Chris Sutton has revealed his predictions as surprise leaders Arsenal face relegation-battlers Everton in the Premier League and EFL Cup winners Manchester United take on West Ham in the FA Cup.
Arsenal will move five points clear of defending champions Manchester City and 11 points ahead of third-placed Manchester United if they beat Everton at the Emirates on Wednesday night.
The Gunners sit 17 places and 36 points ahead of Everton but lost to Sean Dyche’s side in the reverse fixture last month.
Despite that upset at Goodison Park, Sutton expects Arsenal to brush aside Everton this evening as they aim to win their first Premier League title since 2004.
‘Everton gave Aston Villa a decent game on Saturday but they fell back into the bottom three after being beaten, and their big issue is still that they are so short of firepower,’ he told BBC Sport.
‘I saw a Tweet from BBC’s chief football writer Phil McNulty about how the Toffees failure to sign a striker last summer or in January could come back to haunt them, and it’s clear Dominic Calvert-Lewin will have a crucial part to play if they are going to stay up.
‘I don’t even see Everton getting near the goal too often on Wednesday, though. Arsenal have bounced back superbly from their defeat to Manchester City with two wins from two tough away games, against Villa and then Leicester.
‘The Gunners will have a point to prove after losing at Goodison Park at the start of February – in Sean Dyche’s first game in charge of Everton – and I don’t see them having any problems this time, 2-0.’
Manchester United are also in action on Wednesday night, with Erik ten Hag’s side hosting West Ham in the FA Cup just three days after winning the EFL Cup.
The Red Devils could still win four trophies this season having bagged their first one since 2017 with a routine 2-0 win over Newcastle United at Wembley.
David Moyes’ West Ham have endured a poor season but returned to some kind of form last weekend, beating Nottingham Forest 4-0 at home.
‘My BBC 606 co-host Robbie Savage says Erik ten Hag is the best manager in the world following Manchester United’s Carabao Cup triumph,’ Sutton added.
‘Ten Hag is doing an excellent job but I can’t help thinking Robbie has got a bit carried away there, just for a change.
‘I can see why Manchester United fans are getting excited about what is to come, though. I also see them winning this tie pretty comfortably.
‘West Ham got a big win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday but they are still in trouble at the bottom of the Premier League table and they will definitely make changes with their weekend trip to Brighton in mind.
‘The Hammers looked more like the team they were last season with the way they attacked Forest, but we might see their second-string at Old Trafford and the result will reflect that, with another routine 2-0 home win.’
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