LONDON, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The derby between Manchester City and Manchester United is the pick of this weekend's Premier League matches, which follow hot on the heels of an important set of midweek fixtures.
United will make the short trip across to the Etihad Stadium off the back of their 2-1 win at home to Tottenham Hotspur, which not only gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men three vital points, but also a huge morale boost as they inflicted the first defeat on former coach Jose Mourinho since his appointment as Spurs coach.
Solskjaer will hope the midfield pairing of Fred and Scott McTominay continues to flourish and that Marcus Rashford reproduces Wednesday's exuberant form, but City also gave a hint of what they can produce in midweek when Pep Guardiola's men blew Burnley away 4-1 at Turf Moor, even without the injured Sergio Aguero.
Everton's 5-2 thrashing away to Liverpool in the midweek derby had one immediate consequence as the club finally put coach Marco Silva out of his misery and sacked him, with Duncan Ferguson placed in temporary charge.
Ferguson will sit on the bench for Saturday's game against Chelsea, although hopes will not be high at Goodison Park given Everton's recent lamentable form against the Blues, having failed to score in six of their last seven meetings with an aggregate score of 14-1 against.
Liverpool travel to the south coast to face Bournemouth, knowing their last four meetings against Eddie Howe's men have resulted in 14 goals scored and none conceded.
The only doubt coach Jurgen Klopp may have in mind is that his side must avoid defeat in next week's Champions League visit to Red Bull Salzburg to assure their progress in the competition, and the German may consider resting key players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Jose Mourinho's men will look to bounce back from their Old Trafford defeat when they entertain Burnley. The best news for Tottenham has been Dele Alli's recent return to form, and the midfielder needs to continue with his upward trajectory to force his way back into the England squad.
Watford under-23 coach Hayden Mullins will again be in charge when his side look for their second win of the season at home to in-form Crystal Palace.
There are four games on Sunday, with Aston Villa's Jack Grealish and Leicester's James Maddison the main attractions as Villa entertain the side that currently sit second in the table.
Arsenal sacked Unai Emery a week ago, but Freddie Ljungberg's first two games in charge (a draw at Norwich and Thursday's 2-1 defeat to Brighton) have underlined that the Gunners' poor performances were not all the Spaniard's fault.
After demanding more from his players, the temporary coach now takes his side across London to play West Ham United, knowing they are closer to the relegation zone than a place in Europe.
Norwich City entertain Sheffield United, who lost to Newcastle on Thursday, but remain unbeaten on their travels this season, while Newcastle are at home to an improving Southampton, and the weekend ends with Brighton, fresh from their win against Arsenal, at home to Wolves, who climbed to fifth with their midweek win at home to West Ham.
