It will all begin with a lunch time kick-off at Stamford Bridge. The Blues, having lost to Manchester City in midweek, failed to close the gap against fourth-placed Tottenham. Chelsea remain fifth in the standings with 49 points while London rivals Spurs have dropped to fourth with 54 points, 1 point behind new third place tenants Arsenal.
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur will both be looking to get back to winning ways. The Blues had a really tough time at the Etihad Stadium and they lost out only just. Spurs, meanwhile, proved shaky again as Stoke City held them to a 1-1 draw.
It’s been quite some time now since Harry Redknapp and his men have not tasted victory in the English Premier League. Matchday by Matchday, Spurs’ realistic dream of grabbing the third and last UEFA Champions League automatic spot fades away. Will they reignite their hopes at the Bridge?
The highlight among Saturday’s several 3:00pm GMT kick-offs will be Arsenal vs Aston Villa. The Gunners are in formidable form. Lately, they’ve done enough to steal maximum points from their opponents.
The results of this excellent run are obvious; Arsenal have rocketed to third in the English Premier League standings at the disgust of all the other UEFA Champions League qualification contenders.
However, the Gunners’ fight is not over. Only one point puts them above Tottenham Hotspur. The least slip they commit could see them regret at the end of the season. 
There are nine more Matchdays to go which means there are 27 more points at stake. Spurs and Chelsea are ready to pounce on any mistake Arsenal might do. Arsene Wenger certainly knows what to tell his boys for them to remain united and strong until the end of the road.
On Saturday, the Gunners will be at home to fifteenth-placed Aston Villa. It’s hard to imagine anything else than victory for the hosts who have dropped only 10 points out of 42 at the Emirates Stadium in the English Premier League this season. In contrast, Aston Villa have secured only three wins in 14 away matches.
However, in 29 matches, the Villains have managed the most draws – 12 in total, 2 more than Wigan. They will be satisfied with a draw at the Emirates Stadium. How will Arsenal protect their recently created perfect run in the league?
Another mouth-watering clash will take place at Stoke City. This evening kick-off could see second-placed Manchester City get back to the top of the English Premier League table on a temporary basis. The Citizens, through Samir Nasri’s late winner, clinched a morale boosting victory in midweek.
Beating giants (in that case, it was Chelsea) always feels good. City must be thinking that they can beat anyone now as the Premiership title race gets to its finish line. As of now, the table reads:
| POS. | TEAM | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | D | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PREMIER LEAGUE 2011/2012 | ||||||||||
| 1 | Manchester United | 29 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 73 | 27 | +46 | 70 | |
| 2 | Manchester City | 29 | 22 | 3 | 4 | 71 | 21 | +50 | 69 | |
| 3 |  |
Arsenal | 29 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 58 | 39 | +19 | 55 |
| 4 |  |
Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 53 | 35 | +18 | 54 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 29 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 49 | |
On Monday, Old Trafford will host Manchester United vs Fulham. Will the Red Devils go into this game as league leaders? Whatever it is, they currently have the edge because they do not need to look at what Manchester City are doing.
Manchester United are flying high at the moment, looking to avenge their cup exits this season. Their last game dates from March 18 when they trounced Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-0 away from home. Eight days of rest is a lot to recharge batteries.
Manchester United will not only benefit from the home factor on Monday night but also from fresh legs in the squad. Call it an upset if the Red Devils don’t hit 73 points at the end of Matchday 30.
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