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• Newcastle United v Manchester United: Preview and prediciton

  Newcastle United are heading into a "massive month" as they bid for Champions League qualification, and their first task is EFL Cup final foes Manchester United.

  Newcastle's long wait for a major trophy goes on after they were beaten 2-0 by Man United at Wembley in February.

  This can still be a successful season for the Magpies, however, with a top-four finish within their hands. They could even leapfrog third-placed Man United with a win on Sunday.

  Eddie Howe's side will not be short of motivation for that match at St James' Park, although it is far from the last big game they have in April.

  There are another six fixtures to come before the end of the month, and Howe said: "It's a massive month. Whenever you have an intense period of games, you know those results are going to define what we do this season.

  "The last two results [wins against Wolves and Nottingham Forest] put us in a really strong position and also just lifted confidence levels and morale in the squad.

  "This is going to be a big week to come. It's Manchester United first, so we have to focus on that alone and learn our lessons from the cup final defeat."

  The EFL Cup clash came after Erik ten Hag had described Newcastle as "annoying" in reference to their gamesmanship.

  Although Howe suggested on Friday such claims had been "overblown", he confirmed Newcastle would be out to annoy their opponents.

  That is certainly what Ten Hag expects as he revisited the top before this encounter, saying: "We know they delay. It's something that the referee doesn't want.

  "Whey want to have tempo in the game, that is the aim of the Premier League, so they have to be consistent to let the game go."

  He added: "It's a team that is really hard to beat. We are looking forward to the challenge, and the evidence is we can beat them."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Newcastle United – Alexander Isak

  Isak returned injured the last time he went away on international duty in September, missing more than three months as a result. This time, the forward appears to be fit after featuring for Sweden and is coming into form, scoring six times in 10 league matches this season.

  Isak has three in his last two games, with Freddie Ljungberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic the only Swedish players to have previously netted in three in a row in the competition.

  Manchester United – Marcus Rashford

  Rashford, unlike Isak, did not go away on international duty, complaining of a problem ahead of linking up with England. That appeared to frustrate Gareth Southgate, but it should have him fit for this game.

  It is a boost to United, with Rashford scoring more winning goals than any other player in the Premier League this season. His nine have only twice been topped by a United player in a single campaign – Cristiano Ronaldo (12 in 2007-08) and Wayne Rooney (10 in 2009-10).

  MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

  Newcastle are winless in six against Man United in the Premier League, but their past two meetings – the only two under Howe – have both ended in draws.

  It was goalless between the sides at Old Trafford. Although Newcastle have not kept clean sheets in consecutive games against Man United since May 1997, the visitors are without a goal in their past two league games.

  The Magpies are more than capable of frustrating their opponents if they have a result to protect, too, with their matches this season spanning the third-longest period of time on average at 98 minutes and 58 seconds but seeing a ball-in-play low of 51 minutes and 41 seconds.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Newcastle - 34.3 per cent

  Man United - 36.8 per cent

  Draw - 28.9 per cent

• Stellini: Relationship with Conte has not changed after Spurs sacking

  Christian Stellini and Antonio Conte's relationship has not changed following the latter's dismissal at Tottenham.

  Conte and Spurs mutually agreed to part ways during the international break following a concerning dip in results, putting Spurs' top-four position in jeopardy, and a remarkable outburst against the club from Conte after the 3-3 draw with Southampton.

  Stellini will now take charge in north London for the remainder of the season, with his first game being Monday's clash against Premier League strugglers Everton.

  Spurs have 10 games to secure their position in the Champions League next season, while Stellini's temporary appointment has not eased concerns regarding the club's long-term position.

  One thing that is clear for Stellini, however, is that he still has a strong friendship with Conte and he moved to thank the former Chelsea and Inter boss.

  "I want to clarify that the decision was taken for the best of the club and for everyone," he told a press conference, "Antonio is good. Everyone took the decision altogether for the best of the club.

  "My relationship with Antonio is still the same, we're very close and nothing changed between us. I have to say thank you because I have improved a lot in my career under him and it's because of him.

  "I did the best for him before, and I'll do the best for him until the end of the season."

  Asked whether he felt this was his next step into a managerial career, Stellini added: "It's the next step to work hard for the next 10 games.

  "Nothing has to change in my mind. I'm not here for vanity. I'm here to help this club. I have to be myself. I used myself, my character. We will see what happens during the process.

  "We've had not many days together. We had a good day in training and we followed in training what we did in the past."

  Spurs head into the weekend fourth in the Premier League standings, two points above Newcastle United and seven above Liverpool, both of whom have two games in hand.

• Man City v Liverpool: Preview and prediction

  Liverpool may be no threat to Manchester City in the title race this season, but they could derail the champions' hopes of a treble in Saturday's match at the Etihad Stadium.

  That is the fear of Pep Guardiola, who still thinks highly of a Reds side struggling for consistency this season.

  City need to win to at least temporarily close the gap to leaders Arsenal, while Liverpool are on the outside of the Champions League chase looking in.

  That idea would have been alien to these two teams last year as they went toe-to-toe for the title, and memories of previous mammoth clashes are fresh in Guardiola's mind.

  The City boss, who said his "opinion doesn't change for one season of ups and downs", explained: "For one game, absolutely, they can beat everyone, like we can beat everyone. One game is one game."

  As City can focus on Arsenal alone in the league, Liverpool's situation is rather more complicated.

  They are seven points behind fourth-placed Tottenham with two games in hand but also five shy of Newcastle United, who have played the same number of games in fifth.

  Liverpool follow a trip to City by facing Chelsea and Arsenal next week.

  "It's a super important game," said Jurgen Klopp. "That's the one thing not different to all the other years.

  "We know it's a massive game, a massive week coming up. For tomorrow, they deserve all the attention – we can't think about the other games.

  "It is like a Champions League week. I'm super excited."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Manchester City – Kevin De Bruyne

  While Haaland was out of action in the international break, De Bruyne was on top form for Belgium, putting Germany to the sword earlier this week with a goal and two assists. He will have a key role to play against City, who have played more through balls than any other team (64), while Liverpool are joint-fourth for the most through balls played against them (48). De Bruyne leads all players with 21 through balls.

  Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

  Salah loves playing against City, only scoring more than his 10 goals in these matches when facing Manchester United (12). Indeed, he has already netted in three separate matches against Guardiola's side this season, on target in each of their meetings in the Premier League, Community Shield and EFL Cup. Ian Rush was the last last Liverpool player to score in four different games against an opponent in the same campaign, netting in five clashes with Everton in 1986-87.

  MATCH PREDICTION – MAN CITY WIN

  Liverpool are hoping to do the league double over City for just the second time in the past 17 seasons, but that previous home-and-away success in 2015-16 included their sole victory at the Etihad Stadium in their most recent 13 league visits.

  This is not a season in which they appear likely to buck a trend away from home, having earned just 12 points from 13 games on the road. Having earned 30 points at Anfield, theirs is the biggest difference between home and away points in the division.

  The Reds have also failed to score in six of those away games, their most across a whole league season since eight in 2011-12, and another blank would leave them at risk of a third straight defeat without scoring in all competitions for the first time since October 2009.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Man City - 50.8 per cent

  Liverpool - 22.8 per cent

  Draw - 26.4 per cent