Premier League, FA Cup and more: 10 things to look out for this weekend

1) Arsenal must not be distracted by Camp Nou

What a quandary for Arsene Wenger: should he deploy a full-strength team against Watford in the FA Cup or should he preserve key players for the momentous fightback against Barcelona in the Champions League three days later? OK, let's not kid ourselves. Years ago there was no question as to where Wenger's priorities lay, and nor is there now: the FA Cup is Arsenal's best chance for a trophy and Wenger is likely to pursue it with whatever Arsenal can muster. That should mean, among other changes from Monday's win at Hull, that Danny Welbeck returns up front even if Olivier Giroud relocated the net after a couple of months blundering about in the dark. Against a well-manned Watford midfield, Arsenal should also redeploy the central pairing of Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny following their sturdy performance at Tottenham. Watford, meanwhile, may have problems in central defence - it remains to be seen who is available for them there - and also up front, although Odion Igahlo's scoring drought will surely not last much longer. What is more, Nordin Amrabat's performances have been excellent and it seems only a matter of time before the January recruit scores a goal to complete an impressive introduction to English football. For Watford, lifting the FA Cup could make this perhaps the greatest season in their history. For some Arsenal fans it would feel like a consolation prize, but imagine their fury if Wenger's team let it slip. PD

2) Lukaku to (finally) show Chelsea what they are missing

It said much about how bad Chelsea's recruitment policy has been over the past season that when Diego Costa was taken off injured during the Champions League exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, on in his stead came Bertrand Traore, a 20-year-old with only a handful of Chelsea appearances to his name. For a club that can afford to have over 30 players on loan around Europe, you would expect Chelsea would have more suitable and experienced options. Loic Remy was overlooked on the bench while Alexander Pato, 42 days after signing, is still deemed too unfit for the first-team. How Guus Hiddink must wish he had a player with even half the goals scored by Romelu Lukaku, the striker Chelsea let go in 2014. Lukaku has yet to score against his former employers since leaving the club but a game against a side that could be underpowered in attack might seriously motivate Lukaku to show Chelsea what they are missing. It's a tie that is hard to call. Chelsea have been much improved domestically, while Everton continue to find new and interesting ways to lose games from winning positions at Goodison Park. Everton have put six past Chelsea this season, though, beating them 3-1 at home and drawing 3-3 away in a frantic match. Lukaku should be licking his lips. GB

3) Timing of Newcastle’s visit could couldn’t be better for Leicester

Claudio Ranieri will be rubbing his hands with glee. Not only has his side had nine days to prepare for their Monday night clash with Newcastle, but with the north-east club in turmoil, this fixture could not come better gift-wrapped than the Italian's Christmas panettone. It was just before the festive period that Leicester condemned Newcastle to their "worst performance of the season", according to Steve McClaren, and it is hard to see the table-toppers doing anything else but repeat that 3-0 scoreline. Newcastle may have spent more than £80m in the last two transfer windows but they have lost their last six away matches in the Premier League: rudderless and bereft of confidence, Monday can surely only go one way. Rafael Benitez, a man who hasn't battled relegation since he was manager of Extremadura in 1999, will have his work cut out if he signs a short-term deal: if he is not in Newcastle's dugout at the King Power Stadium, he is at least expected to be in the stands and then could start his tenure with the small matter of the Tyne - Wear derby a week on Sunday. MB

4) Diouf to help Stoke keep their balance

Mark Hughes’s eighth-placed side average just 1.06 goals per game in the league. With such a low strike rate, it is testament to Stoke’s ability to defend resolutely and keep possession diligently that they are within touching distance of European qualification at all. The headline-grabbing performances against the Manchester clubs, Everton and Chelsea have painted a picture of the Britannia Stadium as the new home of freewheeling football. But the reality is that Hughes has had to tinker with his formation to find stability in results and has lacked the consistent presence of an out-and-out striker. After a fine start to the season, Bojan Krcic has faded and his presence as a false nine has not worked against more defensive teams. Jonathan Walters, Peter Crouch and Mame Biram Diouf have all been used as Hughes has tried to encourage consistency in his side. Diouf’s goal in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea was the first he has scored since suffering personal tragedy when his mother died at Mecca last autumn. His recovery has, understandably, been a slow one but his return to form could help Stoke to finish the season with a more balanced look, a much-improved tally in the goals-for column and perhaps even a run at Europe. GB

5) West Ham look far more united than Van Gaal’s men

Manchester United held West Ham to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford earlier this season but they will do well to shut out the visitors this weekend. United were disjointed and brittle in defeats at West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool in the last week and it is not clear that Louis Van Gaal knows what to do about it. West Ham seem the opposite: a solid all-round unit designed to get the best out of its creative players, most obviously Dimitri Payet. The east Londoners look stronger, faster, more inventive and more in tune with each other than their Manchester counterparts, who must improve markedly to progress in the FA Cup. And, while we're about it, to get back above West Ham in the Premier League. PD

6) Long-term strategy could cloud Sky Blues? short-term thinking

“It’s pretty crazy that four months out you already know that your manager is going to leave,” stated Sergio Aguero this week, just after stating that he is also planning an exit from Manchester City in the future at the end of his contract, which bizarrely he seems to believe is in 2018, but which is actually in 2019. Regardless of which year Argentinian does depart, his own announcement seems ‘pretty crazy’ timing from the City’s No10: the club are just about hanging onto fourth at present and could probably do without their talisman revealing how he is dreaming of jumping ship. Long-term strategy appears to be all the rage at City these days: Aguero has been getting the low-down on Pep Guardiola from his pal Messi - “Leo told me that Pep is very demanding” - and the club’s sporting director, Txiki Begiristain, has even been meeting with the Spanish manager on his days off from Bayern duty, but attention should instead be focused on the trip to Norwich. The East Anglians might be bottom of the form table, losing eight of the last nine league games, but they managed a 0-0 draw the last time City came to Carrow Road in 2014 and were unlucky to lose at the Etihad earlier this season thanks to a last-minute Yaya Toure penalty. City’s trouncing of Villa aside, their league form since announcing Guardiola’s ETA and Manuel Pellegrini exit is similarly awful: one win, three defeats. If City minds continue to be elsewhere, Saturday could well be another bad day at the office. MB

7) There’ll be no complacency from Pardew’s Palace

It wasn’t so long ago that Crystal Palace were being talked up alongside West Ham as a team that could be a surprise package and bother the Premier League’s top four. But an alarming slide in league form - of which a lack of firepower has been largely to blame - has led to Alan Pardew’s team sinking to 15th. A season that promised much now hinges on the FA Cup to deliver joy. A victory against Reading, the only Championship team left in the competition, could offer a double-boost to Palace’s season in that it would help give them a ship-steadying victory as well as offering a Wembley visit to one of the Premier League’s most vocal and success-starved sets of supporters. Reading are becoming Cup specialists, however. Having beaten West Bromwich Albion in the fifth round this season they stand on the verge of their second successive FA Cup semi-final. They come to life in this competition. It took Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez to put an end to their hopes in extra-time at Wembley last season. But Palace will be stung after the injury-time defeat by Liverpool last weekend. There should be no complacency against lower-ranked opponents who have improved under Brian McDermott. Pardew became a cult hero when he helped to nod Palace in the direction of an FA Cup final in 1990. He’ll hope to enrich that status by guiding the team to Wembley again. Despite lacking form, his side will be highly-motivated, raucously-backed opponents at the Madejski Stadium. GB

8) Spurs to show which league they really want to win

When the draw was made for the Europa League last 16 and Spurs were pitted against Borussia Dortmund, Remi Garde could have been forgiven for thinking that his Aston Villa side may have faced a slightly weakened Tottenham Hotspur team as Mauricio Pochettino juggled the demands of a testing European tie and a Premier League title challenge. But the seven changes the Spurs manager made to his side in Dortmund made it abundantly clear where his priorities lie. As a result, it's likely that a near full-strength Tottenham will turn up to inflict yet more pain on an Aston Villa side that are rock-bottom, devoid of fight and who have conceded 15 goals in their last four league games. With the European tie effectively dead after the 3-0 defeat in Dortmund, expect Spurs to make sure the chastening experience in Germany counts for something by consigning Villa to a fifth defeat in a row. GB

9) Bournemouth v Swansea may be more fun than you think

With the Premier League losing the run of itself this season the impressive story of Bournemouth’s steady acclimatisation and probable survival has been somewhat lost.

The victory at Newcastle steered Eddie Howe’s side to 35 points and felt like it ensured that a club that had never before been in the top flight will be there again next season. That’s quite a feat given that Howe has had to deal with a lengthy injury list for large parts of the season and has been forced to field many players with little or no Premier League experience. Swansea too, have clambered away from the relegation zone just before their situation has become desperate. Both clubs come into this game with back-to-back wins behind them and full of confidence. They have some testing games in their run-ins too, so perhaps the suggestion that this match may be stale is a false one. Both will view it as winnable and three points could provide that little extra breathing room that helps players express themselves in late-season games. GB

10) Thistle could take their chance to knock Celtic off the top

Mathias Pogba, older brother of Paul, has scored just once for Partick Thistle in 21 appearances this season but when the ball dropped to him in the 68th minute against Aberdeen on Tuesday, the striker had an opportunity to double his tally and double Thistle's lead on the night. Instead, the Dons' Scott Brown made a magnificent save and Aberdeen would score two in the next eight minutes to seal a 2-1 win and close the gap on leaders Celtic to one point at the top of the Scottish Premiership. An opportunity missed in more ways than one but when Celtic visit Firhill on Saturday, they can expect the same stiff test that Aberdeen endured. Thistle might lie eighth in the Scottish Premiership but Tuesday aside, they have won four of their last five at home and will relish the chance to right the Aberdeen wrongs and stick it to their Glasgow neighbours. They just need someone to finish the chances: if Pogba can channel a bit of form from his brother and Aberdeen get the better of Kilmarnock, Celtic could well find themselves bumped off the top of the table by Saturday evening. MB

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