Merino & Saka give Arsenal 2-0 win over Brentford - Gunners restore five-point lead at top of table
Mukiele own goal rescues point for Liverpool after Talbi gave Sunderland shock lead
Leeds beat Chelsea 3-1 to relieve pressure on manager Farke
Other results: Brighton 3-4 Aston Villa, Burnley 0-1 Crystal Palace, Wolves 0-1 Nottm Forest
Liverpool v Sunderland (20:15 GMT)
Sunderland
Image source, Getty ImagesA little earlier Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka laid a wreath at the memorial for Digo Jota outside Anfield.
Team news from Anfield is coming right up.
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Having our best players on the bench against the league leaders seems ridiculous. It's going to be a long night
Connor - Sunbury-on-Thames
Wolves v Nottingham Forest (19:30 GMT)
Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson ,speaking to Sky Sports: "We've had a good period the last two to three weeks and we're coping well [in the league and Europe]. Hopefully we can push on today.
"Wolves have a new gaffer, they have had one or two games under him, so they are a different side now. They will offer different threats than before, and we have been watching them in training this week to see what we can do. We want to put our game on them and hopefully today is not the day they get the win."
Brighton v Aston Villa (19:30 GMT)
Aston Villa full-back Matty Cash, speaking to Sky Sports: "We've been really consistent. We had a slow start but we stuck together and worked hard on the training pitch, found a little bit of confidence and things are now looking good.
"It doesn't stop here. We have to continue with the momentum and continue with the good performances. Today we are at another tough place, they are also a team in form and high in the league as well. We want to make it difficult for them.
"When you start picking up results it is normal that everyone starts to look higher up the table, and when you drop results people are looking a little bit lower. For us as players we just need to be consistent and focus on our jobs on the pitch."
Brighton v Aston Villa (19:30 GMT)
It's fifth against fourth at the Amex.
And the prize for the winners could be a place in the top three depending on how Chelsea get on at Leeds.
"Wow, what a match [it is going to be]," said Villa boss Unai Emery.
"Brighton are two points behind us. How they are performing at home, how they are getting points at home - it isn't easy to win there.
"They are playing and performing fantastic."
Wolves v Nott'm Forest (19:30 GMT)
Thirteen games in and not a win in sight for Wolves.
Manager Rob Edwards was appointed in mid-November and is yet to see an upturn in results, despite improved performances in their last two games against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.
"We owe it to ourselves and to everyone connected to the football club to leave it all out there and give everything every day, no matter what situation we're in," Edwards said.
"That is always my message from minute one to 98 or whatever it is. We leave it all out there whether we're 2-0 up or 2-0 down. We have to keep fighting right until the end. We've shown that so far in the two games and we've just got to continue to do that.
"We've got to keep that belief."
Image source, Getty ImagesLiverpool v Sunderland (20:15 GMT)
Bolo Zenden
Former Liverpool and Sunderland midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live
It's good to see Liverpool getting back to winning ways. They've been on a bad run and I'm sure they will do well in the end in the Champions League to qualify for the next round, but it's always good for the confidence to get a result like they did against West Ham.
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These are exactly the reasons Arsenal brought these players in. Lots of players out, we still manage to field a team full of international level players. As a side note, I reckon Hincapie will quickly reach cult status if he plays with the same fire every week.
Callum - London
Brighton v Aston Villa (19:30 GMT)
Brighton captain Lewis Dunk, speaking to Sky Sports about making his 500th appearance for the club: "I think we've grown together on the journey. I started in League One with this football club and we have grown steadily in the process and now we are here in the Premier League and have been in Europe together, so it's been an enjoyable time and hopefully many more than 500 to come.
"The club has come a long way and I have been lucky enough to be on the whole journey with it. It's been enjoyable and let's see where we can end up this season and in the future.
"This club is my whole life. I have been here since I was ten or 11 years old, so it means everything to me. The pride and the honour to put the shirt on and the captain's armband on every game and to play every day in training is still there and it always will be."
Brighton v Aston Villa (19:30 GMT)
So, a huge night for Lewis Dunk who makes his 500th appearance for Brighton.
Dunk has played for the Seagulls in League One, Championship, Premier League and Europe.
Wolves v Nottingham Forest (19:30 GMT)
Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter at Molineux
Rob Edwards cannot declare Wolves are preparing for next season with around two-thirds of the season left but he has to tread a fine line between ambition and realism.
There has been improvement in his opening two games and Wolves should have taken something against Aston Villa on Sunday, rather than slip to a 1-0 defeat.
But no team has survived with two points from 13 games. While there is a growing confidence Edwards can raise the levels, if the elusive win does not come soon then Wolves can start planning for the Championship.
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Saka, Timber and Eze rested, Arteta normally stubbornly refuses to rest key players. Time to put our squad depth money where our mouth is! COYG
Jamie - Pembrokeshire
Arsenal v Brentford (19:30 GMT)
Brentford beat Burnley 3-1 at the weekend and they are away at Tottenham on Saturday. Boss Keith Andrews has made five changes tonight, their most from one match to another this season.
Andrews tells Sky Sports it is important he utilises his squad. "I wouldn't start the players if they didn't deserve it," he adds.
Arsenal v Brentford (19:30 GMT)
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, speaking to Sky Sports: "The manager always talks about the importance of playing at home and winning your home matches. The fans have been incredible recently and really helped us at the Emirates so we are hoping that they can do that again tonight because it is a massive night for us."
On maintaining intensity at such a busy time in the season: "Adrenaline. Once I'm out there you just find a way to keep going. Mentally and physically you've got to push yourself to the max. The games come thick and fast and it is down to me to be ready to play."
Liverpool v Sunderland (20:15 GMT)
Noel Sliney
BBC Sport
Liverpool ended a run of three straight defeats in all competitions with a routine 2-0 win over West Ham at the weekend. They are now vying to win back-to-back league games for the first time since starting the season with five successive victories.
The Reds can be encouraged by their home record in this fixture – they are unbeaten in 18 league matches against Sunderland at Anfield since a 1-0 defeat in October 1983, when Gary Rowell's penalty proved decisive.
It is Sunderland's joint-longest ongoing winless run away to an opponent in the top flight.
Liverpool's return to winning ways at the weekend was notable for Alexander Isak's first Premier League goal for the club and the fact Mohamed Salah was left on the bench, ending his run of 53 successive league starts.
The Reds' starting XI against West Ham had a combined 152 Premier League goals, 38 fewer than Salah's tally of 190, but manager Arne Slot suggested the team's congested run of fixtures led to his decision to leave out the Egypt forward and praised his reaction to being left out.
"He wasn't the only who wasn't happy he wasn't starting - he handled himself really well," Slot said. "A top professional."
Burnley v Crystal Palace (19:30 GMT)
Image source, ReutersOliver Glasner certainly looks in a better mood than he was after watching his Crystal Palace side blow the lead and lose 2-1 at home to Manchester United on Sunday.
Will the FA Cup holders bounce back at Burnley? Will Glasner commit his future to the Palace and sign a new deal?
Arsenal v Brentford (19:30 GMT)
Alex Howell
BBC Sport football reporter at Emirates Stadium
The Gunners have had three difficult games before this one with matches against Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
Mikel Arteta has resisted making major changes with just three players coming into the starting XI.
Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus came back into the squad after injury against Chelsea and they are back on the bench tonight.
Arsenal are in excellent form and unbeaten in their last 17 games in all competitions.
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Hoping to see Arsenal continue their good home form at the Emirates. Seeing the improved squad depth being utilised over the last few weeks has been good to watch.
Dennis - Derby
Image source, Getty ImagesWe're three days into December so it's perfectly acceptable to wearing this sort of stuff at matches, right?
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesArsenal v Brentford (19:30 GMT)
Alex Howell
BBC Sport football reporter at Emirates Stadium
Coming into this game, there were questions about how much Mikel Arteta would rotate after such a difficult week.
The Arsenal manager rests Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber as the festive schedule gets going.
Arsenal starting XI: Raya, White, Mosquera, Hincapie, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Madueke, Martinelli, Merino.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Saka, Eze, Jesus, Timber, Gyokeres, Norgaard, Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly.
Keith Andrews makes five changes to his Brentford side. Striker Igor Thiago is on the bench as it looks as though the Bees line up in a back five.
Brentford starting XI: Kelleher, Kayode, Ajer, Van Den Berg, Pinnock, Henry, Janelt, Jensen, Yarmoliuk, Ouattara, Schade
Subs: Valdimarsson, Thiago, Henderson, Onyeka, Collins, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Arthur, Donovan
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 7 | 20 | 33 |
| |
| 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 32 | 16 | 16 | 28 |
| |
| 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 27 |
| |
| 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 15 | 10 | 24 |
| |
| 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 11 | 7 | 23 |
| |
| 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 14 | 4 | 23 |
| |
| 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 22 |
| |
| 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 22 |
| |
| 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 21 |
| |
| 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 17 | -2 | 21 |
| |
| 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 19 |
| |
| 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 18 | 1 | 19 |
| |
| 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 22 | -1 | 19 |
| |
| 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 24 | -3 | 19 |
| |
| 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 17 |
| |
| 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 22 | -8 | 15 |
| |
| 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 26 | -10 | 14 |
| |
| 13 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 27 | -12 | 11 |
| |
| 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 15 | 28 | -13 | 10 |
| |
| 14 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 29 | -22 | 2 |
|
