Newcastle United continue their chase of a Champions League berth when they visit slumping Manchester United in the Premier League on Monday in a battle between teams heading in opposite directions in the table.
Eddie Howe's Newcastle climbed to fifth in the table with their feisty 3-0 thrashing of Aston Villa on Boxing Day. They are unbeaten in five of their last six matches, outscoring their three most recent league opponents – Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Villa – by a combined 11-0.
"We're shooting for whatever we can shoot for," Howe said about a Champions League berth. "We'll take small steps, we'll go game-by-game, but I'm really heartened by how the team is playing.
"I think we're winning strongly at the moment, we're not winning by luck. I think there's been a definite upturn in our general performance. We look good defensively and we look good in attack – but of course we need to keep our standards very high."
United are languishing in 14th place in the table, closer to relegation than the top four, having lost four of their last five games including a 2-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Thursday.
Along with their crisis on the pitch, there has been controversy off it with new manager Ruben Amorim has left striker Marcus Rashford out of the squad for the last four matches.
"We have to be the same professionals, the same guys, winning or losing. Losing, I have to be stronger. I will continue with my idea until the end," Amorim said, about his decision for omit the 27-year-old.
Amorim's side will be missing Bruno Fernandes after the captain was shown a red card on Thursday, and Manuel Ugarte, who will be sidelined after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.
Manchester City are similarly hoping to turn around their woeful run of form when they travel to lowly Leicester City on Sunday. City's free fall in recent weeks, with just one victory to show in their last 13 games across all competitions, has left the champions in seventh, 14 points behind leaders Liverpool who have a game in hand.
Leicester are a point below the safety zone in 18th.
'TOO SOON TO CELEBRATE'
Liverpool will be favoured to pad their lead when they travel to London Stadium on Saturday to play 13th placed West Ham United.
While Arne Slot's men have lost just once in 17 league games, the Dutchman cautioned the team and fans against getting ahead of themselves. The Reds have faltered before, including the 2018-19 season when they saw a decent lead evaporate en route to finishing behind Manchester City.
"It's a bit of a boring answer but as a manager you go game by game - you know how many games you have to play," Slot said about their chase for the title.
"So many teams have so much quality. The league table is something we are aware of but we also understand how many games there are still to play; 21 games from the end (of the season), it's far too early to already be celebrating."
CHASING CHELSEA
Enzo Maresca's second-placed Chelsea dropped points with their 2-1 loss to Fulham on Boxing Day, snapping a nine-game unbeaten run with their first league defeat since October 20.
They will be looking for a return to winning ways when they are in action on Monday against Ipswich Town, who are three points from the safety zone in 19th in the table.
"We never thought that we'd win every game... it's just a matter of how we react," Maresca said. "You need to go again no matter the result."