Mamadou Sakho has all the defensive qualities that Liverpool need: he is strong in the tackle, excellent in the air, diligent, disciplined and a tidy user of the ball. True, at times he also looks perilously close to dropping a significant clanger but that could be said of any Liverpool defender and, in fairness, even allowing for the injury that hampered him for a while, it is slightly mysterious that he has not made a single Premier League start since the home defeat to Aston Villa on 13 September. Dejan Lovren’s groin trouble could mean the Frenchman returns to the starting line-up on Sunday, and Liverpool could be all the more solid for that. PD  • Balotelli gets one-match ban and £25,000 fine for Instagram post• Liverpool victory over Bournemouth calms the crisis talk – for now• Walcott in contention for Arsenal return against Liverpool• Russian rouble collapse costs Arsenal’s Usmanov £517m in 48 hours  It has been one of the most – maybe the most – predictable results in the Premier League of the last five years. Manchester United play Aston Villa, Manchester United beat Aston Villa, home or away. The men from Old Trafford have won their last seven league games against them, a run that started in February 2011, and have clocked up a goal difference of plus 17 in the meantime. These have not just been standard, occasionally close-fought wins. There have been a lot of thrashings. Even last season, as United were wilting fast, and ‘Moyes out’ banners were flying over Old Trafford, they beat Villa 7-1 over both league games. As Moyes was being hauled into the chief executive’s office in April, he must have pointed out they had recently beaten Villa 4-1. That was clearly not sufficient. The last point Villa picked up against them was in November 2010, in a home 2-2 draw, and it is five years since Villa beat United, 1-0 at Old Trafford.  It is just Villa’s luck that they should run into their nemesis just when Louis van Gaal’s side are in their best form of the season. But Villa have been on an encouraging run too, of only one defeat in six games, although less encouragingly, it came against West Bromwich last weekend. CL  • Lambert plays down Roy Keane’s doorstepping of Tom Cleverley• The forgotten story of … the life and death of Tommy Ball• Falcao keen to stay but uncertain over Manchester United future• Herrera denies any involvement in match-fixing  When Tony Pulis walked out of Selhurst Park on the eve of the new season, few observers would have expected Crystal Palace to head to the Etihad just before Christmas with similar striking options to Manchester City - and yet here the two clubs are, coming together for an important meeting with nary a striker between them. Well, Palace do have Dwight Gayle but Neil Warnock does not appear to have much faith in him, complaining that the centre-forward does not impress enough in training and did not do enough after coming on for the last 15 minutes of last week’s bleak draw. Still, hamstring problems for Marouane Chamakh – a lovely player outside the box, but too seldom inside it – means Gayle could start against City, who might even be envious. Because injuries to Sergio Agüero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic mean Manuel Pellegrini has an interesting puzzle to solve. If the manager wanted to stick to his usual system he could deploy the 18-year-old Jose Ángel Pozo in a lone forward role, but it seems more likely that he will try for a fluid 4-6-0 scheme. That could pave the way for lots of clever flitting and darting involving Samir Nasri, David Silva, Yaya Touré and whoever else Pellegrini picks. Get it right and it could be a delight, except for the Palace defenders obviously. PD  • Football’s most memorable moments of the year• Neymar ruled out Manchester City move because of muddy pitches  One part of Gus Poyet’s tactical instructions on Sunday will be very clear: launch the ball towards Jak Alnwick on a regular basis. The young goalkeeper has conceded eight goals in two appearances since injury cast him into the fold and he hurt his shoulder in the defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, briefly leading to suggestions that Newcastle would have to draft in a replacement keeper on loan. It turns out that Alnwick is not as badly injured as first feared and will start against Sunderland, giving him the perfect opportunity to prove his worth – or setting him up for an even bigger fall. The young man will be under intense pressure on Sunday and Sunderland will certainly seek to test his nerve. PD  This was always going to be a complicated period for Southampton’s squad but Ronald Koeman could have done without his own players making it worse. If the Dutchman was uncharacteristically ruffled after his team’s Capital One Cup defeat at Sheffield on Tuesday, it was not merely because of the so-called disrespect shown by the people in the other dugout: it was probably also due to the fact that the bookings for Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama mean Southampton will be deprived of their first-choice central midfielders for the visit of Everton. With Jack Cork out injured, Koeman will likely have to assign Steven Davies a deeper role than usual – if, that is, the Northern Irishman is fit in time. Otherwise he may have to move Toby Alderweireld up from central defence, meaning Maya Yoshida will have to partner José Fonte (Florin Gardos not being an option following his red card on Tuesday). By contrast, Everton are suddenly looking much stronger in the middle, with Ross Barkley and Muhamed Besic becoming so dangerous and dynamic at the base of their midfield that Roberto Martínez might not even have to hurry James McCarthy back from injury. Southampton have been in a rut recently – five losses in a row is their worst run in a decade – and getting out of it this weekend will be tough. PD  • Sheffield beat Southampton as managers feud on touchline• Mirallas offers Everton a fitness boost over Christmas  Queens Park Rangers’ wretched away form (recap: eight matches played, eight defeats, three goals scored, 20 conceded) sure has put them under pressure to win at home, especially against visitors such as West Bromwich Albion. Alan Irvine’s team tend to be exceedingly defensive on their travels so will probably set out to frustrate Rangers in the hope that agitation, or even sheer boredom, will infect the home players and crowd. But Rangers have developed sharpness and real verve at Loftus Road in recent weeks and, with Charlie Austin set to return, can be confident of recording a third home win in a row over relegation rivals. If they are to ultimately avoid relegation, chances are they will also need to beat teams such as the Baggies away – and they will have the opportunity to do that, since part of the reason for their awful record on the road so far is that all eight matches have been against teams in the top 10 (and their next one is at Arsenal). QPR’s away results could improve in the second half of the season but for now they need to keep making fellow strugglers feel unwelcome at Loftus Road. PD  • Why have QPR not won a single point from eight away matches this season?• Gardner backs Irvine after West Brom sink Aston Villa  Stoke beat Arsenal in their last home game but cannot expect to find Chelsea as vulnerable as Arsène Wenger’s team were. Instead Mark Hughes is likely to try to use the counter-attacking template that enabled his side to snatch victory at Manchester City this season but, with Cesc Fàbregas returning to Chelsea’s starting line-up, this will be a stiffer challenge. The form of Bojan Krkic is the major source of hope for the home side: Bojan did not feature at the Etihad because he had yet to find his feet in English football, but he has been brilliantly inventive in recent weeks and is expected to be fit to face José Mourinho’s team, who, nonetheless, should prevail. PD  • Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge – then and now  A couple of month ago this would have seemed like the ideal fixture to help Tottenham round off a week that has seen them win at Swansea and trounce Newcastle. But Burnley are now looking a sterner proposition and could frustrate Spurs the way that Crystal Palace did at White Hart Lane two weeks ago – but with added penetration up front thanks to the burgeoning partnership between Danny Ings and Ashley Barnes. After Marvin Sordell and Lukas Jutkiewicz failed to flourish, Barnes was given his chance six games ago to stake his claim to serve as Ings’ sidekick and Burnley have taken 11 points in those games, with Barnes scoring winning goals against Hull and Southampton. PD  • Tottenham pitch invaders fined £155 apiece• Barnes makes Southampton pay for missed penalty  Leicester are torturously close to succeeding in the Premier League. They have not won any of their last 11 matches but nor have they been beaten particularly badly in any of them. There is no gulf between them and the other teams, yet lose against Leicester and the gap between them and everyone else could grow wider. West Ham can expect a competitive encounter but, with the renaissance of Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll continuing, West Ham look likely to extend their big for a top four spot. PD  • Pearson deserves loyalty from Leicester fans, says Allardyce• Pearson charged over row with fan during home defeat  A little over 10 years ago, Hull v Swansea was a League Two fixture (Hull won home and away in the 2003-04 season). By 2010-11 they were playing each other in the Championship (a draw and a Hull win) and then last season they faced each other in the top division for the first time (again, Hull came away with four points). So, the time is ripe for Swansea to beat the Tigers, and if they can recapture the sort of display that beat Arsenal early last month, then they will. Jefferson Montero and Wilfried Bony are a dream combination of, respectively, speed on the wing and power and accuracy in front of goal. It is just their awkward habit of conceding late, decisive goals that has undone the Swans this season. Last Sunday, against Tottenham, was a case in point.  Hull have gone nine games without a win – a run that started promisingly with draws at Arsenal and Liverpool but has only worsened since then – and Steve Bruce, their manager, will miss Tom Huddlestone, after his red card against Chelsea last weekend. What can he do to get his team out of their current funk? If his players can pull themselves together, there is a chance they could escape the relegation zone before the FA Cup third round. The fixture computer was clearly feeling generous towards Hull in the summer, as it produced Christmas games against Sunderland, Leicester and Everton. CL  • No Premier League managers have been sacked this season ... yet
Liverpool should turn to Mamadou Sakho, Manchester United’s revival looks set to continue, and perhaps Manchester City don’t need strikers and more