Saturday: Newcastle United v Chelsea (4.30pm KO UAE)
Newcastle picked themselves up after a dreadful performance in last week's derby defeat at Sunderland by securing a place in the League Cup semi-finals. A late Lewis Miley header sealed a 2-1 victory over Fulham. The Magpies are 12th in the table, six points behind Chelsea.
Chelsea moved back into the top four last weekend after beating Everton 2-0 at Stamford Bridge then defeated Cardiff City 3-1 in the League Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday with Alejandro Garnacho scoring twice.
Prediction: Newcastle 2 Chelsea 1
Bournemouth v Burnley (7pm)
Bournemouth were involved in a crazy 4-4 draw at Manchester United last week when Eli Junior Kroupi equalised six minutes from time to rescue a point. The Cherries, though, have now gone seven games without a win, leaving them in 13th place.
Burnley's form is far more worrying than Bournemouth's though, with the Clarets having lost seven matches on the spin – their worst top-flight run since 1895 – and are second from bottom, six points from safety.
Prediction: Bournemouth 2 Burnley 0
Brighton v Sunderland (7pm)
Brighton have taken one point from a possible nine with last week's loss at Liverpool meaning the mid-table Seagulls are winless in their last nine matches during the month of December.
Sunderland are on a high after winning the first Premier League Wear-Tyne derby against Newcastle since 2016 on Sunday. The Black Cats are eighth in the standings, two points and two places above Brighton.
Prediction: Brighton 1 Sunderland 1
Manchester City v West Ham United (7pm)
City are on a four-game Premier League win streak after last week's 3-0 victory at Crystal Palace – leaving them two points behind leaders Arsenal – which was followed by beating Brentford 2-0 in the League Cup quarter-finals.
West Ham are now five matches without a win and last week's loss at home to Aston Villa saw them twice take the lead before eventually going down 3-2. The Hammers are third from bottom, three points shy of safety.
Prediction: Man City 3 West Ham 0
Wolves v Brentford (7pm)
Rock-bottom Wolves have still only two points to their name, are winless in 20 Premier League games, have lost their past nine and are 13 points away from safety. Relegation looks almost certain.
Brentford have taken one point from their past three games with only Wolves having accrued less points away from home than the Bees, who were knocked out of the League Cup at Manchester City on Wednesday. Keith Andrews' side are in 15th place, seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Prediction: Wolves 1 Brentford 2
Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool (9.30pm)
The pressure is building on Spurs manager Thomas Frank following their 3-0 humbling at Nottingham Forest, making it one win from their last six matches and are six points adrift of the top five in 11th place. They also have the fourth-worst home record in the top-flight with two wins in eight games.
Liverpool eased to a 2-0 win at home to Brighton, thanks to a Hugo Ekitike double when Mohamed Salah returned to action after being dropped from the squad by manager Arne Slot. They moved up to sixth place and are unbeaten in four matches.
Prediction: Spurs 1 Liverpool 3
Everton v Arsenal (Midnight)
Everton's hopes of a third consecutive victory were ended by a 2-0 loss at Chelsea but the Toffees remain in the top half of the table, just two points outside the top five in ninth place.
Arsenal made hard work of beating bottom-club Wolves last week, needing a 94th-minute own goal to secure three points, following on from their defeat at Aston Villa which marked their first defeat in the league since August.
Prediction: Everton 0 Arsenal 1
Leeds United v Crystal Palace (midnight)
Leeds sealed a point at Brentford last time out when Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for a fourth consecutive game. They sit one place and three points clear of the drop zone.
Palace dropped out of the top four following their home defeat by Manchester City but are still in fifth place and have still made their best start to a Premier League season.
Prediction: Leeds 2 Palace 2
Sunday: Aston Villa v Manchester United (8.30pm)
Villa's superlative form goes on following their 3-2 victory at West Ham which meant they extended their winning run in all competitions to nine matches. Unai Emrery's side are third in the table, one point behind Man City and three shy of leaders Arsenal.
United are in sixth place, five points behind Villa, after a thrilling eight-goal draw with Bournemouth on Monday – victory at Old Trafford would have lifted them into the top four.
Prediction: Villa 3 Man United 1
Monday: Fulham v Nottingham Forest (midnight)
Fulham avoided a third loss on the spin by beating struggling Burnley 3-2, with Harry Wilson scoring one and setting up two to leave the Cottagers in 14th spot, seven points above the bottom three.
Forest are two points and two places behind Fulham after their comfortable win over Spurs and have lost just three times since Sean Dyche took over in October. They are five points above the relegation zone.
Prediction: Fulham 1 Forest 1
