The China Mail - Isak-less Liverpool look to hit stride, Man City 'back' to their best

City's nine-game unbeaten run will be tested by trip to Aston Villa, while leaders Arsenal welcome Crystal Palace to the Emirates.

Manchester United are aiming to build on their long-awaited victory at Anfield last weekend but face a Brighton side that have grown used to winning at Old Trafford in recent seasons.

AFP Sports looks at three of the key fixtures of the weekend:

Could Isak injury help Liverpool?

The loss of the Premier League's most expensive player in Alexander Isak to a groin injury could actually help Arne Slot stumble upon the right formula to turnaround Liverpool's fortunes.

The Sweden attacker's only goal since his £125 million ($167 million) move from Newcastle came against second tier Southampton in the League Cup as a lack of pre-season conditioning has hampered his start to life at Anfield.

Isak was replaced at half-time during Wednesday's 5-1 Champions League win at Eintracht Frankfurt as the Reds ended a run of four consecutive defeats.

With Hugo Ekitike restored as the centre forward and Florian Wirtz able to operate in his preferred role behind the striker, Liverpool suddenly clicked into gear in the second half.

Wirtz, who has been dropped for the last two Premier League games, registered his first two assists since a £100 million move from Bayer Leverkusen.

Despite Ekitike's impressive start, that includes five goals in 11 Liverpool appearances, the Frenchman has not started in any of his side's three Premier League defeats to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and United.

Isak's absence should give the 23-year-old the run in the side he craved.

Brighton true test of Man Utd revival

"We will see after Brighton," said Ruben Amorim on whether United have turned a corner in the immediate aftermath of the Red Devils first win at Liverpool for nearly a decade.

The most significant win of Amorim's tenure was also the first time the Portuguese has won back-to-back league games, nearly a year into the role.

After Brighton cruised to a 3-1 win at Old Trafford in January, Amorim made headlines by claiming his squad was possibly the worst in the club's history.

But that was just one of three consecutive victories at the Theatre of Dreams for the Seagulls, since they won there for the first time ever in 2022.

In total, Brighton have won six of the last seven Premier League meetings between the sides.

Victory for United would lift them into the top four for a few hours at least and provide tangible evidence finally of some progress under Amorim.

Guardiola sees shoots of recovery

City begin the weekend in second, three points off the top, and showing signs they will brush off the malaise that caused an unceremonious fall from grace last season.

Pep Guardiola's men finished a distant third behind Liverpool and Arsenal in their first trophyless season for eight years.

Early defeats to Tottenham and Brighton suggested more of the same for Guardiola's new-look squad.

But the signing of giant Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and the unstoppable form of Erling Haaland have dragged City back into title contention once more.

"I have the feeling things are coming back to what we were in the past," said Guardiola after Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League win at Villarreal.

"Last season was tough for us, the vibe and how the team are playing now make me feel fine."

A trip to Villa Park, where City have lost for the past two seasons, is a litmus test of their credentials as title contenders.

After a slow start, Villa have won three consecutive Premier League games.

Haaland's 12-game scoring streak for club and country has masked the fact that no other City player has scored in the Premier League for nearly a month.

Friday (all times GMT)

Leeds v West Ham (1900)

Saturday

Newcastle v Fulham, Chelsea v Sunderland (1400), Manchester United v Brighton (1630), Brentford v Liverpool (1900)

Sunday

Wolves v Burnley, Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest, Arsenal v Crystal Palace, Aston Villa v Manchester City (1400), Everton v Tottenham (1630)

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