1) The weekend’s ‘biggest’ game is arguably most irrelevant

If Chelsea beat Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, they will open an unassailable 12-point over their London rivals and consign angry Gooners to yet another season pondering what might have been if it was not for their team’s ongoing propensity to blast themselves in the foot against teams any genuine title contenders should be swatting aside with extreme prejudice. Against opposition from the Big Six, Chelsea have dropped 11 points in this campaign compared with Arsenal’s 10 and yet the chasm between both clubs currently stands at nine points due to Arsenal’s carelessness in the face of teams such as Watford, Bournemouth, Middlesbrough, this season’s incarnation of Leicester City and – to a lesser extent – Everton. By contrast, the only team outside the top six to take points from Chelsea have been Swansea. Following their midweek pratfall at the Emirates against a Watford side that had failed to win any of their previous seven league games, many will be expecting a reaction from an Arsenal side whose emphatic win over Chelsea in September prompted Antonio Conte to switch to the formation that has served him so well ever since. We may well get one, but it is unlikely to make any difference to Arsenal’s increasingly forlorn looking title tilt. Given Arsenal’s obvious collective frailties, they look the most poorly equipped of the chasing pack to take advantage in the very unlikely event of Chelsea performing a Devon Loch. BG

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2) Goals become the big issue for Leicester

Leicester have gained only one point in their four games thus far in 2017. Still, at least that outstrips their goals tally, which stands at zero in the league in 2017 – they are the only Premier League team who did not score in January. Leicester are two points off the relegation zone, and while they knew they were in a relegation battle before, they are really in the mire now, and goals have become the main problem. Jamie Vardy has scored in only one game since September, a hat-trick against Manchester City which now looks like more of an anomaly than their title win last season. Islam Slimani returned from the Africa Cup of Nations injured, Ahmed Musa has not scored in the league since October and Leonardo Ulloa has set up camp outside the King Power with a selection of signs, a flask of tea and his union rep on speed dial. Shinji Okazaki, a worker and a fine player but no one’s idea of a prolific scorer, currently looks like their most potent threat. A troubling state of affairs and no mistake. This season, perhaps, is a perfect example of what happens when everything goes wrong, as opposed to when everything goes right: with Manchester United looming on Sunday, last season seems like a mirage now. NM

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Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jamie Vardy goes close to breaking his scoring drought against Burnley in midweek. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters

3) Sunderland’s other players need to step up

Here is a fact that probably will not surprise you: Jermain Defoe is, in terms of contribution to goals (scoring and setting up), Sunderland’s most important player. But the extent to which he is might raise some eyebrows: Defoe has provided either the assist or final touch for 70% of his team’s goals. The next on the Premier League list is Álvaro Negredo, responsible for 52% of Middlesbrough’s goals. The last time a Sunderland player other than Defoe scored a goal was Fabio Borini’s consolation against Manchester United on Boxing Day. The last time a Sunderland player other than Defoe scored a goal that had a direct impact on the match result was Patrick van Aanholt a week or so earlier. At this stage, the rest of their players might as well not bother crossing the halfway line. This is a roundabout way of making a relatively straightforward point, but it is worth emphasising just how heavily Sunderland rely on their 34-year-old striker. Their other players, to put things lightly, need to step up, pronto, starting at Selhurst Park where they meet their old boss Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace. NM

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4) Could Lookman make his full debut for Everton?

Ronald Koeman has been pretty effusive about the merits of young talent recently. “I admire the attitude, the spirit and the values of young English footballers,” he said last week. “They have an incredible desire.” And, of course, he has not been shy of backing words up with team selection, Tom Davies and Mason Holgate two of the youngsters given chances in the first XI, rewarding their manager with some fine performances. “The problem is that managers here wait a long time before they launch young players,” Koeman continued. “If a player has the talent, my motto is that you must give him the stage to show it.” For Ademola Lookman, the young winger signed in January from Charlton who has showed impressive form off the bench, that stage could be this Saturday against Bournemouth. On Wednesday Koeman hinted that Lookman might receive his full debut sooner rather than later – why not against the Cherries, whose defence can be a little questionable? NM

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5) Saints get Gabbiadini acquainted with English rhythms

Clashes do not get much more mid-table, with 11th-placed West Ham travelling to 12th-placed Southampton for a game between two teams who can almost, but not quite, afford to turn their attention towards the beach as far as the Premier League is concerned. Of course, the players of Southampton have the small matter of the EFL Cup final to think about and would not be human if they did not already have one eye on their Wembley appointment with Manchester United on the final Sunday of this month. With Southampton’s Premier League safety more or less a given, Claude Puel’s decision to field a second-string team against Arsenal in last weekend’s FA Cup fourth-round tie was greeted with general bafflement. However, the subsequent slaughter means his team will have a fortnight to prepare for their first major final since 2003. Having already lost against Swansea City in the Premier League since qualifying for the League Cup final, Saints must face West Ham and Sunderland before Wembley. It is an ideal opportunity to get their exciting new bargain acquisition Manolo Gabbiadini acquainted with the rhythms of English football before Sunday 26 February, but otherwise his new team-mates could be forgiven for not over-exerting themselves before the looming big day. BG

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6) Silva given a near-impossible task

One wonders if Hull’s board told Marco Silva at his job interview that, as he took over a club heading for relegation largely thanks to a deficient squad, they would be selling a couple of his key players. They kept hold of Andy Robertson, but Robert Snodgrass and Jake Livermore were moved on, for respectable fees, and replaced by a collection of eight recruits that could come off, or could disappear without a trace. Perhaps it is a logical move – given that the existing players were the ones who had got them in trouble in the first place they might as well get some new ones in – but it is a risky one. Lazar Markovic looked off the pace straightaway when he joined Liverpool (Hull’s opponents this weekend), Andrea Ranocchia carries a whiff of slapstick and Oumar Niasse is – how to word this politely – a little erratic. Still, Evandro looks lively and Kamil Grosicki should give them some spark. Should Silva get Hull out of this mess, in these circumstances, he will be in contention for manager of the year. NM

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7) Does Burnley’s terrible away record matter?

Only Chelsea have won more home games than Burnley. No one has fewer away points than Burnley. It seems churlish in the extreme to tick off Sean Dyche about how his team’s season is going, because they are ninth and could probably down tools for the remainder of the season and still stay up. But if they had even an average record on the road – say, three wins and three draws – then they would be on Manchester United’s heels. It is fairly extraordinary that a team can reach this stage of the season and contrive to only pick up a single point away from home, but that is what Burnley have done. However, their next three away games are Saturday at Watford, then Hull, then Swansea. They will have no better time to cure their travel sickness. NM

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Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sean Dyche’s side continue to struggle on the road. Photograph: BPI/REX/Shutterstock

8) Sané, Manchester City’s most important attacker?

“He arrived a little bit like: ‘Wow, where am I?’” said Pep Guardiola of Leroy Sané’s first few weeks in Manchester. Indeed, in those early days he looked bemused, a boy sent to do a man’s job and not convinced he was up to it. That has changed now, though: in recent weeks Sané has showed exactly why he was so sought-after in the summer. “He’s so good at attacking the space,” Guardiola continued. “He’s really good with the ball and dribbling ... even without the ball he’s getting better. He’s so aggressive when he doesn’t have it.” Guardiola basically described the perfect modern forward, who works tirelessly to win the ball and does something special when he has got it. Raheem Sterling has been inconsistent, Gabriel Jesus is bedding in and for whatever reason Guardiola does not seem quite as enamoured with Sergio Agüero as most: could Sané turn out to be City’s most important attacker in the latter stages of the season? NM

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9) Will Berahino strike against his former club?

Nearly everywhere you look at the Hawthorns on Saturday there could be venerable professionals defying their age and demonstrating the virtues of true commitment to their craft. West Brom’s 37-year-old centre-back Gareth McAuley may joust with Stoke’s 36-year-old goleador Peter Crouch; Glenn Whelan and Darren Fletcher could wage high-class war in central midfield; and Charlie Adam and Chris Brunt may stage an exhibition of cultured left feet. Lovely. But we all know that what everyone really wants to see is Saido Berahino lash the ball into the West Brom net and charge towards Tony Pulis with Emmanuel Adebayor-esque glee. Nothing against the West Brom manager, you understand, it is just that it would be very funny. PD

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10) Boro could be thorny opponents for Rose-less Spurs

Danny Rose could prove a significant loss to Spurs if his knee injury keeps him out of action for many matches but Mauricio Pochettino will be confident that his team can cope without their No1 left-back this weekend, at least. Rose did not play when Spurs outclassed Middlesbrough to win at the Riverside in September. On the other hand, Aitor Karanka knows that Boro’s best spell in that match came in the last half an hour after the introduction of Adama Traoré, whose thrust on the counterattack could help the visitors exploit Rose’s absence at White Hart Lane. Boro may not have won away in the league since their first game on the road this season against Sunderland but they have demonstrated their ability to keep things tight away to the top teams, having drawn at Manchester City and been on the brink of victory at Manchester United before conceding twice in the last five minutes. Spurs will have to be clinical to avoid being frustrated by a north-east team for the second time in this week. PD