1) United need to beat Leicester if they want to join them

About this time 21 years ago Alex Ferguson was gabbling about how he hoped Blackburn Rovers would “do a Devon Loch”. The Scot has no particular reason to hope for a total collapse by Leicester City this season, since Manchester United are in no position to do what they failed to do in 1995 and take full advantage of any deterioration by the top team. But United, in reduced sporting circumstances these days, could sure do with postponing Leicester’s party this Sunday, otherwise their chances of joining Claudio Ranieri’s team in next season’s Champions League will be slim. Beating a United team desperate for victory at Old Trafford would be a majestic way for Leicester to clinch the title. It would be especially sweet for Danny Drinkwater and Danny Simpson, the latter of whom is going to have to excel to subdue Anthony Martial. Paul Doyle

• The striking parallels between Leicester and Clough’s Forest
• Ranieri: from inveterate tinkerer to do-nothing tactical master?

2) Jones’s influence could help push Newcastle towards the edge

He may deny it but Alan Pardew has a keen sense of theatre and it will not be lost on him that victory at his old stomping ground could, depending on results elsewhere, leave Newcastle hanging on to Premier League status by a thread. But Palace need to get down to brass tacks themselves, and are not yet mathematically safe. It certainly did not seem likely they would leave things this late when they thumped an abject Newcastle side 5-1 at Selhurst Park last November. Pardew brought in the England rugby union head coach, Eddie Jones, this week to sharpen up a few minds that may have wandered towards a place in a FA Cup final; they will need to be competitive because, for all that Rafael Benítez will need many months to cure all of Newcastle’s woes, the home side look far more resilient these days and played as confidently as they have all season in turning around a 2-0 deficit at Liverpool last weekend. Benítez gained ground at the expense of his former employers then; Pardew will hope to achieve something similar and heighten the nagging impression that the Magpies may come up just too short this season. Nick Ames

• Pardew calls in Eddie Jones to provive pep talk
• Clattenburg to referee FA Cup final

3) Sunderland look to Defoe in fight for survival

Produce a team that can concede 12 goals in three matches and, hey presto, reports surface claiming that Everton think you’d be an upgrade on Roberto Martínez. Broadly speaking, of course, Mark Hughes has done a fine job at Stoke and – particularly in light of his ill-advised departure from Fulham in 2011 and constant pleading from every manager in the world for time to bring their projects to fruition – he would be well advised to stay at the rebranded Betting Bowl for a while yet, irrespective of any wooing from Everton. None of which is of any concern to Sam Allardyce, who, with Ryan Shawcross yet to regain sharpness following several injury-nagged months, will fancy that the odds should be good on Jermain Defoe scoring this weekend to boost Sunderland’s fight for survival. They have a game in hand over Newcastle and more benign fixtures than Norwich, and they need to make those advantages count. PD

4) Confident City should go for second place

Confidence is suddenly coursing through Manchester City again and, even if Tuesday’s draw with Real Madrid was hardly thrill-a-minute stuff, it was further evidence Manuel Pellegrini has found a defensive balance that was lacking earlier in the season and an extra shift through the gears in the form of Kevin De Bruyne. Pellegrini will probably make changes with next Wednesday’s second leg in mind and one of them, a replacement for the injured David Silva, will be forced on him. The manager will find Southampton, who have had a curious season but have won nine of their past 15 and are not completely out of the Europa League running, sterner opponents than last weekend’s supine Stoke side and it will not be in City’s interests to let up now. Next season’s Champions League place is by no means secure but Tottenham’s draw with West Brom on Monday gave scope to look upwards, too. Victory at St Mary’s would pull City within two points of second place, with the current incumbents facing a potentially tricky Monday night against an inconsistent Chelsea. It would still not be the finish anybody at the Etihad wanted but a successful late play for the runners-up spot would leave City with a healthy sense of momentum for Pep Guardiola to feed from and perhaps remind anyone weighing up a move for Pellegrini’s services that they would be employing one of the very best. NA

• Benzema an injury doubt for Manchester City tie
• Kompany eager to tackle Ronaldo

5) Chelsea host Tottenham with one eye on the future

Depending on events at Old Trafford, this game could either be charged with fresh significance to the title race or an end-of-season contest between London rivals looking to go again next time around. Chelsea are certainly looking to the future judging by the recalls from Reading this week of Michael Hector and Lucas Piazon – neither of whom are eligible for this game – and the impasse over the young striker Dominic Solanke’s contract has occupied more headlines this week than anything involving their senior names. A wage of £50,000-a-week for an 18-year-old who has only represented the club once seems patently absurd but that is probably the going rate now and football only has itself to blame that things have come to this. Solanke’s situation is one loose end Chelsea need to tie up soon, with other interested parties lurking; something they can do more immediately is record a statement win over one of the big hitters, with Arsenal – twice – the only leading side they have beaten in the league. The identity of their opponents means this is more than a mere box-ticking exercise but, similarly to several others, the primary interest around Chelsea now is in establishing apple-pie order for their incoming manager Antonio Conte. NA

• Alli sorry after season ends with ban for violent conduct
• Chelsea aim to retain Solanke despite contract impasse

6) No-win situation for Everton and Martínez

Roberto Martínez press conferences increasingly resemble Shopping Channel promotions but Everton fans have long stopped buying his rigmarole. Only Aston Villa’s fans have seen fewer Premier League home wins this season than the Goodison Park crowd and the alarming thing for Martínez must be that in recent weeks some of his players have performed as if they, too, are dismayed. Maybe appearances are deceptive but Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley’s displays have not amounted to ringing endorsements of the current regime. It is difficult to imagine that victory over Bournemouth will substantially brighten the mood at Goodison Park but defeat could make it a lot worse - and intensify the feeling that either Martínez or some key players should leave soon. PD

• Martinez: judge me over three seasons, not three months
  
• David Squires on English clubs in semi-finals

7) Norwich must sharpen up in attack

Norwich have had two weeks to figure out why they flopped so badly against Sunderland and, more pertinently, what they can do about it. With magically healing Timm Klose not being among the options Alex Neil’s defensive choices are limited. He could try a 3-5-2 to shut out Arsenal, or stick with a 4-4-2 bearing in mind that Sébastien Bassong and Ryan Bennett were quite solid when the sides drew 1-1 at Carrow Road in November. But even if Norwich do manage to keep the score down, they must sharpen up in attack. This could be a fine time to restore Nathan Redmond and Wes Hoolahan to the starting line-up, Steven Naismith and Matt Jarvis not having contributed enough in recent weeks. PD

• Arsenal fan groups planning protest during Norwich match

8) All eyes on the referee at The Hawthorns

The way that West Ham fans have been complaining about refereeing decisions during their challenge for Champions League qualification leads you to suspect that for the remainder of the season they will check who is in charge of their games before even considering the opposition. If they do, they might be satisfied to note that Saturday’s game at West Bromwich Albion will be presided over by Lee Mason, who only brought himself to the attention of West Ham fans this season by waving away Swansea appeals after James Collins handled the ball in the box during November’s 0-0 draw at the Liberty Stadium. Tony Pulis, meanwhile, likes nothing more than putting a dampener on proceedings, as he showed on Monday night by inspiring his team to ruin Tottenham Hotspur’s fun. It will be tough, probably tetchy, possibly boring. And Mr Mason might like to keep a close eye on any interaction between Dimitri Payet and Claudio Yacob, among others. PD

• West Ham to welcome Juventus in first game at Olympic Stadium

9) Watford and Aston Villa play through winds of change

Watford and Aston Villa cannot claim much in common on the pitch this season but there will be one uniting factor when they meet on Saturday. Neither club knows who will be charged with taking them forwards this summer and in Watford’s case the statement released on Wednesday regarding Quique Sánchez Flores’s future hardly added clarity. “No decision has been made on the future of Quique Sánchez Flores and certainly no decision will be taken until the club has held in-depth discussions with Quique,” it said. The wind seems to be blowing in a certain direction though and Watford, while rightly congratulating themselves on a season that could yet see them return to the top half, would probably quite like the next three weeks to go quickly. The number of players passing through the club might not always help and, while Flores has dealt with his pack admirably, when Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney are not firing it is hard to discern exactly what their style of play is. Maybe this, as Slavisa Jokanovic discovered, is just not really a long-term job for a manager; slipping up against a demoralised Villa would hardly quieten the rumblings and it is a match both would doubtless like to get out of the way. NA

• Agbonlahor quits as Villa captain and apologises to fans
• Flores to have talks on his future at end of season

10) Swansea and Guidolin need to prove life is not a beach

Francisco Guidolin said on Thursday that Swansea are not “on the beach” – a phrase to which he had previously been unaccustomed, although it is worth pointing out that this is the same manager who was happy that his team “fought for 90 minutes” at Leicester last Sunday. Whatever is going on between their ears – and it is usually pointless to speculate – there needs to be an improvement against a Liverpool side that, bereft of several key players and between Europa League appointments, may not be entirely engaged themselves. Seven goals against and none for in their last two games is not a good look for Guidolin and Swansea, who will stay up barring a freak set of results, but the Welsh side have done little to set pulses racing of late. Guidolin’s future is still up in the air; Swansea are yet another Premier League side whose direction from May onwards is unclear and the fear is that a barren run at the end of this season could spill over into next, whoever is in charge, with the club’s fabled stability and clarity having taken quite a hit this term. NA

• Liverpool dealt sucker-punch at the last by Villarreal
• Tribunal rules Liverpool must pay £8m for Ings