(Football news) Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City will face an injury-plagued Leeds United at the Etihad Stadium, hoping to secure three points and remaining out of reach from Liverpool and Chelsea. Pep Guardiola will be happy to hear that Ilkay Gundogan has passed his fitness test and will be available for selection while Ferran Torres is the only notable absentee and is expected to be out until January due to a broken metatarsal.
Things aren’t looking too good for Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United as none of the players who missed Saturday’s defeat against Chelsea will be available for selection. Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper and Patrick Bamford are expected to remain on the sidelines due to hamstring injuries while Pascal Struijk, Robin Koch and Rodrigo are also unavailable.
City have been struggling to score many goals, having won three of their last four league matches with a one goal margin and will be wary of Leeds United, having failed to win any of their previous two encounters last season, drawing 1-1 at Elland Road and losing 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
One of the most exciting clashes to look out for is Arsenal taking on West Ham United, two London based sides battling it out for a place in the top 4 in the Premier League. The Gunners won 3-0 against Southampton in the last match while West Ham drew to Burnley. Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang is expected to be back in the squad but Arteta is expected to start with Alexandre Lacazette. Emile Smith Rowe may return to the starting XI in the place of Gabriel Martinelli while Bernd Leno and Sead Kolasinac are the only players unavailable for selection due to injuries.
For West Ham, Aaron Cresswell is expected to return after recovering from a back problem but Ben Johnson, Kurt Zouma, Ryan Fredericks and Angelo Ogbonna remain unavailable. David Moyes is expected to start with Issa Diop and Craig Dawson in the defense while Manuel Lanzini could be replaced by Pablo Fornals. Michail Antonio is a guaranteed starter as he has a good record in London derbies, having scored five goals and setting up six in 11 games.
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Chelsea will welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge, looking to display a more convincing performance than their narrow victory against Leeds last weekend. The Blues have quite a few injuries with Jorginho doubtful for the fixture due to back pain while Kai Havertz, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Trevor Chalobah and Ben Chilwell are unavailable for selection. Everton are currently 14th in the Premier League and have lost their last three games. Rafa Benitez will be without Santi Mina, Calvert-Lewin, Sigurdsson and Davies for the fixture and even a single point would be a great result for the Toffees.
Liverpool are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League and are looking like genuine title contenders this season. They will face 19th place Newcastle United who have drawn two and lost one of their last three games and will need a miraculous January transfer window to remain in the Premier League next season. Jurgen Klopp will be without Naby Keita, Harvey Elliot and Roberto Firmino while Diogo Jota might be on the bench. The Reds are expected to not just take three points but win this fixture emphatically to apply pressure on league leaders Manchester City.
