Ten KEY questions for this weekend's matches

Football writer Alex Keble analyses where this weekend's fixtures could be won and lost, including:

- Will Villa and Watkins again stop Arsenal in their tracks?
- Man City must be aware of comeback specialists Sunderland
- Bournemouth trip offers Chelsea chance to bounce straight back
- Can Farke build on Chelsea win?
- Can Wolves get a first PL win of the season?
- Can Frank get respite against former club Brentford?
- Is Nuno’s counter-attacking approach likely to stump Brighton?
- Will newly-creative Fulham get past Palace's tight defence?
- Can Burnley capitalise on Newcastle’s packed schedule?
- Can Moyes put Everton in contention for European spots?

Will Villa and Watkins stop Arsenal in their tracks again?

Aston Villa have won five of their 12 matches against Arsenal since returning to the Premier League in 2019, and on more than one occasion, their victory has seriously damaged Mikel Arteta’s title challenge.

The home fans will feel confident, the away fans will just want to get their trip to Villa Park out of the way. If those sentiments are shared in the dressing rooms then this could be a significant day in the title race – for both sides.

A win for Aston Villa would move them to within three points of Arsenal and, temporarily at least, lift them into second.

Unai Emery would have to spend his post-match press conferences fending off questions about an unexpected title challenge.

Unlikely it is, although not quite so outlandish when you consider Villa have won eight of their last nine Premier League matches (and 12 of 14 in all competitions) without their star striker scoring goals and without Morgan Rogers really hitting his stride.

If Ollie Watkins’ brace at Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday begins a hot streak we might find that Villa are only just entering a purple patch of form and that they somehow recorded a string of victories when only in third gear.

Watch: Watkins brace v Brighton

Certainly Watkins will expect to pick up where he left off. It is noteworthy that Watkins has scored more goals against Brighton (nine) than any other club, and that second on that list is Arsenal, with six.

The Villa striker is a confidence player who clearly has favourites, and historically he has excelled on the counter-attack against Arsenal. The stage looks set for Watkins and Villa to do it again.

Man City must be aware of comeback specialists Sunderland

Manchester City were 2-0 up against Leeds United but needed a dramatic late goal to win 3-2, and then just a few days later almost let a 5-1 lead slip at Fulham.

Clearly, Pep Guardiola’s side have an issue with switching off when in the lead.

That’s good news for Sunderland, because no team have won more points from losing positions in the Premier League than Regis Le Bris’ this season (12, level with Aston Villa).

More than anyone else, Sunderland are defined by a never-say-die attitude and a capacity to score late goals.

If the perception is now that Man City are beatable, that their defence can be breached no matter the score line, then Sunderland will hold a psychological advantage on Saturday.

However, Man City have won 11 of their last 12 Premier League home matches, including each of the last six in a row.

Their wobbles have typically come away from the Etihad Stadium, whereas Sunderland have won 15 of their 23 points (65 per cent) at the Stadium of Light.

In any ordinary week, then, this would be a straightforward win for Man City.

But Guardiola’s side have conceded eight goals in their last three Premier League matches. These are not ordinary times.

Bournemouth trip offers Chelsea chance to bounce straight back

Chelsea’s shock 3-1 defeat at Leeds on Wednesday owed much to the heated atmosphere and Leeds’ physicality.

Enzo Maresca’s young side could not rise to the challenge of the rivalry and the energy of Daniel Farke’s team, especially in a surprise 3-5-2 formation that saw two big strikers occupy the Chelsea centre-backs.

Thankfully for Chelsea, the challenge this weekend is completely different.

AFC Bournemouth have now gone five consecutive Premier League matches without a victory and would appear to be slowing down just as the festive fixture list ramps up.

Fatigue is creeping in, which ought to allow Chelsea to improve on their sloppy distribution in midweek and calmly accelerate away.

Cole Palmer’s return from injury is another plus for Maresca, who will know that anything less than a victory significantly reduces their chances of a title challenge.

Bournemouth have only conceded five home goals in the Premier League this season, which is the second-best total behind Arsenal, but then again their 1-0 defeat at home to Everton on Tuesday was arguably their worst performance of the season.

If Chelsea can let go of Wednesday’s disappointment, they may find a trip to Vitality Stadium is the perfect balm.

Can Farke build on Chelsea win?

Farke has been under pressure but he masterminded a brilliant victory over Chelsea on Wednesday night to put Leeds three points clear of the bottom three.

Up next is another home match, this time they welcome defending champions Liverpool.

Liverpool, as we all know, are vulnerable at the moment. They are looking increasingly passive between the lines and - outplayed for long periods in the 1-1 draw with Sunderland – clearly remain susceptible to counter-attacks down both wings.

Leeds, then, have the dual benefits of hosting a weakened team and playing in front of a crowd who would consider beating Liverpool a major scalp.

An electric atmosphere, coupled with a newly-discovered tactical strategy with which to face the bigger clubs, gives Leeds all the advantages they need.

The 3-5-2 deployed to beat Chelsea could again be effective. Ibrahima Konate has struggled this season and may not enjoy facing two big target men, while a flat back five may nullify this misfiring Liverpool attack.

Can Wolves get a first PL win of the season?

Wolverhampton Wanderers have won just two points from their 14 Premier League matches this season, the joint-fewest ever at this stage of a top-flight campaign along with Manchester United in 1930/31 and Sheffield United in 2020/21.

Rob Edwards has lost three from three since taking over from Vitor Pereira and Wolves haven’t scored a single goal under their new head coach. Wolves are sinking without a trace.

If they are to somehow get out of trouble from here, they need something big, they need a game-changing moment at Molineux to launch the Edwards era and prove to everyone – players included – that they can survive the drop.

Wolves did the Premier League double over Man Utd last season, winning 2-0 at Molineux on Boxing Day and 1-0 at Old Trafford in April.

They took just 11 shots combined in those two matches but, backs against the wall, ground out wins against Ruben Amorim’s side.

If Edwards can do something similar, who knows how big an impact it could have on Wolves’ season.

Wolves' next PL fixtures

Can Frank get respite against former club Brentford?

Cristian Romero’s overhead kick in stoppage time at St James' Park was a crucial moment for Thomas Frank, but although it must have felt like a victory at the time, Tottenham Hotspur are now on a five-match winless run in the Premier League.

In theory, the visit of Brentford is just what Spurs need to improve their dreadful home form, end the losing streak, and start moving back up the table.

Spurs have won just three of their 16 Premier League home matches in 2025 (D3 L10), their lowest win rate across a calendar year in their league history (19 per cent).

But Brentford have lost more away Premier League fixtures than anyone else this season (six), with only Wolves picking up fewer points on the road than Brentford’s three.

Surely, then, this is the moment for Spurs and Frank to begin to breathe more easily. But in a sense that only increases the pressure.

If Spurs fail to win this – if Frank cannot beat his old club – then fears of a repeat of last season will grow.

Is Nuno’s counter-attacking approach likely to stump Brighton?

The tactical battle at the Amex Stadium isn’t quite going to mimic Villa’s 4-3 win in midweek, but Fabian Hurzeler might still fear how his defence will cope with the challenge.

West Ham have become a purely counter-attacking team under Nuno Espirito Santo, and that is precisely the sort of side that Brighton do not like facing, hence Rogers and Watkins accelerating away on Wednesday.

In a repeat of last season, Brighton only tend to win matches when they are allowed to play a transition-based game, whereas when they are expected to dominate possession against a deeper defence (like West Ham’s) they struggle to pick the lock and get caught on the counter-attack.

How Brighton's record looks based on possession 

West Ham have won just six per cent of their Premier League matches against Brighton (1/16), their lowest win rate against any side they’ve faced more than twice in the competition.

But this is the first time they’ve faced them with Nuno in charge.

Will newly-creative Fulham get past Palace's tight defence?

All of a sudden Fulham are one of the most interesting and exciting teams to watch in the Premier League, and not because they took part in a 5-4 classic against Man City on Wednesday.

Marco Silva has quietly put together an excellent attack. Emile Smith Rowe looks sharp after returning to the fold; Harry Wilson is in superb form; Kevin has shown great promise from the bench; and loan signing Samuel Chukwueze is on fire.

Chukwueze scored twice off the bench against Man City to take his average to one Premier League goal involvement for every 46 minutes of action (two goals, three assists in 229 minutes), which is the best minutes per goal involvement of any player in the competition’s history.

Fulham will need all of that firepower to get past Crystal Palace.

Only Arsenal have kept more clean sheets (eight) and conceded fewer goals (seven) in the Premier League this season than Oliver Glasner’s side (seven clean sheets, 11 goals against), who have conceded in just one of their last five games.

Can Burnley capitalise on Newcastle’s packed schedule?

Newcastle must be tired. The fans, at least, must feel their energy sapped by the up-and-down nature of their season – played out in miniature in most games, like the topsy-turvy 2-2 draw with Spurs in midweek – but also by the sheer number of matches they are playing.

Although every Premier League team is beginning to rotate their starting XI as we enter the festive fixtures, not many have a congested schedule quite like Newcastle, who play Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League next Wednesday and Fulham in the EFL Cup seven days later.

This cluster of matches might give Burnley a chance. Scott Parker’s side have lost seven of their last eight Premier League away fixtures, conceding at least twice in every single one of them.

They could really do with a performance and a result like Leeds got at Chelsea, where the hosts faded after a bruising couple of matches against Barcelona and Arsenal.

It’s a tough ask. But Burnley need to pull off a shock result sooner or later, and the fog of the festive fixtures could be the time to do it.

Can Moyes put Everton in contention for European spots?

Sean Dyche faces Everton for the first time since he departed in January and he returns to see a club transformed, and not only by a new stadium.

In less than a year, David Moyes has turned a potential relegation candidate into a squad with enough talent and sparkle (in Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye) to even squeeze into Europe, as Moyes once did at West Ham.

Everton have won three of their last four matches, each one to nil. They are now just three points off fourth, towards the bottom of a huge pack of clubs who are thinking about an assault on the European places.

Win this one, and Everton fans can begin to wonder.