DERBY WEEKEND
United take on City, Forest host Leicester, Chelsea play against Palace, and Arsenal visit Spurs in Premier League clashes
PREMIER League football fans will be treated to a derby delight this weekend. The first of four derby encounters will see Manchester United play arch rivals and defending champions Manchester City at Old Trafford today, with the game kicking off at 2.30pm North Cyprus time.
United have been in impressive form recently, winning their last four league games in a row to move into fourth place in the table on 35 points, just four behind their Manchester rivals.
Second-placed City, meanwhile, will be looking for a win to keep up the pressure on leaders Arsenal.
The Red Devils will need to be in top form if they are to break their poor record against the Citizens.
They have lost more Premier League home games against Manchester City than any other opponent (8), while no other side has beaten them more often overall in the competition (18, tied with Chelsea and Liverpool).
Manchester City will be looking to complete the Premier League double over United for the sixth time, which would be more than any other side in the league’s history.
Manchester United have conceded 12 goals in their last three Premier League meetings with City, half of which came in a 63 defeat at the Etihad in October.
Later in the day, at 5pm TRNC time, Nottingham Forest take on Leicester City in the East Midlands derby.
The match at the City Ground will be the first time Forest have hosted a league fixture against Leicester since 2014. They have lost only one of their last 17 home games against the Foxes.
Leicester, who have never scored a Premier League away goal against Nottingham Forest, are aiming to complete their first double over their rivals since the 1971-72 season.
Leicester will want to end a run of three Premier League defeats in a row while Forest are hoping to win consecutive league matches for the first time this season.
The third derby kicks off at 4pm tomorrow as London clubs Chelsea and Crystal Palace meet at Stamford Bridge.
A recent run of poor results has seen Chelsea drop from Champions League contention to mid-table mediocrity, but their record against Palace will give them hope of victory.
Chelsea have won their last 10 Premier League games against Crystal Palace, who have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 17 Premier League games against Chelsea.
However Chelsea have lost three of their last six home Premier League London derbies, but no team has lost more Premier League London derbies this season than Palace.
The fourth derby will start at 6.30pm TRNC time tomorrow, as Tottenham entertain leaders Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League home games against Arsenal, winning the last three in a row – but they have never won four in a row in their league history.
After their 3-1 at the Emirates in October, the Gunners are looking to achieve their first league double over Tottenham since the 2013-14 season.
The match could see Spurs striker Harry Kane become only the third player to score 200 goals in the Premier League, after Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney.
Kane is currently on 198 goals from 300 appearances. Rooney scored 208 goals in 491 matches, while Shearer’s Premier League record of 260 goals was achieved in 441 games.
He is also just one goal away from matching the Spurs club record for goals in all competitions – 266 by Jimmy Greaves – after scoring against
Portsmouth in the third round of the FA Cup. He is the top scorer in north London derbies, netting 14 times in 16 Premier League meetings with Arsenal, including two goals in his last home match against them.