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Premier League questions: Will Burnley provide title race twist by stopping Manchester City?

Tottenham vs West Ham, Leicester vs Arsenal, Burnley vs Man City and Man Utd vs Chelsea all live on Sky Sports Premier League this weekend

Manchester City dropped two points at Burnley last season
Image: Burnley will look to cause another shock when they host Man City, live on Sky Sports Premier League

Will Manchester City come unstuck against Burnley? Can Southampton secure their safety? All the key questions ahead of a crunch Premier League weekend.

Will Mauricio Pochettino risk heavy rotation? (Tottenham vs West Ham, Saturday, live on Sky Sports PL from 12.30pm)

As the clock ticked towards the final ten minutes on Tuesday, Pochettino turned to his bench and signalled for Vincent Janssen to get ready. It would be the Dutchman's first appearance in a Spurs shirt since August 2017.

And while Janssen failed to have an impact as Christian Eriksen broke Brighton's resilience, the act of bringing the maligned striker in from the cold spoke volumes for Pochettino's stretched resources as he battles on two fronts.

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Highlights from Tottenham's win over Brighton in the Premier League

West Ham will make the trek across London hoping to capitalise on Tottenham potentially having one eye on their European date with Ajax next Tuesday.

After making hard work of breaking down Brighton, Pochettino may view freshening his side up as a risk worth taking with their Champions League opponents having the weekend off Eredivisie duty.

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Will Arsenal fix their away-day woes? (Leicester vs Arsenal, Sunday, live on Sky Sports PL from 11am)

Arsenal head to the King Power on Sunday morning in desperate need of a win on their travels to keep alive their hopes of a top-four finish.

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However, after Wednesday night's 3-1 loss at Wolves, Unai Emery's side have slipped down to fifth in the table, with their Champions League destiny now out of their own hands.

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With a dismal record of just six wins and seven defeats away from home in the Premier League this campaign, though, the Gunners will need to turn around their form on the road to have any chance of competing in Europe's premier club competition next season.

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Highlights from West Ham's 2-2 draw with Leicester in the Premier League

Will Burnley throw open the title race? (Burnley vs Man City, Sunday live on Sky Sports PL from 2pm)

Man City boss Pep Guardiola was quick to dampen down his side's celebrations after their win at Old Trafford on Wednesday, pointing out the champions still had to go to Burnley this weekend.

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has warned his players the Premier League title race is not over ahead of their 'tough' trip to Burnley on Sunday

And with good reason, too, given Burnley's recent upturn in form that has seen Sean Dyche's team move to within just a point of guaranteed safety having collected more points than Chelsea in 2019.

In fact, the Clarets are looking to win three straight league games at Turf Moor, so City will know they will not be in for an easy ride in Lancashire on Sunday afternoon.

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Will Chelsea get a 'big-six' win on the road? (Man Utd vs Chelsea, Sunday, live on Sky Sports PL from 4pm)

If Chelsea are to beat Manchester United in their Super Sunday clash at Old Trafford, then the visitors will need to win at a 'big six' side for the first time this season.

The west London club - who are currently three points ahead of sixth-placed United - have lost their last six top-flight away games against fellow 'big six' teams, including all four this season by an aggregate score of 1-13.

Chelsea are actually winless in eight such contests - losing six of them - since beating Tottenham 2-1 at Wembley in August 2017, so Maurizio Sarri and Co must put that right this weekend, or risk missing out on Champions League football for the second season in a row.

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Which Marco Silva side will turn up at Selhurst Park? (Crystal Palace vs Everton, Saturday 3pm)

It has been quite a turnaround in results for Everton. The FA Cup fourth-round exit to Millwall in January had left many supporters questioning whether Silva was the right man to take the club forward.

But a run of three wins and a draw from home fixtures against Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United - without conceding a goal - has brought about a Spring brimming with optimism on the blue half of Merseyside.

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Highlights from Everton's 4-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League

Everton's last visit to the capital a fortnight ago, however, saw the return of the inconsistencies that have hampered their campaign with Fulham good value for their 2-0 win at Craven Cottage.

Silva will not need to remind his players of the threat Crystal Palace possess following their impressive 3-2 win at Arsenal, but with Roy Hodgson's side having similarly flip-flopped between good and bad results this term, whoever scores first could prove crucial at Selhurst Park.

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Highlights from Crystal Palace's 3-2 win at Arsenal in the Premier League

Will Scott Parker's side continue to wreak havoc? (Fulham vs Cardiff City, Saturday 3pm)

It was wittingly and rather accurately pointed out on Twitter this week what Fulham have become during The Run In: the 'loose horse at the Grand National, ruining everyone else's season'.

While Everton and Bournemouth no doubt set themselves targets after being knocked out of both cup competitions, a third win on the bounce for Fulham could prove critical in the two-horse race for survival.

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Highlights from Fulham's 1-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League

Ten years before 100/1 rank outsider Foinavon capitalised on the most famous incident involving a loose horse at Aintree, Cardiff last won back-to-back away games in the top flight, in February 1957.

But the Bluebirds' last win in London came at Fulham in September 2013, so Neil Warnock will be confident of avoiding this marauding obstacle to set up a photo finish in the race to stay up.

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Will Saints secure safety against Cherries? (Southampton vs Bournemouth Saturday 3pm)

Southampton moved a point closer to safety in their 1-1 draw with Watford, but Ralph Hasenhuttl isn't relaxing just yet.

"We have 37 points and until we have 40 we do not speak about being safe," he said after seeing Andre Gray's 90th-minute strike deny his side victory at Vicarage Road.

Shane Long scored the Premier League's fastest goal after eight seconds
Image: Shane Long scored the Premier League's fastest goal in under eight seconds

The Saints are two places and six points above the relegation zone with three games remaining, meaning a victory over Bournemouth this weekend would guarantee their top-flight status for another season, courtesy of their far superior goal difference on Cardiff.

But Bournemouth, who won 5-0 at Brighton on their last away outing, will be smarting from becoming the first team to lose at home to Fulham this season, and Eddie Howe will be after a reaction after having his 500th game in management spoiled.

Will Hornets change kick-off routine? (Watford vs Wolves, Saturday 3pm)

Hasenhuttl stopped short at taking any credit himself. Shane Long had taken on board his instructions for Southampton to make a fast start at Vicarage Road in a very literal sense.

It took just 7.69 seconds for the Republic of Ireland striker to pounce on Craig Cathcart's clearance to lift his shot over Ben Foster - and Watford immediately opted to change their restart routine.

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Highlights from Watford's draw against Southampton in the Premier League

A study of Watford's recent kick-offs against Manchester United, Fulham and Arsenal has seen the ball immediately launched forward by the centre-back, but it is the second time in as many games they have conceded after being closed down by an opponent.

Wolves will be keen to avenge their FA Cup semi-final defeat to the Hornets earlier this month when they surrendered a two-goal lead at Wembley in the final 11 minutes, with Nuno Espirito Santo's side still in the hunt of seventh place, and a potential route into next season's Europa League.

Will Seagulls end goal drought in must-win game? (Brighton vs Newcastle, Saturday 5.30pm)

In suffering their 1-0 defeat to Tottenham on Tuesday, Brighton have now failed to score in seven consecutive games in all competitions for the first time.

It is 660 minutes since the Seagulls last found the net - Solly March's fortuitous free-kick in the FA Cup against Millwall - and Chris Hughton's side now face Newcastle knowing that another blank could prove terminal in their quest for survival.

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Brighton defenders Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy could not hide their disappointment after losing 1-0 to Tottenham in the Premier League

The Magpies arrive at the Amex Stadium with their safety assured, but without the injured Miguel Almiron, who will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.

But in Ayoze Perez, Rafa Benitez has one of the league's most in-form strikers, so Brighton will have to be on their guard as they seek a first home league win since the start of March.

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