London (dpa)

Tomorrow, Friday, the twenty-eighth phase of the English Premier League will begin, for which the leader, Arsenal, seeks to continue the winning streak and consolidate the leadership position, while Liverpool remains in “spectator mode”. ”

The stage starts on Friday with Nottingham Forest v Newcastle, then continues on Saturday night with Chelsea v Everton, Brentford v Leicester City, Wolverhampton v Leeds United, Southampton v Tottenham and Aston Villa v Bournemouth on Sunday night before finishing with Arsenal v Bournemouth. with the Crystal Palace. Liverpool’s game against Fulham, scheduled for Saturday night, and Brighton’s games against Manchester United and Manchester City against West Ham United, scheduled for Sunday night, have been postponed due to the occupation of the Manchester camps , Fulham and Brighton. with matches from the quarterfinals of the Association Cup.
Manchester City face Burnley on Saturday night, Sheffield against Blackburn, Brighton against Grimsby Town and Manchester United against Fulham on Sunday night.

Arsenal top the table on 66 points, five ahead of nearest rivals Manchester City in second place, and will be hoping to strengthen their position or widen the gap on Crystal Palace. But Arsenal must first fulfill their Europa League mission as they prepare to face Sporting de Portugal in the round of 16 second leg on Thursday night, knowing the first leg ended in a 2-2 draw. of the Europa League has been Arsenal’s only last six matches and has seen them win five in a row in the Premier League, with the team’s last league defeat coming against Manchester City on 15 February.

Regardless of Arsenal’s approach and attempt to maintain their lead and continue their progress towards their first league title in 19 years, there is no doubt that they will once again turn their attention to the European game, which they have already proved. By coach Mikel Arteta.

Arteta said both tournaments were among the team’s priorities this season, stressing that Arsenal will not be complacent in the European campaign to focus more on preparing for the league games. Arsenal are looking to avoid surprises against Crystal Palace, who are 12 games without a win in 2023, including 11 league games and one FA Cup game.

In turn, Manchester City, excited by the victory over Leipzig, in Germany, will be focused on the Cup tie and hoping that Arsenal suffer a defeat that opens the way to reduce the difference. and revive their hopes of competing strongly for the league title.

Manchester United, in third place, are also focused on a cup match at the weekend, while Liverpool, knocked out in the last 16 of the Champions League by Real Madrid, remain spectators.

Liverpool’s next first game is in April, when they face sixth-placed Manchester City in the English Premier League.

Tottenham will be hoping to strengthen their position at the top of the league with a game against Southampton on Saturday night, lying fourth on 48 points, two behind Manchester United and four clear of fifth-placed Newcastle.

Newcastle are also hoping to strengthen their position in the previous teams with a game against Nottingham Forest. As for the 10th ranked Chelsea, which receives Everton, they hope to continue the series of positive results, having won the last two games against Leeds United by 1-0 and Leicester City by 3-1. Chelsea were included in two games. Dortmund’s 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the sixth round second leg saw them reach 10th place in both the Champions League and the quarter-finals, where Dortmund won the first leg 1-0.