Premier League

Southampton fans turned on manager Nathan Jones after last weekend’s defeat at Brentford and their mood is unlikely to improve on Saturday in this relegation battle. Saints remain rooted to the foot of the table, but Wolves moved out of the drop zone with an impressive 3-0 victory over Liverpool.

Leicester and Tottenham are both on a high after impressive victories at the weekend, when the return of James Maddison to City’s starting line-up sparked a 4-2 comeback win at previously in-form Aston Villa. Harry Kane scored a record-breaking goal as Spurs beat Man City 1-0.

Fulham and Nottingham Forest were both promoted from the Championship last season and are well on course for survival ahead of their meeting at Craven Cottage. Fulham are dreaming of a top-six finish and are eight points better off than Forest, who have climbed to 13th.

Brighton are 10 points clear of rivals Crystal Palace and head to Selhurst Park as favourites to stretch that lead given their impressive form. Palace are no pushovers though, especially on home soil where they have drawn with Manchester United and Newcastle in their last two outings.

Brentford have already won at Manchester City this season and are now looking to do the same at their title rivals Arsenal on Saturday. The Gunners’ hopes of ending their title drought were boosted when the Bees beat City just before the World Cup break but that was one of just two away wins for Thomas Frank’s men this season.

Man City have lost on their last four visits to Tottenham but are tipped to buck that trend in Sunday’s Premier League clash. The Blues recently produced a second-half blitz when beating Spurs 4-2 at Etihad Stadium and the London outfit may still be scarred by that experience.

Nottingham Forest have shown real improvement throughout their first Premier League campaign in over 20 years and can edge out Leeds. The Reds are unbeaten in their last six top-flight fixtures at the City Ground, including wins over Liverpool, Crystal Palace and Leicester.

There seems nothing fluky about Brighton’s surge up to sixth place in the Premier League and they are hard to oppose when hosting Bournemouth. Albion have been playing great football and scoring goals for fun, while the Cherries have been heading rapidly towards relegation trouble.

Manchester United have won 12 straight home games in all competitions and can extend that sequence when entertaining Crystal Palace. The Eagles have not been easy to break down on the road this term, but also don’t score many goals in Premier League away matches.

Southampton will hope to make up for their Carabao Cup disappointment by easing their relegation fears when they go to Brentford on Saturday. Saints missed out on a trip to Wembley after losing 3-1 on aggregate to Newcastle and have played three cup ties since they were last in Premier League action.

Aston Villa have made great progress under Unai Emery and are backed to complete a hat-trick of Premier League wins by beating Leicester. The Foxes enjoyed a welcome FA Cup success at Walsall over the weekend but have gone five top-flight fixtures without tasting victory.

Chelsea face a quick rematch with Fulham after recently losing to their west London neighbours for the first time since 2006. The Blues had won seven straight head-to-head meetings before that 2-1 Craven Cottage defeat and will be keen to see normal service resumed here.

Tottenham suffered a second-half collapse versus Man City but had shown enough to suggest they can prove too strong for Fulham again. Spurs have won seven of the last eight meetings between these teams and have prevailed on six straight trips to Craven Cottage.

Leeds enjoyed a welcome boost when beating Cardiff in the FA Cup on Wednesday but may find Brentford much more formidable foes at Elland Road. The Bees have picked up 13 points out of 15 from their last five Premier League matches and thrashed the Whites 5-2 at home earlier this season.