After what amounted to a rather disappointing week in European competitions for English sides, the country will rally around the Champions League and the hopes of seeing their teams make a major run in the final months of the season.
Here are the crucial matchups for this weekend's Premier League.
Stoke City vs. Arsenal
Arsenal is no longer the top team in the Premier League, but the team must improve its form in order to remain in the race. The longer the team keeps up with Chelsea, the better its chances of success. More importantly, Arsenal only leads Manchester City by two points and has played one game more than the Citizens. After this weekend, Arsenal will have played two more games than City and could potentially fall behind by as much as four points if it loses on Saturday. Liverpool is also three points behind and has looked like an offensive juggernaut in recent weeks.
Stoke City is in a battle to remain in England's top league and will need to continue creating some distance from the bottom three spots. The team has 27 points in 27 games and is just three points ahead of 18th place Sunderland; however, Sunderland has a game in hand and will not be playing a Premier League match this weekend.
Chelsea vs. Fulham
The polar opposites of the league will face off in a match that has tremendous stakes for both. Chelsea is the top team in the league, but its lead could evaporate quickly. Chelsea is coming off two straight draws and only leads Arsenal by one point; Manchester City is only three points behind and will have two games in hand by the end of the weekend. If Chelsea loses then it could potentially wind up behind Manchester City when the team makes up its two games.
Fulham is in last place and in danger of relegation.
With only 21 points in 27 games the team is already four points out of 17th place and looks like it will have to settle for a second division spot next season. But not all hope is lost. While Chelsea is not Manchester United, Fulham should use some of the confidence from its 2-2 draw against the defending champs and try to play for a draw. The team will be home where it has a poor record of three wins, one draw and nine losses; Chelsea has not been great away from Stamford Bridge and has a record of six wins, four draws and three losses.
Southampton vs. Liverpool
Brendan Rodgers' side looks like it is on the upswing and could potentially compete for first place. With 56 points in 27 games, the team is just four behind first place Chelsea and only one behind Manchester City, albeit with one more game played. The team has the most dynamic scoring duo in Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge and will make life difficult for Southampton.
However, Liverpool must beware. Its opponents sit in ninth place and are still in the middle of the pack. They are far from the woeful competition that Liverpool has dominated in previous matches and will make life difficult. This will likely be the match to watch this weekend.
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