Manchester City’s Saturday victory set up a pivotal Sunday in the Premier League. Arsenal know they must beat Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium to re-establish a seven-point advantage at the top. That match carries weight after Manchester United’s collective performance in last week’s derby and Bruno Fernandes’s praised role in a 2-0 win.

There is also a London derby when Crystal Palace host Chelsea, and Brentford welcome Nottingham Forest. Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea ended a run without a league win with a 2–0 victory over Brentford at Stamford Bridge, bringing his tally to three wins from four in charge. That run would be impressive for any Chelsea manager, but recent form in midweek suggests the Blues could struggle at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace remain in a tailspin. Steve Parish did not give into Oliver Glasner’s apparent wish to get the boot last weekend, so Glasner will occupy the home dugout as Palace seek their first league win since Dec. 7.

Prediction: Crystal Palace 1–1 Chelsea

Brentford’s season under Keith Andrews has exceeded early expectations. After a defeat at the City Ground in Gameweek 1, Andrews has guided the Bees to a campaign that looks set to better their best under Thomas Frank, when they finished ninth in 2022–23. Brentford sit seventh and have accumulated 24 points from 11 games at the Gtech, the fourth-best home record in the division. Nottingham Forest suffered an away Europa League defeat in Braga on Thursday, and that European slog may influence Sunday’s clash.

Prediction: Brentford 3–1 Nottingham Forest

The reverse fixture between Newcastle United and Aston Villa earlier in the season was uneventful, but Sunday’s meeting on Tyneside has potential. Aston Villa’s home loss to Everton increased pressure within the camp; Unai Emery’s post-match interview depicted a manager “on the brink and not one who’s distinctly overachieved.” Villa did win at Fenerbahçe on Thursday, while Newcastle cruised past PSV Eindhoven. The Magpies are inconsistent away but difficult to break down at home.

Prediction: Newcastle 3–2 Aston Villa

Ajax have been linked with a move for Oleksandr Zinchenko as his loan at Nottingham Forest struggles to deliver the game time hoped for when the deal was completed. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports the Eredivisie club want to “finalise” the signing of Zinchenko “as soon as possible,” and have opened talks with his agent, Jorge Mendes. The player has apparently given the green light to a potential switch.

The original loan to Forest surprised some observers, given the club had been bolstering the squad under then-manager Nuno Espiríto Santo to prepare for this season’s Europa League. Zinchenko has featured for 225 minutes in that competition but has played only limited Premier League minutes after a groin injury sidelined him for the best part of two months. Since returning to fitness, Sean Dyche has selected Zinchenko in the starting XI only once, a 2–0 home defeat that deepened the club’s relegation woes.

There has been previous speculation that the loan could be curtailed, and De Telegraaf’s report points to Ajax as a club prepared to take a punt. The Dutch side see him as capable of strengthening at left back and in the midfield No. 6 role. Zinchenko has significant experience in the heart of midfield for his country, where he is noted for tenacious tackling and lung-bursting runs from deep.

Statistically he has scored 12 times at international level and seven goals in 286 club appearances, reflecting the various positions he has occupied. Pep Guardiola once described Zinchenko’s best position and the adaptation that followed: “In the position that we have in the midfield, in the pockets as the attacking midfielder,” Pep Guardiola once said of Zinchenko’s best position. “That is his position, definitely. When we bought Oleks for £2 million from Ukraine, he was a No.10—a Phil Foden position, a creative player—but the needs we had… We didn’t have a left back for many years.” Settling in at left back then happened “because he is well-educated, he knows exactly what it means. He adapted and said: ‘Okay, what does the team need? I’m going to do it.’”

Arsenal were left to wonder after Saturday’s goalless draw with Nottingham Forest when officials ruled that Ola Aina’s arm was in a natural position following a VAR check. The reprieve came despite television replays showing the ball brushed Aina’s arm and amid protest from Mikel Arteta.

The game lacked a breakthrough after Arsenal had squandered several early chances, most notably a skewed close-range effort from Gabriel Martinelli. The draw left Arteta’s side seven points clear of Manchester City after a thumping derby win for Manchester United earlier in the day. It also gave Aston Villa the opportunity to reduce the gap to four points should they beat Everton on Sunday.

On the field Michael Oliver had an obstructed view of the incident and halted play while in conversation with VAR Darren England. The Premier League Match Centre later clarified that “the ball was played off Aina’s shoulder first, while his arm was also in a natural position.” That assessment echoed the officials’ decision that Aina’s arm was natural.

Arteta did not accept the verdict, insisting his side had “obviously” been denied “a very clear penalty.” Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche responded differently. He was more concerned with a penalty appeal his side had missed after Jurriën Timber tangled with Callum Hudson-Odoi near the edge of the box. TNT Sports pundit and former Arsenal centre back Martin Keown dismissed the Forest complaints and pushed Dyche over the Aina handball, saying, “You’ve seen those given.”

Dyche remained adamant. “You might as well cancel football if you’re going to give that,” the firmly spoken coach twice repeated. “I’m being serious,” Dyche continued in the face of Keown’s exasperation.

The episode underlined continuing uncertainty over handball interpretations. The FA Handbook’s Law 11 states a player “is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation.” The match left both camps frustrated and the title race unchanged but tense.