(AFP) Leaders Arsenal face a difficult test when they visit their neighbor Chelsea on Sunday in the fifteenth round of the English Football League , while Liverpool needs to beat their hosts Tottenham to enter again the circle of struggle for the first four places that qualify for the Champions League.
And with only two matches remaining in the league before the players are freed to participate in the World Cup finals in Qatar, which begins on the 20th of this year, Arsenal lead, the surprise of the season, by two points from defending champions Manchester City.
It is expected that Manchester City will take the lead on Saturday when it hosts Fulham at the Etihad Stadium, to increase the pressure on Arsenal in its match at Stamford Bridge the next day.
Chelsea, who is 10 points away from the top, has been suffering locally recently after failing to win in its last three matches and falling 1-4 against Brighton last week, and therefore cannot suffer a new loss that may complicate its affairs in the competition, at least for fourth place.
And the new Chelsea coach, Graham Potter, who took over the task in place of the German Thomas Tuchel, said from his position at the beginning of the season, on Wednesday, after defeating Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia 2-1, in the last round of the group stage of the Champions League competition: “We have just faced a month (October / October). full of challenges."
He added, "We were in a position where we had to achieve results. We lost key players such as (French) Wesley Fofana and Reece James, which had some effect on the stability of the level."
"It is not always easy to find the right solutions, but we suffered one defeat in 11 games," he added.
And left-back Ben Chilwell was added to the list of injured in Chelsea, after suffering a rupture in the posterior muscle, which also raises doubts about his participation in the ranks of his country in the World Cup in Qatar.
On the other hand, Arsenal breathed a sigh of relief after it became clear that the injury of its international star Bukayo Saka in the ankle against Nottingham Forest last week (5-0) was not serious, in light of the player’s brilliance since the beginning of the current season.

Tottenham receives Liverpool in a strong confrontation in north London.
Tottenham enters the match, ecstatic by leading its group in the Champions League, after my struggle beat Marseille, France, in the final seconds 2-1, and reached the final price, but the only black point was the injury of its brilliant South Korean striker, Heung-min Son, with a fracture around his left eye, as a result of which he will undergo surgery Friday, amid Doubts about his participation in the World Cup.
Son was crowned the league's top scorer last season, with 23 goals, on par with Egyptian Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.
The injured Swedish winger Diane Kulusevski and Brazilian striker Richarlison continue to be absent, which places a heavy burden on Harry Kane to continue his effectiveness in the front line.
On the other hand, Liverpool's hopes of winning the title declined after two consecutive sudden losses against Nottingham Forest and Leeds, with German coach Jurgen Klopp admitting that time was already running out even just to reach the top four.
Liverpool are eight points off the Champions League qualifying places and are ninth with a match in hand against Chelsea.
But Liverpool's victory over Italian Napoli (2-0) in the last round of the Champions League in the middle of this week, and its first defeat in various competitions this season, gives hope to Liverpool to restore its balance, especially since its Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunes has begun to prove his feet since he moved to him from Benfica in a huge deal.
"The key to winning was the defensive organization," Klopp said, after his team ended the Italian team's long unbeaten run. "Suddenly we started making the right decisions on the field, and suddenly we became a difficult team to face."
And Spanish coach Unai Emery inaugurates his reign with Aston Villa with a strong confrontation at home against Manchester United, who did not lose in the last 9 matches and kept clean sheets in 6 of his last seven matches.
United, fifth, is one point away from fourth place, knowing that it has a postponed match.
And Emery, who went through the English Premier League experience with Arsenal, stood in the way of Manchester United winning the European League title (Europa League) in 2021 when he led his former team, Villarreal, to a penalty shootout victory over it.
It is noteworthy that the two teams will also meet next Thursday in the League Cup at Old Trafford.