A look ahead to the weekend's matches in England

Arsenal v Wigan

Arsène Wenger continues to preach concentration and discipline with manic zeal; chalk each game off as it comes. Arsenal are nearly there and third place would taste all the sweeter given the turmoil of their season. The questions will remain as to whether progress has been made but a powerful finish would fire optimism for the future. The job in hand is no foregone conclusion and those who saw Wigan Athletic scare Chelsea would not have been at all surprised at their win over Manchester United during midweek.

WBA v QPR 

A hat-trick of home wins has Loftus Road finally warming to Mark Hughes, but with only two more games to host this season the Welshman will know they may also need to pick up something away to avoid relegation. Given that their other two remaining trips are to Chelsea and Manchester City this looks the best chance of an away point or three, and Hughes has Shaun Derry available after suspension to aid his cause. Roy Hodgson will tell his West Bromwich Albion players they are not completely safe yet, but one more win and they will be.

Sunderland v Wolves

On Sunday, December 4th, Sunderland lost 2-1 at Wolves. Steve Bruce had just been sacked, the Wearsiders stood 17th and many neutrals would have tipped them for relegation ahead of Mick McCarthy’s 15th-placed side. Since then though, Martin O’Neill has presided over the collection of 31 points. Wolves have accrued a mere eight, while replacing McCarthy with Terry Connor along the way. Connor hopes to prevent his Championship- bound side from recording an eighth straight defeat.

Liverpool v Everton

This will be the fifth time the Merseyside rivals have met in an FA Cup semi-final and the overall score reads Liverpool 3 Everton 1. David Moyes has absolute faith in his team’s ability to narrow that gap at Wembley but Liverpool have become expert at bringing their season to a point of apparent implosion only to deliver when it really matters. The return from injury of Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger could not have been better timed for their manager, Kenny Dalglish, with goalkeepers José Reina and Doni suspended.

Norwich v Manchester C

There has been a perverse type of stubbornness to Roberto Mancini. He was still insistent that Manchester City could not win the title despite Manchester United’s defeat at Wigan. If it was intended to relieve the pressure, it had the side effect of undervaluing a costly team. Mancini’s wish seems to be for City to lurk in the shadows, if that is feasible with the likes of Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez in his squad. The realist in him also knows how hard it may be to beat Norwich at Carrow Road.

Manchester U v Aston Villa

The excellent run of results for Manchester United came to a halt with the 1-0 loss at the JJB Stadium, but something was due to go wrong. Although the consistency had been outstanding, it still seemed remarkable that Alex Ferguson could get so much out of the squad. European results demonstrated the limitations of Ferguson’s resources and, against Wigan, the absence of Paul Scholes, with all his know-how, was a great handicap. Nonetheless, Villa have won only three league games away from home this season.

Swansea v Blackburn

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers could choose to make changes following the disappointing 3-0 midweek defeat at QPR. Left back Neil Taylor and winger Wayne Routledge were withdrawn at half-time at Loftus Road and their replacements, Alan Tate and Nathan Dyer, may be in line for starts. Midfielder Kemy Agustien (ankle) is Swansea’s only injury absentee. Blackburn have doubts over defenders Bradley Orr (Achilles) and Martin Olsson (groin). Striker Anthony Modeste will definitely be available after seeing his three-match ban for a red card against West Brom reduced to one match.

Tottenham v Chelsea

These rivals must wrest their attention from the pursuit of Champions League places and focus on a more immediate route to silverware. The hope is this will prove a more enticing encounter than the teams’ recent goalless stalemate at Stamford Bridge and Roberto Di Matteo will be conscious of the weariness that has been creeping into his squad over recent weeks. His selection will be intriguing, with Barcelona to be confronted in midweek. Spurs have injury concerns in central defence and will be fretting about recent form.