Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey
Riyad Mahrez’s Manchester City travel to Everton in one of four FA Cup quarter-final ties looking to remain on track for an unprecedented quadruple.
In Italy, Franck Kessie and his AC Milan colleagues face Fiorentina intending to pull further away from the chasing pack in Serie A and keep leaders Inter Milan on their toes in the title race.
Thomas Partey
One of the few Premier League games to be held this weekend sees Arsenal make the short trip to high-flying West Ham United looking to record another victory over a London side.
Partey, final 10 minutes aside, had a good outing vs Tottenham Hotspur last time out as the Gunners deservedly beat their North London rivals 2-1.
While West Ham may be fifth, recent defeats by Manchester City and Manchester United have seen them wobble slightly, falling to a couple of losses in three games.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was dropped against Spurs for disciplinary reasons and it remains to be seen if the captain is off the naughty step by the time Arsenal travel to the London Stadium.
Riyad Mahrez
Manchester City comfortably beat Borussia Monchengladbach in midweek, and Pep Guardiola will hope his players switch attentions to this weekend’s FA Cup clash at Everton.
The Algeria superstar has been a central component of the Cityzens’ results in the last month or so, and was key to their Premier League success at Goodison Park a few weeks ago.
Success for the Manchester outfit will send them into the semis and closer to their unspoken ambition of claiming an unparalleled quadruple.
Youssef En-Nesyri
Another strike for the towering Morocco frontman against Elche in midweek helped Sevilla to back-to-back wins in La Liga.
As a result, the Andalusians have opened up a nine-point advantage on fifth-placed Real Sociedad in the race to end in that final Champions League spot.
En-Nesyri will aim to score in three games on the spin when Julen Lopetegui’s troops travel to relegation-threatened Real Valladolid, whose run of one victory in five makes for discouraging reading.
With 15 leagues goals to his name, another strike for the poacher this weekend could take above Karim Benzema and Gerard Moreno into third in the race for the Pichichi.
Franck Kessie
AC Milan’s troubles continued on Sunday as they were beaten 1-0 by Napoli at San Siro.
Kessie’s influence in midfield has waned without Ismael Bennacer, and the Ivory Coast midfield man will hope the Rossoneri’s struggles are halted before Sunday’s visit to Fiorentina.
With Juventus on the verge of supplanting Stefano Pioli’s team, Atalanta only four points behind and even Napoli in fine form, Milan need a victory against the Viola to keep the chasing pack at arm’s length.
KalIdou Koulibaly
Koulibaly was largely dominant defensively and measured in possession as Napoli picked up an impressive 1-0 win at AC Milan last time out.
The side from Naples moved six points behind the Milan outfit, with a game in hand, and could move three points below the contenders if they win at Roma this weekend and the second-placed outfit are beaten.
Gennaro Gattuso’s team had struggled recently on their travels before that win at San Siro (they’ve lost three of their last away games) and may come up short against Paulo Fonseca’s team on Sunday.
