Faltering Man City and Arsenal look to gain foothold in title race

Manchester City and Arsenal have led the way in the last two Premier League title races but both teams have hit a slump heading into the weekend when their squad depth will be put to the test as they aim to reel in leaders Liverpool.

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have looked flat in recent outings and two straight 1-0 losses away at Newcastle United and Inter Milan have left the club fifth in the Premier League and 12th in the Champions League respectively.

Although they will be glad to see their influential skipper Martin Odegaard finally back in the fray after being injured in August, questions remain about whether he can start or even play 90 minutes in Sunday's London derby at Chelsea.

Without Odegaard, Arsenal have struggled to create chances through the middle while the Norwegian's eye for goal has also been sorely missed by an attack that has looked sterile in recent matches.

With Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus misfiring, the burden to provide the magic touch has fallen on 23-year-old Bukayo Saka but he cannot do it all alone.

Arsenal have lost three of their last six games in all competitions - as many defeats as in their previous 32 matches.

Injuries to Declan Rice and Kai Havertz are also concerns while Arteta did not rotate his squad, playing near-identical lineups in both games which see tired legs at Stamford Bridge where Raheem Sterling cannot play against his parent club.

On the other hand, Chelsea, also on 18 points but fourth with a marginally better goal difference, are likely to rotate on Thursday in their Conference League game against Noah, with playmaker Cole Palmer resting as he is not in their squad.

Arteta has attempted to energise his players in the wake of Wednesday's controversial