The battle for Champions League qualification in the Premier League takes on new intensity this weekend with two high-stakes derby clashes involving teams pursuing a top-four finish.
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Arsenal, who trail fourth-place Southampton on goal difference alone, tackle north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in a contest between two sides who have found form in recent weeks.
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Liverpool, meanwhile, visit Everton, having climbed to within four points of the Champions League places with a haul of 16 points from a possible 18 – a run matched only by Lyon in Europe’s five major leagues.
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The weekend’s action begins at White Hart Lane on Saturday, where Tottenham will go in search of only a second win over Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in eight encounters.
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Both teams are in good shape, with Tottenham having lost only once in their last nine league games and Arsenal only once in their last eight.
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Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs, two points behind their local rivals in sixth place, have been given reason for optimism by the news that Arsenal top scorer Alexis Sanchez will miss the game with a hamstring injury.
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But Arsenal scarcely missed the Chilean last weekend, crushing Aston Villa 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium to record a third consecutive league win for the first time this season.
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“This is a massive game and it is all about the bragging rights,” Arsenal winger Theo Walcott, a scorer against Villa, told the London Evening Standard newspaper.
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“It is one of the biggest games for both sets of fans and this year it is going to be tight.”
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Liverpool’s trip to Goodison Park later on Saturday will be Steven Gerrard’s last Merseyside derby before he leaves Anfield for the Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of the campaign.
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The Liverpool captain, 34, made his 700th appearance for the club in Wednesday’s 2-1 FA Cup win at Bolton Wanderers and manager Brendan Rodgers has backed him to sign off in style against old foes Everton.
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“He’ll want to win, like he does every time,” Rodgers told a press conference on Thursday.
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“How will he deal with the emotion of it being his last? Like he has all the others – by being focused on the team getting a result.”
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