1) Everton aim to exploit Liverpool’s fixture woe



For Liverpool it’s a case of after the lord mayor’s show, another lord mayor’s show and then another. Jürgen Klopp is angry about the scheduling of the Merseyside derby as an early Saturday kick-off in between each leg of a Champions League bout with Manchester City but the question is what is he going to do about it other than complain? He has two choices: rejig his team or risk using the players who swarmed all over City in the first leg and will probably be asked to do so again in the second. Chances are Klopp will make a lot of changes. Mohamed Salah will not play at Goodison and Liverpool could omit a raft of others who would normally feature, possibly paving the way for a long-awaited return for Nathaniel Clyne and a first appearance for Conor Masterson, the 19-year-old centre-back who, in the event of another injury, might otherwise find himself making a debut against Sergio Agüero and a City side pursuing a historic comeback. It has been nearly eight years since Everton beat Liverpool – they have a big opportunity to end that wait. PD

2) The resurgence of Watford’s Will Hughes

In only nine Premier League appearances for Watford this season, Will Hughes has scored two goals and provided three assists. The stand-out player in his side’s draw against Bournemouth last weekend, this distinctive blond was strongly linked with Liverpool as a teenager at Derby County following a meteoric rise in the wake of his debut for the Rams at the age of 17. Despite missing most of the 2015-16 season due to a cruciate ligament injury that required surgery, as well as a large chunk of this one due to his inability to nail down a place under Marco Silva, Hughes is closing in on his 200th appearance as a senior professional and is still only 22. Another eye-catching performance against Burnley ought to prompt more interest from the Premier League’s finest, while his decision to learn Spanish to pass the time during his convalescence from injury suggest he he is one of those rare English footballers who might welcome or even encourage a move abroad. BG

Will Hughes has impressed of late for Watford. Photograph: John Walton/PA

3) Can United spoil the party in Manchester derby?

It says plenty for the speed at which football’s cycle rumbles on that, three days after such a deflating experience at Anfield, Manchester City stand on the verge of an achievement that should go unparalleled in their history. Winning the Premier League title against Manchester United ought to be as good as it gets but there is no hiding the fact that, with such a colossal task ahead of them on Tuesday night, the timing of this particular derby could be far better. Pep Guardiola is certain to rest players with that in mind and it constitutes an opportunity for United, at the end of a season that has divided opinion so squarely, to make some sort of statement going into 2018-19. No one likes to be the uninvited guest at a rival’s celebration; that should be ample motivation for José Mourinho and his players, leaving City to tread a fine line. Do they go all out, and hope the emotion and exhilaration feed into their salvage operation against Liverpool, or do they conserve their resources and hope the end justifies the means? NA

4) Stoke should blame man at the top, not man in the middle



Stoke City’s chairman Peter Coates returned to a familiar theme this week, blaming his team’s recent defeats by Everton and Arsenal on bad refereeing. “There has been nothing wrong with our performances but everything wrong with the officials and decisions at big moments,” said Coates. While it is true that Stoke have been the victims of some peculiar calls this season, many teams have similar grievances and the reality is that bad decisions by Coates and his staff are the main reason why Stoke are threatened by relegation. Paul Lambert inherited a difficult situation when he replaced Hughes in January and has yet to suggest he can turn things around, overseeing one win in his 10 games in charge. Giving the young striker Tyrese Campbell a start might be in order but it is hard to see how Lambert can inspire a win at home to Spurs. The referee will be Graham Scott, who was berated by Hughes for awarding a penalty against Erik Pieters during West Ham’s 3-0 victory at the bet365 earlier this season. But the referee was not responsible for that defeat and probably will not be the first person to point at after Saturday’s match either. PD

5) The new (caretaker) manager bounce Pardew failed to deliver?

Swansea are far from safe and must be cursing their luck that they travel to an apparently doomed West Brom at the end of a week in which the West Midlands club unburdened themselves of Alan Pardew. Installed in his place, the universally popular Darren Moore has called for a spirit of togetherness at a club whose players previously appeared united only in their contempt for their egomaniacal manager. In the wake of his departure there seems every chance they will get the “new manager bounce” so inconsiderately “ruined” for Pardew by Gary Megson. This is one of those rare occasions when it is almost certainly not a good time to be playing West Brom. BG

Darren Moore will take charge of West Brom until the end of the season. Photograph: Matthew Ashton - AMA/WBA FC via Getty Images

6) Will Arsenal be able to build on Europa League rout?

Arsenal have now won five games in a row and that torrid run of January and February, when a nadir appeared to have been reached in Arsène Wenger’s tenure, has been arrested for now. It may matter little for the rest of their domestic season, and perhaps where Wenger’s future is concerned too, but 15 goals across that victorious run is an impressive statistic and there is certainly the sense that Arsenal should have another gear or two. They showed what they are capable of full flow in defeating CSKA Moscow 4-1, a result that should have been even more convincing, and the task now is to do the same against Premier League opponents who are invariably more savvy on a tactical level. A desperate Southampton are unlikely to present their most exacting test of the campaign at the Emirates on Sunday but a continuation of Arsenal’s form, with a dose of Thursday night’s flair flair thrown in, would bode well. NA

7) An end to Huddersfield’s goal drought?

A win against Brighton for Huddersfield would send them level on points with Chris Hughton’s side, albeit with an inferior goal difference and with one match more in the can. More worrying for the Terriers than a return of one point from the last 12 available is a four-game goal drought that needs to end if they are to avoid getting sucked into the bottom three. Finding goals so hard to come by, David Wagner’s decision to leave the club’s top scorer, Steve Mounié, on the bench until the 83rd minute of last weekend’s defeat at Newcastle seems a strange one unless the player was not fully fit. With eight goals to his name in all competitions, the Benin international has been solid if unspectacular, but his return of one goal for every 221 minutes played makes him considerably more prolific than any of his team-mates. He needs to refind his mojo for a six-match run-in that concludes with games against Manchester City (away), Chelsea (away) and Arsenal (home). While these Big Six sides may not have much to play for in May, it would be foolish of Huddersfield to bank on any benevolence from these heavyweights when there are games against Brighton (a), Watford (h) and Everton (h) to contest first. BG

Can Steve Mounie give Huddersfield some oomph up front? Photograph: Nigel Roddis/Getty Images

8) The ongoing struggles of Christian Benteke

Christian Benteke looks a striker so bereft of confidence that one cannot help but feel that he was looking forward to the return of his Crystal Palace team-mate and fellow centre-forward Connor Wickham from a long-term knee injury, if only to earn some respite from his now weekly traumas in front of goal with a long overdue and merciful spell on the subs’ bench. His tribulations look set to continue at Bournemouth after Wickham suffered a groin strain in training when on the verge of a return after over a year on the sidelines. Anguish for both strikers, then, but at least Benteke is in a position to do something about his. BG

9) Mike Ashley’s plan close to paying off



You’ve got to hand it to Mike Ashley: he bet on Rafael Benítez’s pride and nous compensating for the lack of investment that the manager persistently railed against and it looks like that ploy will pay off. In Ashley’s terms, that is. Benítez and Newcastle’s fans understandably have higher ambitions than just to avoid relegation. But survival is a decent starting point for a first season back in the top flight and prior to a potential sale of the club. Newcastle could practically make sure of safety by winning at Leicester on Saturday, which is a tall order, admittedly, against a Leicester team that really should have secured seventh place at least by now. PD

Mike Ashley’s plan seems to have paid off. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

10) Conte’s long goodbye continues

Chelsea were not expecting that, with seven Premier League games remaining, their only realistic source of joy would lie in the FA Cup but the rest of their top-flight campaign assumes a deathly pallor. It would be a surprise if Antonio Conte let things slide too far, though, and no one at Stamford Bridge will be inclined to lose a second home derby in as many weeks. The 1-0 defeat at the London Stadium in December was one of their worst performances of the season and, after it, Conte conceded that their title defence was as good as over. Things have only deteriorated since then and it feels like a long goodbye for the Italian, who finds himself in a position unbecoming of the work he has done over the past two years. West Ham may feel poised to capitalise and earn the win that would all but keep them up; there will, though, be more than a few people wondering just how Conte keeps his energy levels up from hereon. NA