Any hope for Man United vs. Liverpool? Man City to slip up again?

All you need to know about this weekend's Premier League action, all in one place.

Jump to: Spurs better without Lloris? | Palace to trip up City? | Fantasy Tips | Game to Watch | Match Predictions 

THE WEEKEND'S BIG QUESTIONS

Is United's best hope to keep the score down against Liverpool??

Manchester United's prospects for their game against Liverpool on Sunday weren't looking good even before it became clear that David De Gea and Paul Pogba would not be available. Their squad is thin enough as is without arguably their two best players being out too, so the 75,000 United fans due to show up at Old Trafford will be taking a deep breath before comprehending what is about to unfold.

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A Liverpool victory would equal the Premier League record for consecutive wins with 18, which will be enough of a kick in the ribs for United fans already, but a big Liverpool victory would be even worse. United might be able to draw some solace in the fact that Jurgen Klopp's side have had some close calls of late, so their luck might run out soon, but at the moment it looks like the best they can hope for will be some respectability in the scoreline.

Will Tottenham be better off without Lloris?

On the face of it, losing your World Cup-winning captain for the remainder of 2019 could be filed under "bad news." But Hugo Lloris was becoming an even bigger problem at a club that are stuffed full of problems at the moment. No longer the super-reliable keeper of times past, you only have to look at the error a millisecond before his horrific elbow injury as proof that the Frenchman is on the way to being a liability, if he isn't one already.

Paulo Gazzaniga will presumably start against Watford, even if they have re-signed Michel Vorm to provide some extra cover. Will he be any worse than Lloris? Will he actually be better, ultimately? At a club where stability has turned into torpor, a forced change might turn out to be a positive.

Could Crystal Palace trip up Manchester City?

We have conclusive proof that Manchester City are fallible this season. The fear before the campaign was that they would once again make the Premier League uncompetitive, and that Liverpool would do well to cling onto their coattails again. After early defeats to Norwich and Wolves, we know that is not the case, so they could really have done with a nice easy game to take out their frustrations, as they did against Watford following that Norwich loss.

Unfortunately for them, they must travel to Crystal Palace, who under Roy Hodgson are in the middle of a slightly implausible run of form that sees them in sixth place, having won 12 of their past 22 games going back to February. It's got "potential tripwire" written all over it, so it will be fascinating to see how City deal with a very tricky trip to South London.

FANTASY TIPS

Kieran Darcy has some tips for the weekend action. Read his full preview here and set your team line-up!

Must-have player: Sergio Aguero, Tier 1 forward

Aguero is tied for the league lead in goals with eight, is the league leader in shots with 30, and Manchester City are the biggest favorites of the weekend, at Crystal Palace.

Worth considering: Jorginho, Tier 3 midfielder

Jorginho is ninth in the league in passes completed, and should rack up a ton of them against Newcastle, who have the lowest possession percentage in the league (32.8) -- plus he's on penalties for Chelsea.

Avoid at all costs: Marcus Rashford, Tier 1 forward

Rashford hasn't scored in his past five games including the Europa League, and didn't take a single shot in Manchester United's 1-0 loss at Newcastle prior to the international break, despite playing the full 90 minutes.