Guardiola seeks spark as Chelsea eye Premier League summit

Manchester City travel to Aston Villa on Saturday, desperately seeking to halt their dramatic slide while Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League, if only briefly.

Current leaders Liverpool face a tricky trip to Tottenham after a wobble, while Manchester United are seeking to win two Premier League games in a row for the first time this season.

AFP Sport picks out some of the major talking points ahead of the weekend action.

Pep out to prove himself again
Manchester City lost 1-0 away to Aston Villa last December but that proved to be their final defeat of the season as they romped to a fourth straight Premier League title.

That loss for Pep Guardiola’s men came after three straight draws — which was then a slump by City’s sky-high standards.

This time they travel to Birmingham in a deep rut, with eight defeats from their past 11 matches in all competitions.

City’s chances of winning a fifth straight English top-flight title appear to be over but they must somehow halt their astonishing slide.

Guardiola took the blame after last week’s painful 2-1 derby defeat to Manchester United, saying he was not “good enough”, though Phil Foden said the players still believed in their boss.

Fifth-placed City, nine points behind Liverpool having played a game more, have lost five of their past seven Premier League games, as many as they had in their previous 67 matches combined.

Seventh-placed Villa have been inconsistent but injury-hit City have lost the habit of winning — suffering an apparent collective crisis of confidence.

Liverpool’s Slot faces new challenge
Arne Slot has made replacing Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager look easy. But is he about to face his first major challenge?

Earlier this month, the Reds were nine