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Arsenal Face Man Utd Test as Struggling Liverpool Host Chelsea

Arsenal are favorites to win the Premier League title. ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP/File
Arsenal are favorites to win the Premier League title. ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP/File
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Arsenal Face Man Utd Test as Struggling Liverpool Host Chelsea

Arsenal are favorites to win the Premier League title. ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP/File
Arsenal are favorites to win the Premier League title. ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP/File

Arsenal face a stern test of their Premier League title credentials against Manchester United this weekend as Liverpool and Chelsea meet in a clash of two clubs desperate to escape mid-table obscurity.

At the bottom, Frank Lampard takes Everton to face David Moyes' West Ham, with both managers under intense pressure as the relegation trap door looms.

AFP Sport takes a look at some of the key talking points ahead of the action.

Arsenal's title charge Arsenal v Manchester United used to be the match that defined the Premier League, pitting Arsene Wenger against Alex Ferguson in a rivalry for the ages.

In recent years the game has been reduced to a sideshow, but there is a growing sense leaders Arsenal can end a wait of nearly two decades to be crowned English champions, while United are a rising force under Erik ten Hag.

Mikel Arteta's young team are now clear favorites to claim Arsenal's first Premier League crown since the 2004 "Invincibles".

The Gunners have more points at this stage of a league season than ever before and are benefiting from the stumbles of those beneath them, particularly the inconsistency of champions Manchester City.

Aside from the game against United and a match against City in February, Arsenal's league fixtures over the next two months look kind.

Even so, Arteta believes a successful title tilt will "demand almost perfection".

Eight points behind Arsenal, Ten Hag's men travel to the Emirates Stadium without suspended midfielder Casemiro after the Brazilian was booked in the frustrating midweek draw at Crystal Palace.

Liverpool, Chelsea in clash of also-ransAfter nearly two decades of sparring for silverware, the startling declines of Liverpool and Chelsea will be laid bare when they meet at Anfield on Saturday.

Just last season, Liverpool came within touching distance of an unprecedented quadruple, while Chelsea were winners of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Liverpool finished second in the Premier League and Chelsea came third, with the Reds beating the Blues in both the FA Cup and League Cup finals.

Those battles will seem like distant memories this weekend as ninth-placed Liverpool host 10th-placed Chelsea.

Both still harbor faint hopes of climbing into the top four but with injuries hurting Jurgen Klopp's side and Graham Potter's team, gatecrashing the race to qualify for the Champions League looks a tough ask.

Klopp has achieved enough in his long reign to keep the critics largely at bay, but Chelsea's Potter is on shaky ground only four months after replacing the sacked Thomas Tuchel.

Despite a huge spending spree under the club's new owners, Chelsea had lost seven of their previous 10 matches in all competitions prior to a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace last weekend.

Potter could give a debut to Ukraine winger Mykhailo Mudryk after his £88 million ($108 million) move from Shakhtar Donetsk as he seeks to find the magic formula.

Lampard, Moyes on borrowed time Everton manager Frank Lampard and West Ham boss David Moyes are fast running out of time heading into their crunch clash.

Either team could end Saturday at the bottom of the Premier League table depending on Southampton's result against Aston Villa, and neither will approach the game in London with much confidence.

West Ham have taken just a single point from their past seven league games and Everton have one point from a possible 18.

Rumors have swirled this week that Moyes is likely to be dismissed if he loses the game.

But the Hammers finished seventh last season, also reaching the Europa League semi-finals, and Moyes has pleaded for loyalty from fans.

"What we've given West Ham supporters in the last few years, I hope they can give us back," he said.

Former Chelsea boss Lampard, for his part, says he will not "cry" at the pressure he is under.

Fixtures (1500 GMT unless stated)

Saturday

Liverpool v Chelsea (1230), Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest, Leicester v Brighton, Southampton v Aston Villa, West Ham v Everton, Crystal Palace v Newcastle (1730)

Sunday

Leeds v Brentford, Manchester City v Wolves (both 1400), Arsenal v Manchester Untied (1630)

Monday

Fulham v Tottenham (2000)

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Naomi Osaka Loses to Karolina Muchova in US Open Second Round  

Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts during her women's singles second round tennis match against Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova on day four of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)
Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts during her women's singles second round tennis match against Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova on day four of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)
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Naomi Osaka Loses to Karolina Muchova in US Open Second Round  

Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts during her women's singles second round tennis match against Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova on day four of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)
Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts during her women's singles second round tennis match against Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova on day four of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)

Seemingly back in her US Open match, suddenly a point from getting to a third set, Naomi Osaka lost her way Thursday night, missing forehand after forehand until she ceded that game and chucked her racket, sending it clattering on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

Not much later, she was out of the tournament, eliminated 6-3, 7-6 (5) by Karolina Muchova in the second round of an event where Osaka won two of her four Grand Slam titles.

“It's a little rough, because I do take these losses really personally. It’s like a dramatic word, but I feel like my heart dies every time I lose,” said Osaka, the champion at Flushing Meadows in 2018 and 2020, and at the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021. “It sucks a lot, but I’ve been trying to be more mature and learn and talk more about them.”

Osaka — once ranked No. 1 but now No. 88 after missing nearly 1 1/2 years because of mental health breaks and time off to have a baby — struggled for much of the early going, dropping five consecutive games and 22 of 26 points in one stretch.

But she played much better in the second set, getting her only break of the match to lead 5-4 and yelling “Come on!” when Muchova netted a forehand. The crowd roared for Osaka.

Serving for that set, Osaka hit a 119 mph ace, her fastest of the match, to lead 40-love. That gave her three chances to extend the match to a third set. That's when Osaka really faltered, making five forehand errors, with a double-fault mixed in, to waste all three of those set points and, worse, get broken.

“During the pressure moments, I got nervous, and I don’t know if I just have to keep playing more matches and get used to that feeling, especially on a really big stage,” Osaka said. “Honestly, if I get past the disappointment, I feel pretty proud of myself to have gotten that many opportunities while still feeling like I could have played much better.”

When they got to the tiebreaker, it was Muchova who asserted herself, then used some scrambling defense on the last point, flinging the ball back over the net and seeing Osaka send a swinging volley out.

“This is unbelievable — the atmosphere and the people. This is crazy energy,” said Muchova, a 28-year-old from the Czech Republic.

She enjoyed a breakout season in 2023, reaching the final at the French Open before losing to Iga Swiatek, and the semifinals at the US Open before exiting against eventual champion Coco Gauff. But shortly after that run at Flushing Meadows, Muchova left the tour because of an injured right wrist and she had surgery in October.

She was sidelined until this June; her Grand Slam return was a first-round loss at Wimbledon last month.

“Honestly, this year, the biggest win for me is that I could play again,” Muchova said. “This is just a cherry on top, to be here again, in this stadium.”

On this brisk evening, with the temperature dipping to 70 degrees after topping 90 on Wednesday afternoon, Muchova did not look at all like someone who is currently ranked 52nd.

Using a pen to jot down thoughts in a notebook during changeovers, Osaka was never able to seize control of the on-court exchanges.

Her groundstrokes were not as perfect as they were during a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday. Osaka did not make a single unforced error until the second set of that one, which became her first win against an opponent ranked in the top 10 in more than four years.

But if Osaka played so-so this time, Muchova was the one who looked terrific, whether serve-and-volleying or mixing in slices, finding her spots with serves or turning up the power when she wanted.

From the moment Osaka went ahead 3-2 at the start, everything went in Muchova's direction through the end of that set. And just as it seemed Osaka was getting back into the contest — with thousands of spectators supporting her — her forehand let her down.