The Dugout Discussion – Sunday

Sunday afternoon beckons in two Premier League fixtures for Fantasy managers to profit from, as Liverpool and Arsenal attempt to overcome stern tests of their top-four credentials, while Manchester City attempt to narrow the gap on Chelsea. Following that, we’ve the small matter of a Wembley showpiece to enjoy, as Chelsea take on Spurs in the Capital One Cup Final. Book the sofa for the next six hours, then.

The feast begins on Merseyside as Liverpool host City at midday. Ominously for City, their opponents Liverpool are the league’s form team, boasting a run of 10 matches without defeat and five clean sheets in their previous six fixtures. The Sky Blues, though, possess the firepower to halt Liverpool’s momentum, with David Silva and Sergio Aguero both notching braces in the Champions’ last two match-ups.

The team news finds both Daniel Sturridge and Wilfried Bony on the bench as both keep significant goal threat in reserve. City make two changes to the side that lost to Barcelona, with Yaya Toure returning to midfield and Aleks Kolarov handed a start at left-back. Manuel Pellegrini elects to drop James Milner and Gael Clichy to the bench, then. Meanwhile, Liverpool make four changes to the side that lost to Besiktas on spot-kicks, as Jordan Henderson is fit to return to the engine room, allowing Emre Can to shift to the three-man defence in place of Kolo Toure. Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho and Lazar Markovic also come in as Jordan Ibe, Mario Balotelli and Sturridge drop out.

Gameweek 27’s swansong pits together two sides with contrasting domestic and European fortunes, as Arsenal take on Everton at the Emirates. The Gunners are licking their wounds after being brushed aside by Monaco on their own turf in the Champions League, while the Toffees will be buoyed having chalked up a 7-2 aggregate win over BSC Young Boys in the Europa League. Conversely, the Gunners are steadily accruing points in the league, spearheaded by Olivier Giroud’s three goals in four starts; while Everton have registered just one victory in their last 10 as record signing Romelu Lukaku continues to falter, recording a single league goal in his last 12 appearances.