High-flying West Ham host Arsenal and Man City battle Burnley

In a sensational Sunday of scintillating fixtures there are subplots galore. Arsenal look to leapfrog surprise top four contenders West Ham United, Manchester City must beat Burnley to put pressure on league leaders Chelsea, and QPR welcome manager-less Crystal Palace.

West Ham United v Arsenal
Arsene Wenger’s men are 11/10 favourites with Coral to take all three points at Upton Park, having been on an upward curve of late.

The Gunners will be without suspended Olivier Giroud, but will hope superstar Alexis Sanchez, 5/1 to score first, can see them through this potentially tricky encounter.

Arsenal have won all four of their previous visits to the Hammers’ home and enter this battle on the back of a hard-won victory against QPR.

Hosts West Ham have, however, been one of the surprise packages of the season so far. They may have been downed by table toppers Chelsea last time out, but did not make life easy for the Stamford Bridge side.

Sam Allardyce’s team are 12/5 to take Arsenal’s scalp, with well-rested former Gunner Alex Song (12/1 to net against his old club anytime) and formidable frontman Diafra Sakho (7/4) expected to be back in the starting XI.

With battering ram Andy Carroll, 6/1 to fire home first, and speedster Enner Valencia also in Allardyce’s armoury, the Hammers could certainly punish their visitors far from solid defence.

Manchester City v Burnley
The Citizens are now on a nine-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, scoring six in their last two games as they continue to sweep away all before them.

Manuel Pellegrini’s men are understandably odds-on favourites at 2/11 to triumph over relegation-threatened Burnley at the Emirates, who they smashed 6-1 in their last encounter back in 2010.

The Clarets’, 6/1 for a draw, best hope is to stifle striker-less City. However, despite leading marksman Aguero’s continued absence, the Sky Blues have been in prolific form.