Ten KEY questions for this Matchweek 27's fixtures

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

- Will Tudor’s aggressive approach pounce on Arsenal nerves?

- Will Pereira’s debut blunt Liverpool’s recent progress?

- Will Newcastle's historic difficulties at the Etihad allow Man City to glide on?

- Can Strand Larsen help rescue Palace’s poor form at Selhurst Park?

- Will West Ham react to manager changes with their most important win of the season?

- Can Villa find the width needed to create chances against Leeds?

- Will Brentford’s structure force another blunt Brighton performance?

- Can Rosenior keep Chelsea’s concentration levels up?

- What has Carrick learnt from the Fulham and West Ham games?

- Can Sunderland or Fulham get back on track?

Will Tudor’s aggressive approach pounce on Arsenal nerves?

Tottenham Hotspur have turned to Igor Tudor, the “ferryman” renowned for taking clubs in choppy water safely to shore.

Tudor always hits the ground running, winning at least six of his opening 10 games in each of his last three jobs, doing so through a combination of aggressive hard-pressing football and a hard line approach to player management. In other words: through sheer discipline on the pitch and off it.

The north London derby is arguably the best possible fixture to start, given that the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ought to invigorate the players for their new challenge.

It is terrible timing for Arsenal. Their 2-2 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday, sending out another ripple of anxiety, means Manchester City now technically have as much control of the title race as Mikel Arteta’s side; victory in all 12 matches, including the game against Arsenal, would win the crown.

If Arsenal are indeed nervous then the last thing they need is facing a re-energised Spurs side running hard for their new head coach.

Tudor tends to play in a 3-4-2-1 formation built on defensive solidity, fast transitions, and a furious man-to-man pressing system. It is this last tactical element that could pounce on any tension in the Arsenal performance.

“There is no time to find excuses," Tudor told the Spurs official website. “The team need, I believe, first of all, to get some confidence, to get some courage.”

Confidence and courage is what’s required from both sides on Sunday. It should be a superb game.

Will Pereira’s debut blunt Liverpool’s recent progress?

When Vitor Pereira first arrived at Wolves in December 2024 he promptly won seven points from his first three matches, including a 2-0 victory at home to Manchester United, by switching to a 3-4-3 formation and putting round pegs in round holes.

He achieved an immediate lift by setting up a mid-block, pressing only in the middle and defensive thirds, and instructing Wolves’ under-performing players to hit opponents on the counter-attack.

It should excite Forest supporters that Pereira’s approach sounds very similar to Nuno Espirito Santo’s, because in theory he inherits a squad that still has the muscle memory of the Nuno era and is therefore ready to progress back towards the levels we saw in 2024/25.

And Pereira will relish a home game against Liverpool, who will be allowed to dominate possession and have shown vulnerability to quick counter-attacks all season.

The likes of Omari Hutchinson and Callum Hudson-Odoi running in behind Ibrahima Konate and the Liverpool high line could pose a big threat on Sunday, as could a flat back five that provides a left wing-back and left-sided centre-back to double up on Mohamed Salah.

Back in November, in the early days of Sean Dyche, Forest beat Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield with just 25.5 per cent of possession. A similar style of performance, and outcome, is on the cards.

Will Newcastle's historic difficulties at the Etihad allow Man City to glide on?

There’s been a lot of water under the bridge since Newcastle United beat Man City 2-1 at St James Park back in November.

Man City won both legs of their EFL Cup semi-final, for starters, while Pep Guardiola’s side appear to be clicking into gear for a title run-in after gliding past Fulham 3-0 in their last Premier League match.

Since a 5-4 win at Fulham in December, City have only conceded eight goals in 12 Premier League matches, the fewest of any side.

Fulham v Man City: Highlights of this season's NINE-goal thriller

The hosts will expect victory here, and not just because of their recent form.

City are unbeaten in their last 21 Premier League home games against Newcastle, winning each of the last 16. Indeed Newcastle’s 20-game winless run at the Etihad Stadium is the most a team has played at a venue without ever winning in Premier League history (D2 L18).

What’s more, Eddie Howe’s team are winless in 10 away matches against top-half teams (D3 L7). It’s fair to say Newcastle need a new approach for games like these.

It all points to another good day for Man City, and another step closer to Arsenal.

Can Strand Larsen help rescue Palace’s poor form at Selhurst Park?

Oliver Glasner and his players must simply erase the memory of what happened at Selhurst Park a fortnight ago.

At 2-0 up and cruising against Burnley, courtesy of two well-taken goals from new signing Jorgen Strand Larsen, Crystal Palace supporters must have felt that back-to-back wins were coming – and that their season was back on track.

What followed – a shock 3-2 defeat - was a crushing blow, extending their winless run at Selhurst Park to eight matches and piling pressure onto their home game this weekend against the division’s bottom club.

If Palace can forget the three Burnley goals they can still build momentum. If they can focus on the positives – Strand Larsen hitting the ground running – they can beat his former club Wolves and begin to look again at the European places.

That’s because victory would bring back a feel-good factor to Selhurst Park, where Palace have won just 37.5 per cent of their Premier League points this season, the second-lowest percentage in the Premier League.

Wolves, winless in their last 15 Premier League away games and the only side in England’s top-four tiers still without an away win in 2025/26, are clearly there for the taking.

Strand Larsen scored 15 goals in 57 Premier League games for Wolves, including one in 22 this season. His brace last time out means he has already netted more times for Palace this season than his former club.

Strand Larsen shot map 2025/26

That is something to cling onto; something to give hope to Glasner and his squad.

Will West Ham react to manager changes with their most important win of the season?

Nuno has masterminded a run of 10 points won from the last five Premier League games and yet West Ham United supporters are left frustrated by two results that could prove decisive come May: a 3-2 defeat to Chelsea after going 2-0 up and a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in which Benjamin Sesko equalised with virtually the last kick of the game.

Sesko’s goal was a gut punch that has been compounded by manager changes at the two clubs sat immediately above them. The arrival of Tudor and Pereira at Spurs and Forest respectively appears to have made West Ham’s challenge that much more difficult.

It certainly makes Saturday’s game against AFC Bournemouth a must-win.

Three of West Ham’s next five matches after Bournemouth are against sides currently in the top six, and so, with the gap to Forest already three points, the Hammers cannot afford for it to grow any wider before they enter a more difficult run of fixtures.

Andoni Iraola’s side are unbeaten in six in the Premier League, winning four. West Ham will need to be at their very best if they are to keep up with the relegation-threatened sides anticipating a new-manager bounce.

Can Villa find the width needed to create chances against Leeds?

Aston Villa’s 2-1 victory at Leeds United in the reverse fixture should be the model Unai Emery uses for Saturday’s game, because after struggling in the first 45 minutes Emery’s tactical changes unlocked the contest in their favour.

Villa played narrowly with two No 10s and got stuck trying to pass the ball slowly out from the back, finding themselves blocked off and squeezed out by the tall and powerful Leeds midfielders.

So Emery decided to bring on Donyell Malen, play two strikers up top, and go long. It worked superbly: The considerably more direct game-plan forced Leeds backwards and the strikers (Malen and Ollie Watkins) went two-on-two with the defenders, pulling the hosts out of shape.

Both goals were the indirect result of long clipped passes over the top of that powerful Leeds midfield, which was bypassed rather than worked through.

However, Leeds have since switched to a 3-4-3 formation, meaning Villa can’t isolate the centre-backs with two up front. But the more direct route to goal is still the way to go, not least because seven of the last 12 Premier League goals Leeds have conceded were crosses into the box (58 per cent).

Emery needs to find a way to avoid the central areas and get Morgan Rogers into wider positions. Rogers, who scored both goals in the reverse fixture, leads all Villa players for: chances created (33), big chances created (10), assists (5), take-ons (101), touches in the opposition box (131) and has the joint-most goals (8).

Will Brentford’s structure force another blunt Brighton performance?

Brighton & Hove Albion are winless in six, but their poor form goes back further than that. No club has won fewer Premier League games since December than Brighton’s one from 12 - and their only win in that time was against Burnley.

The issue is creating chances and scoring goals. They are averaging 13 shots, 4 shots on target, and 27 touches in the opposition box per game this season, their lowest averages since 2021/22.

Injuries have played a part, but the main issue is that Brighton struggle against teams who sit deeper against them. They have won 17 points from 18 Premier League matches this season in which they held 50 per cent or more possession and 14 points from eight games in which they held less than 50 per cent.

Brighton's points per game with more/less than 50 per cent possession

Possession Points per game More than 50% 0.94 Less than 50% 1.75

Brentford, who have picked up 20 points from their last 10 games, are exactly the kind stubborn opponents Brighton do not enjoy playing.

Can Rosenior keep Chelsea’s concentration levels up?

Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Leeds in their last Premier League outing was the first hiccup for Liam Rosenior, who saw his side lose a two-goal lead because of “six minutes of switching off,” as he put it after the game.

“We have to make sure we are switched on for 90 minutes. As simple as that. We should come away with three points. We haven’t because of two moments.”

Chelsea have dropped more points from winning positions in Premier League home games than any other side this season, with 15.

Meanwhile Burnley came back from 2-0 down to beat Palace 3-2 last time out. If Chelsea do switch off, they will be punished.

What has Carrick learnt from the Fulham and West Ham games?

It took a late goal to beat Fulham earlier in the month and another one to rescue a point against West Ham a fortnight ago, evidence that Michael Carrick will find it tougher beating the more defensive opponents than those who allow them to play on the counter-attack.

A trip to Everton is a big test, then, of what Carrick has gleaned from those two matches and how he intends to make games against mid-table clubs more comfortable moving forward.

This one won’t be. Everton won 1-0 at Old Trafford in November and will repeat their resilient game-plan this weekend.

Can Sunderland or Fulham get back on track?

Fulham have lost their last three Premier League games, conceding at least twice in each one, and in the process their hopes of European qualification have started to fade.

Sunderland, too, have fallen down the table, losing four of their last six in the competition, as many as in their first 20. Recent defeats to Arsenal and Liverpool was the first time they had lost consecutive games this season and the first time they had lost at home.

With 12 games left we are entering the phase of the campaign where that compressed mid-table will surely break. It looks like only one of these two, at most, will manage a top-half finish.

Victory on Saturday could prove to be a huge six-pointer.

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