Arsenal’s world-class attacker on embracing the occasion of a pivotal derby at Tottenham with team’s title hopes on the line

Even when the stakes could barely be higher, Bukayo Saka finds the capacity to step back a little and marvel. He needs no telling what Sunday’s north London derby means , the possibilities victory would unlock and the likely implications of falling short, but it would not feel the same without a sense of fun.

“When you go in the stadium and see the atmosphere, it’s beautiful,” he says of those afternoons when Arsenal and Spurs face off. “I try to enjoy it. There has to be an element of seriousness, discipline and focus, but you have to try to enjoy it as well.”

There’s always been a tension between connection to place and the commercial reality – but it has never felt more acute

Charlie Hurley , the greatest player Sunderland ever had, died on Monday. He was tough, powerful and composed, captain of Alan Brown’s promotion side of 1963-64, which may have been the best of all postwar Sunderland teams. Certainly it was the side my dad talked about the most, far more than the FA Cup-winning team of nine years later. Montgomery, Irwin, Ashurst, Harvey, Hurley, McNab, Usher, Herd, Sharkey, Crossan, Mulhall: names that flitted through my childhood as legends of a greater age. Imagine if Brian Clough hadn’t done his knee.

George Mulhall, the Scottish outside-left, was his favourite, I think, but only because there was no point celebrating Hurley; everybody did that. Decades later, fans still sung Hurley’s name and bought No 5 shirts with his name on the back. His popularity at this remove is hard to explain. Other than promotion, Hurley won nothing. He wasn’t even local: born in Cork, he moved to Millwall at an early age and spoke with a pronounced London accent.

Memories of 2004 still sting and in Sunday’s derby Tottenham have the chance to take a wrecking ball to Arsenal’s title hopes

It would not scan like the original Arsenal terrace chant. “We took a big step towards winning the league at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.” The prospect, though, is real. And before Sunday’s derby – the 195th edition of the fixture that determines the mood in north London – it is utterly sickening for Spurs supporters.

Spurs could not stop the Arsenal Invincibles in April 2004 and it is fair to say they have not heard the end of it since. Nor was that the first time their hated rivals had won the league at White Hart Lane. Arsenal did exactly that on the final day of the 1970-71 season when Ray Kennedy’s late header gave them a 1-0 victory.

Liverpool await a dead-ball salvo, Luton have to keep their chins up, and things could get spicy at the City Ground

David Moyes will surely have taken note of Liverpool’s struggle to defend set pieces against Everton. Jürgen Klopp, who must be delighted with a 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday, should prepare his team for another bruising test when they visit West Ham. For Moyes, this is a chance to repair the sizeable damage to his reputation caused by last weekend’s collapse at Selhurst Park . West Ham were 4-0 down to Palace after 31 minutes and are preparing to part company with Moyes at the end of the season, but they should take heart from how Everton unsettled Liverpool in the Merseyside derby. Everton scored twice from set pieces and West Ham pose a similar threat from dead balls. James Ward-Prowse’s deliveries towards Tomas Soucek, Kurt Zouma and Michail Antonio will have Klopp’s defenders sweating. Jacob Steinberg

West Ham v Liverpool, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Fulham v Crystal Palace, Saturday 3pm

Newcastle v Sheffield United, Saturday 3pm

Manchester United v Burnley, Saturday 3pm

Mikel Arteta’s side are chasing the title but Ange Postecoglou wants a top-four spot and has the tools to hurt his local rivals

After Arsenal lost to Aston Villa and went out of the Champions League in the same week, there were suggestions their season was at risk of unravelling. Since then they have secured a win at Wolves and thrashed Chelsea but they face a pivotal test of their credentials against their bitter rivals Tottenham on Sunday.

That game is not just about a team fighting for the title travelling to one aiming to qualify for the Champions League; there is a lot more at stake in a derby – just ask Liverpool . The effect of hostility should not be underestimated in potentially season-defining matches. Tottenham will be desperate to dent the Gunners’ chances of securing a first Premier League trophy in 20 years.

At least it was not quite as bad as last year for Tottenham. Almost exactly 12 months ago Antonio Conte’s interim managerial successor, Cristian Stellini, presided over a 6-1 defeat here that confirmed things were seriously awry in north London and set in motion a chain of events concluding with Ange Postecoglou breathing new life into the team.

The Australian’s rescue and reform act seemed to be generally working nicely until Tottenham suffered a relapse on Tyneside sufficiently severe to threaten their hopes of Champions League qualification.

• Updates from the 12.30pm BST kick-off at St James’ Park
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Those teams: WIth Joe Willock out with an achilles injury, Elliot Anderson comes into the Newcastle side. Harvey Barnes is also in, with Lewis Hall dropping to the bench. Jacob Murphy looks likely to play at right-back for Newcastle this afternoon, with Tino Livramento only fit enough to make the bench.

Ange Postecoglou makes one change to the side that beat Nottingham Forest last weekend. Rodrigo Bentancur is in for Pape Sarr.

Welcome returns at Liverpool, Arsenal and Villa juggle ambitions and Guimarães’s discipline under scrutiny

Should Bruno Guimarães be booked against Tottenham at St James’ Park the Newcastle and Brazil midfielder faces a dilemma. Given that Guimarães is on nine yellow cards, a 10th would trigger an automatic two-game suspension, depriving Eddie Howe of a key player for forthcoming games at Crystal Palace and at home to Sheffield United. Alternatively, Guimarães could make sure he collected a second yellow card, ideally late in stoppage time, and be sent off. In such a red card scenario, the sanction would merely be a one-game ban. Considering that Guimarães has managed to avoid a booking in 10 games since mid-January the best solution would be to extend that run to 11 matches and then relax in the knowledge that the accumulated bookings slate will be wiped clean after the Premier League’s 32nd game – Tottenham’s visit to Newcastle. Yet if the Brazilian transgresses do not be surprised if he follows Anthony Gordon’s example.Gordon has remained on eight bookings, despite acquiring his ninth and 10th yellow cards in his team’s recent 4-3 home win over West Ham . The collection of the second, deep in stoppage time, dictated that yellow became red and, despite Gordon being sent off, the England winger stayed on eight bookings. The current rules certainly seem ripe for manipulation. Louise Taylor

Everton’s Sean Dyche badly needs a win while Liverpool and Manchester United renew their historic rivalry

Michael Olise’s anticipated return from injury for Crystal Palace against Manchester City could not be more timely for Oliver Glasner’s struggling side. The France Under-21 international has been in sensational form this season on the rare occasions he has made it on to the pitch – Olise has played only 755 minutes so far in just 11 appearances, but in that time has scored six goals and provided three assists. City are believed to be one of several clubs who have been monitoring his progress and will be wary of the threat he poses to their title ambitions, especially if he can adapt quickly to Glasner’s favoured 3-4-2-1 formation. Like Palace, who are still not quite safe given their testing run-in that only features games against sides above them, Eberechi Eze has not been in his best form so far under the Austrian. But could the return of Olise help the England midfielder also rediscover his touch? Ed Aarons

Crystal Palace v Manchester City, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Aston Villa v Brentford, Saturday 3pm

Everton v Burnley, Saturday 3pm

Fulham v Newcastle, Saturday 3pm

Luton v Bournemouth, Saturday 3pm

Wolves v West Ham, Saturday 3pm