A lot was written about Arsenal and their potential to throw away their Premier League lead after a draw away at Nottingham Forest and defeat at home to Manchester United last month.

Mikel Arteta’s side have bounced back from those blips with a 4-0 win at Leeds and beating Chelsea in the second leg of the Carabao Cup final and they are six points clear of rivals Manchester City.

This week is the time to load up on Arsenal defenders as they play at home to Sunderland, who have scored just six goals in their 12 away matches.

Don’t be caught out by the early deadline of 3pm Bermuda time on Friday as the gameweek kicks off with Leeds against Nottingham Forest this afternoon.

Friday

Leeds v Nottingham Forest (4pm)

Forest manager Sean Dyche has steadied the ship with his side picking up eight points from their past four games. They are also strong defensively on the road with only six teams conceding fewer away goals.

Defenders could be the way to go in this fixture with Forest’s Nikola Milenkovic and Leeds’s Joe Rodon attractive options.

Neco Williams is suspended for Forest, while Leeds’ top midfielder Anton Stach is out with a hip injury.

Prediction: 0-0

Saturday

Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur (8.30am)

Manchester United are aiming to win four league matches in a row for the first time in two years.

Bruno Fernandes did us a turn by picking up ten points last week, 20 if you made him captain, and has 32 points in his past four games. United’s midfield are racking up the points with Casemiro, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha all worth of interest.

Only Chelsea, Bournemouth and Manchester United have scored more away goals than Tottenham and Dominic Solanke has made an impact since returning from injury.

Tottenham’s injury list is huge and defenders Micky van der Ven, Cristian Romero and Djed Spence all face late fitness tests.

Prediction: 2-1

Arsenal v Sunderland (11am)

This could be a defining week for Arsenal and they could be nine points clear of Manchester City before they play at Liverpool on Sunday.

Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka should be fit to play for Arsenal, while all managers to have profited from the points garnered by Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs may be wise to drop him to the bench this week.

Prediction: 3-0

Bournemouth v Aston Villa (11am)

Bournemouth defender Marco Senesi has broken the 100-point mark and have turned around their form, with wins against Tottenham and Liverpool and a draw against Brighton in their last three games. Marcus Tavernier remains out injured but midfielder David Brooks could be in line for a return.

Villa’s Tammy Abraham was unlucky to have a goal ruled out in his debut for Aston Villa last week but he will get a good run of games with Ollie Watkins out injured.

Prediction: 2-1

Burnley v West Ham United (11am)

A crucial game at the bottom of the Premier Division but West Ham are in good goalscoring form, finding the net seven times in their past three games. Crysencio Summerville has scored 31 points in four games, while Jarrod Bowen has provided two goals and an assist in the past couple of games. Jean-Clair Todibo is suspended after being sent off against Chelsea but new signing Axel Disasi is available for selection.

James Ward-Prowse is unavailable for Burnley as he is on loan from West Ham and they have kept only three clean sheets in the league this season.

Prediction: 2-1

Fulham v Everton (11am)

Only Arsenal have conceded fewer goals away from home than Everton and central defender James Tarkowski is the fourth-highest scoring defender in the game.

Manchester City, Arsenal and Aston Villa are the only teams to have won more home games than Fulham. Midfielder Harry Wilson and forward Raul Jimenez are capable of picking up points this week.

Prediction: 2-0

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Chelsea (11am)

Chelsea forward Joao Pedro is one of the league’s in-form players with three goals, two assists and 30 points in his past three games. It is slightly worrying that he has started on the bench in two of the past four league game but he will surely lead the line here. Enzo Fernandez is also a must for the midfield.

Wolves have improved but I will be surprised if any of their players appear in a team in the RG League.

Prediction: 0-2

Newcastle United v Brentford (1.30pm)

Newcastle are far better at home than away but also concede plenty of goals, conceding 17 goals in their 12 league games at St James’ Park. Their top player, Bruno Guimaraes, is close to a return and his presence will provide a big boost.

Brentford are the only team in the league without an away draw, winning four and losing eight of their 12 matches. One of their best players, Kevin Schade is suspended after being sent off against Aston Villa last week.

Prediction: 2-1

Sunday

Brighton & Hove Albion v Crystal Palace (10am)

Two out-of-form teams with Brighton winning just one of their past 11 matches and unrest off the pitch contributing Palace failing to pick up a victory in their past ten matches.

The weekly call for Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler to play Charalampos Kostoulas gathers pace, while Jorgen Strand Larsen is likely to lead the line for Palace after joining the club from Wolves on transfer deadline day.

Prediction: 1-0

Liverpool v Manchester City (12.30pm)

Erling Haaland has scored just one goal in seven games and managed only two shots so there is every case to be made for dropping him ahead of this assignment.

Haaland’s Liverpool counterpart Hugo Ekitike is in good form with a couple of goals last week but things will be tougher here than they were against Newcastle.

Prediction: 1-1