The North London derby heads a tasty quartet of Premier League encounters as the race for European places intensifies.

Arsenal and Tottenham renew their rivalry in the North London derby, while Manchester United‘s clash with West Ham sees both clubs hunting a precious three points in the battle for a top-four finish. 

Leicester will also be looking to pile the misery on basement boys Sheffield United, who appear destined to be playing Championship football next term. 

Southampton vs Brighton (12pm, BBC One) 

Southampton welcome Brighton to St Mary’s in a game that could yet have huge ramifications in the relegation battle.

Although there currently remains a seven-point buffer between the Saints and the bottom three, a few more points must be pocketed up before they can consider themselves completely safe. 

With only two victories and a worrying 10 defeats in their last 16 league outings, this clash — along with upcoming games against Burnley, West Brom and Crystal Palace — will either see Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side safely into mid-table or be pulled into the scrap. 

After a run of only two losses in 12, Brighton find their top-flight status back in the balance after suffering three straight defeats — each coming by a single-goal margin. 

The Seagulls have only found the net six times in their last 10 outings and will also carry the baggage of never having beaten Southampton in a Premier League game in seven attempts. 

Moussa Djenepo could return for the Saints but Danny Ings and Theo Walcott (both muscle injuries) are likely to be sidelined until the end of the month. Tariq Lamptey (hamstring) and Adam Webster (ankle) are still unavailable for the visitors.

Leicester vs Sheffield United (2pm, Sky Sports) 

High-flying Leicester will see three points as a must when rock-bottom Sheffield United visit the King Power Stadium. 

As they bid to avoid a repeat of last season's late collapse, Brendan Rodgers’ men managed to put the disappointment of dropped points against Arsenal and Burnley behind them last weekend with a vital comeback victory at Brighton.

Foxes ace Kelechi Iheanacho has battled his way into the starting XI in recent weeks and the forward will be looking to score in a third straight Premier League game for the first time in his career. 

Despite seemingly having the backing of the club’s board throughout a testing campaign, Chris Wilder left the Blades by mutual consent on Saturday.

Wilder, 53, guided his boyhood club to two promotions after taking charge in May 2016 and his departure has seen Paul Heckingbottom placed in charge on an interim basis. 

Ayoze Perez (knee) and Jonny Evans (calf) may return for the hosts but James Maddison (hip) and Harvey Barnes (knee) are still a few weeks away, while the visitors will not have any of their sidelined stars back for this clash. 

Arsenal vs Tottenham (4pm, Sky Sports) 

Arsenal and Tottenham will lock horns in one of the most intriguing North London derby clashes in recent years. 

The Gunners have been quietly improving under Mikel Arteta and welcome their arch-rivals having only been beaten once in their last seven games across all competitions — that sole loss coming to runaway leaders Manchester City. 

But they have failed to win any of their last four league meetings with Spurs and are looking to avoid three straight defeats in the fixture for the first time since 1974. 

Spurs have won five on the spin themselves in all competitions, with impressive league wins over Burnley, Fulham and Crystal Palace launching them back into the top-four picture. 

While Gareth Bale’s four goals in those three outings have dominated headlines, this fixture is all about Harry Kane. The 27-year-old England striker's 11 strikes make him the North London derby’s all-time record scorer. 

Kane (pictured above) is expected to shake off a knock to feature and Giovani Lo Celso (muscle) is also fit again. Arsenal, meanwhile, have a fully-fit squad to choose from.

Manchester United vs West Ham (7.15pm, Sky Sports) 

Two of the Premier League’s Champions League hopefuls face off as David Moyes takes West Ham to face his former club.

Manchester United had started to falter in recent weeks but quickly arrested any talk of a collapse by stunning champions-elect Manchester City 2-0 last Sunday — ending their rivals’ 21-game winning streak across all competitions in the process. 

But boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will know that result will count for little if United, who drew 1-1 with AC Milan in Thursday’s Europa League clash, cannot repeat the trick against the high-flying Hammers. 

Moyes’ men picked up a 2-0 win over Leeds on Monday to make it eight wins in 11 top-flight games and keep themselves firmly in the hunt for a remarkable top-four finish. 

Jesse Lingard netted his fourth goal in six appearances in that encounter but will be ineligible to face his parent club, making the visitors’ task of securing a first win at Old Trafford since 2007 all the more difficult. 

The hosts, who are without Edinson Cavani (knock) and David de Gea (personal reasons), have doubts over Anthony Martial (hip) and Marcus Rashford (ankle).

Andriy Yarmolenko (knee) and Angelo Ogbonna (ankle) miss out for the Hammers but Ryan Fredericks (ankle) is nearing a return.