Premier League Matchday 28: Liverpool and City clash at Anfield

A huge weekend at the top of the Premier League approaches as leaders Liverpool host champions Manchester City at Anfield.

Elsewhere, Manchester United welcome Everton and Aston Villa take on Tottenham as the race for Champions League football hots up.

We preview an eye-catching Matchday 28 card.

Manchester United vs Everton (Saturday, 12.30pm, TNT Sports)

United's 3-1 loss to rivals City last weekend meant they fell further behind in the top-four race.

Erik ten Hag's side sit 11 points behind Villa in fourth and six off Spurs in fifth but have the chance to put pressure on when they host an Everton side who are winless in their last 10 Premier League matches.

The Red Devils have beaten the Toffees 40 times since the league's inception in 1992 but a loss at Old Trafford would be their third league defeat on the bounce — their worst run for nine years.

Bournemouth vs Sheffield United (Saturday, 3pm)

Sheffield United are in chaos after their 6-0 defeat to Arsenal meant they became the first team in English football history to concede five or more goals in four consecutive home games.

Chris Wilder's side are surely heading straight back down to the Championship with their away form hardly enough to lift anybody's spirits either.

The Blades have only won once on their travels in 2023-24 while the Cherries are unbeaten in all seven of their matches against promoted teams this season.

Crystal Palace vs Luton (Saturday, 3pm)

Crystal Palace looked good for 75 minutes against Tottenham last weekend but ultimately ran out of energy and lost the game.

The Eagles have dropped 16 points from winning positions this season — a trend Oliver Glasner will be hoping to buck as he implements his style in South London.

Luton have a real shot at survival in the final few months of the campaign and they will be relying on Alfie Doughty's set-piece expertise to get them over the line.

Only James Ward-Prowse (six) has more assists from dead-ball scenarios than the 24-year-old (five).

Wolves vs Fulham (Saturday, 3pm)

Wolves have never lost at home to Fulham in the Premier League and Gary O'Neil's side will be favoured to continue that run this weekend.

The Midlands club have only failed to score once in their last 20 outings at Molineux and their 40 total league goals so far this season is the most they have recorded since 2019-20.

But Fulham could complete their first league double over Wolves with a win.

Marco Silva's men have picked up four points in their last two top-flight away matches.

Arsenal vs Brentford (Saturday, 5.30pm, Sky Sports)

It is going to take something special to stop Arsenal at the moment after they became the first English team to ever score more than 30 goals in their first seven games of a calendar year.

Only three players have been directly involved in more Premier League goals than Bukayo Saka this season (21).

And the England international will be hoping to feature after being withdrawn early in the 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield United.

Brentford have only won once in nine visits to the Gunners in all competitions and have not beaten them away since 1938.

Aston Villa vs Tottenham (Sunday, 1pm, Sky Sports)

Champions League-chasing Villa are on a three-match winning run against Tottenham.

But Ange Postecoglou's side are sharp in the final third, scoring in all 26 of their Premier League matches this season, though they have only won one of their last six away from home.

The Villans are continuing their upward trajectory under Unai Emery and much of their success is down to Ollie Watkins, who has scored 16 goals and assisted 10 this term.

Brighton vs Nottingham Forest (Sunday, 2pm)

Brighton may play entertaining football but they are leaking goals as a result.

The Seagulls have kept just three clean sheets in their last 31 Premier League matches but are unbeaten in their last 11 at home, setting them up well for the visit of Nottingham Forest.

The Tricky Trees have lost 11 of their last 16 in the top flight and have failed to net on their last three trips to the Amex Stadium.

West Ham vs Burnley (Sunday, 2pm)

Vincent Kompany's Burnley have struggled to convert their expansive football into results, most recently having 74.7% possession against Bournemouth last weekend but losing 2-0.

Meanwhile, West Ham have already scored more goals (43) than they did in the entire 2022-23 campaign (42) and are unbeaten against the Clarets in their last five meetings.

Burnley have the second-lowest conversion rate in the top flight with 8.9% — their 281 shots producing just 25 goals this season.

Liverpool vs Manchester City (Sunday, 3.45pm, Sky Sports)

City may be Treble winners but they always struggle when they travel to Anfield.

Liverpool have only lost one of their last 20 home league matches against the champions — though Pep Guardiola's men have won the last nine on their travels in all competitions.

Jurgen Klopp will hope Mohamed Salah is fit, with the Egyptian boasting an impressive record of 17 goal involvements in 19 appearances against the Citizens for Liverpool.

Chelsea vs Newcastle (Monday, 8pm, Sky Sports)

There were calls for Mauricio Pochettino to be sacked from the travelling Chelsea support after the 2-2 draw at Brentford last weekend.

And the Blues boss will desperately hope his side can extend a run of just one defeat in 28 league matches against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge when the sides meet on Monday.

Eddie Howe's Toon have lost six of their last eight Premier League away games and must start picking up points on the road if they are to retain a spot in Europe next season.