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Liverpool and Manchester City are developing a rivalry. Two immensely attacking teams with similar, tactically devout managers are always set up to entertain. Both, though, have experienced blips throughout this season and have underachieved to this point in certain aspects.

Liverpool looked guaranteed for the top four at Christmas, now even that seems a stretch. Manchester City should have competed for the title this year, but they have been eliminated from the Champions League in the last 16 and sit way behind the leaders Chelsea.

This weekend’s match means more to Jurgen Klopp and his side than it does to Manchester City and Pep Guardiola. City are still in the FA Cup and look relatively comfortable in the top four, despite only being one point ahead of Liverpool at the moment. Liverpool need a result here to keep Manchester United and Arsenal at arm’s reach.

Klopp has fared well in big matches to date, but there are a few changes he must consider for this clash…

Retreating full-backs

With the in-form duo of Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling holding their positions high up the pitch, Manchester City will be able to expose the clear weaknesses in Liverpool’s wide defensive positions. Should Klopp’s full-backs continue with their marauding up field, they will be wildly open to the pace, skill and increasing end product of Sane and Sterling.

Klopp will not want to relinquish a fundamental part of his game plan by holding his full-backs a little deep, but he may have no choice.

Dominate centrally

Liverpool will, as we have come to expect, play three central midfielders. If they are to have real success against Manchester City, however, they may want to bolster this further. They are at a disadvantage in that they boast no options like Monaco’s Tiemoue Bakayoko or Fabinho, but they should target Pep Guardiola’s one natural central midfielder.

Jurgen Klopp’s side can cease the initiative with a combative midfield display. It is unlikely that Guardiola will play both Fernandinho and Yaya Toure in the middle third, which is itself a target.

It is not as simple as pressing them hard; Liverpool must make sure they cut the supply lines to Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva or risk facing a torturous 90 minutes.

Offside Trap

Playing a high line is asking for great troubles against Manchester City. With both teams doing so there will be swathes of ground for the rapid attacking players to exploit, but Liverpool must be more pragmatic.

Sane and Sterling, along with Sergio Aguero, are the ideal exponents of any space left behind the defence. Liverpool do not have the defence to compensate for that, either with intelligent positioning or pace. With the passing talents in Manchester City’s midfield, it will be a matter of time until City find themselves in acres of space behind the defence.

Attempting the offside trap seems like their only option, but it will require bravery, organisation and initiative from Liverpool’s backline.

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Safe to say, it has not been a great season to be a Sunderland fan.

The Black Cats have put up with plenty of misery over the years but the current campaign feels particularly damning, with David Moyes’ side set to drop out of the top flight with a whimper.

10 points adrift of safety and now under the gazing eye of the FA following Moyes’ questionable comments to a female BBC journalist, Sunderland fans probably think things can’t get much worse at the moment.

But the latest rumours courtesy of The Sun suggests the Wearsiders could be faced with the ultimate humiliation at the end of the season; not only relegation to the Championship, but their only top talent – striker Jermain Defoe – ditching Sunderland for local rivals Newcastle because of it.

Indeed, the Toon are on the way up and Sunderland are on the way down. FFC’s Tom Skinner takes a closer look at the potential Defoe deal…

Finally there was some good news for Arsenal on Monday night, with the Gunners returning to winning ways in the Premier League courtesy of a 2-1 victory against struggling Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.

It was not exactly a vintage performance from the Gunners, but three points ensured that they remained in the race for a top-four finish this season.

There are still serious problems at the Emirates Stadium, although with this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on the horizon, it is important that the club’s supporters are all pulling in the right direction.

Handling Arsenal’s Twitter account would have been a difficult job in recent weeks, although a tweet announcing that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had been voted Man of the Match against Middlesbrough should have been welcomed following a much-improved display from the England international.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was the subject of the majority of responses, however, with the Gunners’ supporters again calling for the Frenchman to stand down despite changing his formation and leading the team to a vital away win at the Riverside Stadium.

It is still unclear whether Wenger is going to sign a new two-year contract with the London club, although Twitter will be an interesting place when the official news, whatever that may be, lands at the end of the season.

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere was supposed to reignite his career on loan at Bournemouth, though his move to the south coast has thrown up even more problems for the England international.

The 24-year-old midfielder was recently ruled out for the rest of the campaign with a broken leg, one suffered against Tottenham Hotspur of all people, though injury problems cannot be wholly attributed to his stalling progress under Eddie Howe.

Simply put, Wilshere just hasn’t been that good. The Cherries even dropped him of late and his time at the Vitality looks to be over following his latest ailment.

It looks to be a return to north London for Wilshere this summer, though it’s unclear as to how long he will be there. A divisive figure in those parts (even amongst the Arsenal supporters) the fact he picked up his injury at White Hart Lane has not gone unnoticed online.

With that in mind, here’s a look at how Arsenal and Tottenham fans reacted on Twitter.

Chelsea will have the chance to move seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table when they welcome relegation-threatened Middlesbrough to Stamford Bridge on Monday night.

Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 defeat at London rivals West Ham United on Friday means that Chelsea are now just two wins away from securing the Premier League title for the 2016-17 campaign.

Indeed, the Blues could actually secure the crown before Tottenham kick another ball, with Antonio Conte’s side hosting Middlesbrough on Monday, before travelling to West Bromwich Albion on Friday night.

Six points from the next two matches would ensure that Chelsea were crowned champions, but Tottenham will be hoping that either Boro or West Brom can keep the race, and indeed excitement, going for at least one more week.

Shortly past 5:30pm on Monday afternoon, Chelsea released an image of their matchday programme, and the tweet brought a positive response from the club’s supporters ahead of the key clash with Steve Agnew’s strugglers at Stamford Bridge.

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Darren Anderton believes Dele Alli is already up there with the Premier League’s greatest midfielders of all time, namely Liverpool and Manchester United legends Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes.

The 21-year-old has been nothing short of phenomenal since arriving at White Hart Lane from MK Dons, going on to notch up 27 goals and 14 assists in 66 top flight appearances for the Lilywhites – a level of form that has seen the north London club compete for the last two Premier League titles.

The title may prove to be beyond Mauricio Pochettino’s side this season but they have a huge game to look forward to this weekend, as Manchester United come to town for the final competitive fixture at White Hart Lane.

Ahead of Sunday’s huge clash, former Spurs star Darren Anderton has been speaking exclusively to 888Sport and discussing Alli’s impact on not only Tottenham’s first-team but the game in general.

Asked how he compares to iconic England midfielders Gerrard and Scholes, Anderton replied; “I’ve got to say that I loved Stevie G as a player and Scholesy but Dele Alli for his age is just a freak of a talent. I love his arrogance on the pitch, how clever he is into finding the positions that he does and his willingness to try everything. He is a real joy to watch.”

The former 30-cap international continued; “Let’s not put any ideas into Daniel Levy’s mind but who knows what Dele Alli would cost now. I don’t think you could put a price on him. He’s that good and that young and for me he does it all. People talk about his temperament but you can’t really take that away from him, that’s his edge. I think he’s actually curbed that as well this season and so what can you say that he’s done badly this season? He has done it all.”

Read the full 888sport interview with Darren Anderton, including his thoughts on how to turn Tottenham into Champions next season

On-loan Leeds United defender Giuseppe Bellusci suffered relegation with Serie A side Empoli on Sunday, but it could be bad news for the club as it has put his permanent move to the Italian outfit into doubt.The Whites centre-back quickly became an unpopular figure among the fans during two seasons with the side after being accused of using racial language on the pitch, being sent off a number of times, failing to report for training, posting controversial tweets and missing the beginning of pre-season for personal reasons.As a result, the 27-year-old moved to Empoli at the start of the campaign with a view to joining on a permanent deal, but that is understood to be in doubt after they went down to Serie B.Leeds supporters were quick to give their thoughts to the news via social media, and they are understandably unhappy that the Italian could return to Elland Road this summer.Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

According to reports in the Daily Mirror, West Ham United have opened discussions with £15m-rated midfielder Pedro Obiang over a new contract with Everton, AC Milan and Sevilla all registering an interest in the Spaniard.

What’s the word, then?

Well, while the 25-year-old struggled to become a regular fixture in the Irons’ starting line-up in his first season in England following a £4.3m move from Sampdoria in 2015, he became a key player for Slaven Bilic’s men last term.

The midfielder’s impressive displays in the middle of the park certainly would have impressed any watching scouts, and he showed just how highly he is rated by finishing as the runner-up in the club’s Hammer of the Year award at the end of the campaign.

With his current deal due to run out in two years’ time, it is no wonder that the story in the Daily Mirror says that the east London outfit are keen to extend his stay at the London Stadium.

How good was Obiang last season?

He was excellent.

Even though he missed the final nine Premier League games of the season because of a knee injury, the 25-year-old still made 22 top flight appearances.

Obiang showed his defensive capabilities by making 34 clearances and 32 interceptions in those outings, while he also showed that he is good on the ball with a passing accuracy of 82%.

It is his ability to take players on in the middle of the park that is perhaps the most impressive though, with the midfielder successfully completing 21 of the 24 take-ons he attempted.

Will he sign a new deal?

Having established himself as a key player prior to his injury and with the Irons having brought him to England in the first place, it seems likely that Obiang will commit his future to West Ham rather than joining one of the interested clubs.

While Everton may be able to offer European football next season, the fact that they already have the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin and Idrissa Gueye in midfield would suggest that the 25-year-old wouldn’t be a regular in the starting XI at Goodison Park.

What’s the verdict, then?

Well, Obiang certainly doesn’t seem to be the type of player that would throw his toys out of the pram and after an impressive season, all the signs point to him signing a new deal with the Hammers.

Tottenham Hotspur are keen on signing Juventus attacker Juan Cuadrado, who is also wanted by Arsenal, according to The Sun.

What’s the word?

It is believed that Spurs are keeping tabs on the 29-year-old ahead of a potential bid, and they may feel encouraged by the fact that their North London rivals have been knocked back.

The Sun claims that Juventus have turned down a £17.6m offer from the Gunners as they want a figure in the region of £30m.

The publication states that Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is keen to add another attacker with pace to his lineup.

The Argentine is looking to shape a squad that can cope with the demands of the Premier League and Champions League following last season’s disappointment in Europe.

It is unclear whether Arsenal will table an improved offer for Cuadrado or if they will leave the door open for Spurs.

Is he worth £30m?

Tottenham and Arsenal fans will be well aware of Cuadrado given that he spent two years at Chelsea.

Although, he barely got a sniff at Stamford Bridge and was sent on loan to Juventus twice before making the move permanent this summer.

Considering that the Italian giants have only just secured his services in a deal, it may be difficult to prise him away, but then again, the club could just be looking for a hefty price tag.

Spending £30m on a player that failed to cut it in the Premier League previously could be too much, but in this market, clubs have to spend big in order to get players through the door.

His performances in Italy, which have consisted of eight goals and 19 assists, suggest that he would do well in Pochettino’s attacking lineup.

If anything, he is a good option for European fixtures given that he has played in a Champions League final.

He also has a winning mentality having won two Serie A titles at Juventus, as well as the Coppa Italia twice.

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has admitted that he is surprised by the lack of updates surrounding Wayne Rooney’s future.

The 31-year-old has been the subject of transfer gossip due to his lack of game time under manager Jose Mourinho last season.

The forward started just 15 Premier League games and made 38 appearances in all competitions in total.

In that time, the England captain netted eight times and produced as many assists, but it has been widely suggested that his 13-year United career could be coming to an end.

Rooney recently claimed that he was mulling over offers, but it remains unclear what United’s position is on the matter.

As it stands, the forward has one year remaining on his contract, and the uncertainty has unsettled Neville, particularly as the team will begin pre-season training on July 8.

The former United skipper has claimed that he expected the Red Devils to have released a statement by now.

Neville told ITV:

“I thought there would have been a statement around Wayne Rooney’s future already. I thought it would have been organised pretty quickly at the end of the season to stop this void, this speculation.

“I would imagine it is going to happen quickly. They are going to have to announce it in terms of whether they are going to keep him next season or whether he is going to move somewhere else.

“Sometimes these moves, if he is going to move, take time, and sometimes the player himself would need to reflect upon the fact that it is a big decision to leave such a huge club and whether he wants to do that. Like I said, I am surprised it hasn’t been dealt with already.”