1 defeat at Arsenal. West Ham looked good for a point until the fatal moment when Rice chose to duck below Aaron Ramsey’s 82nd-minute cross, leaving a surprised Joe Hart with no time to stop the ball from drifting past him. David Moyes was unsparing in his criticism after the game, but mistakes are to be expected from young players. The Republic of Ireland international is regarded as an assiduous and eager character, which is just as well given that West Ham’s ridiculous lack of depth has forced the inexperienced 19-year-old to learn on the job. Rice is likely to keep his place when Manchester City visit the London Stadium on Sunday – mainly because there is nobody waiting to take it – and it will be fascinating to see how he fares against the rampant champions. JS

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7) Kane back in the spotlight against Watford

Nine days after the disappointment of their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United, Tottenham return to Wembley and must rouse themselves for the meat-and-potatoes drudgery of a league match against Watford. While radio phone-ins are probably not the most accurate barometer of fan opinion, Mauricio Pochettino will hope the general feeling of end-of-season ennui permeating the airwaves isn’t echoed in the performance of players who haven’t yet guaranteed their top four status. Harry Kane looks to be in dire need of a rest, whether it is through fatigue, a lack of fitness, a lack of form, or all of the above. After becoming the subject of much ridicule over his successful attempts to claim that goal against Stoke City, Kane’s obsession with winning the golden boot is in little doubt. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if he starts against a Watford side that has long since decamped to the beach, intrigued observers could be justified in asking who exactly has the final say when it comes to picking this Tottenham team. BG

8) A prime opportunity for Palace to secure survival

It is a commonly held opinion that Southampton deserve to go down because they got ideas above their station when they jilted Claude Puel last season. But an increasing number of Leicester fans – and some players – are beginning to see what Southampton fans were complaining about. After an impressive start by the Frenchman there have been curious recurring features to Leicester’s performances in the last couple of months, including awful first halves, puzzling team selections (though recent omissions of Wes Morgan and Danny Simpson were understandable) and a tendency to leave Jamie Vardy isolated (which makes his scoring streak all the more impressive). If that form continues, then Leicester’s trip to Selhurst Park represents an excellent opportunity for Crystal Palace to gain the win that would effectively make them safe. For that to happen, James Tomkins and Mamadou Sakho will have to play as well as they did at Watford last week when Leicester stage their probable late rally. PD



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ashley Barnes needs one more goal to reach double figures in the Premier League, having already done so in the second and third tiers with Brighton. Photograph: Ed Sykes/Action Images via Reuters

9) Burnley and Brighton show another way forward

Brighton’s visit to Turf Moor constitutes something of an old boys’ reunion. Between them, Burnley players Stephen Ward, Chris Wood, Ashley Barnes and Sam Vokes played over 230 times for Brighton in the lower tiers before establishing themselves as valuable members of a squad threatening to upset the Premier League’s big-six hegemony. Eight of Brighton’s most recent starting XI helped the team secure promotion to the top tier last season, and look likely to keep them there. Both teams could do with all three points but they are unlikely to be crucial for either in the cosmic scheme of things. If nothing else, this encounter will go a long way towards proving that when the coaching is good enough, massive spending is not a pre-requisite for thriving in the Premier League. BG

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10) Moore to boost his West Brom credentials

At least West Brom have managed to salvage a smidgen of pride from this miserable campaign. Everything feels brighter now that Alan Pardew has left, which is strange, and the Premier League’s bottom side have taken five points from their first three matches under Darren Moore. Last weekend’s comeback against Liverpool probably only delayed the inevitable, but the belated discovery of some fight has lifted the mood before the summer and boosted Moore’s hopes of being given the job on a permanent basis. He deserves a chance, and another strong performance against Newcastle will make his case even more convincing. JS