Big 5: EPL title showdown looms

Brendan Rodgers' (left) Liverpool side can wrap up the title with a match to spare if results go their way on Sunday, but what kind of Chelsea team will Jose Mourinho (right) field? Source: Getty Images

IT takes something pretty special to overshadow Ryan Giggs' first game as manager of Manchester United.

A potentially title-defining match between Liverpool and Chelsea can be described as just that.

Liverpool can eliminate Chelsea from the title race — and move to the brink of a first English championship in 24 years — with a win at Anfield on Sunday in a contest that will capture the world's attention.

The Reds hold a five-point lead over Chelsea with three games remaining, with Manchester City a point further back in third but with a match in hand.

United is usually in title contention at this stage of the season. Not this time.

David Moyes was fired on Tuesday with the team seventh in the standings and with no chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

Giggs, a United great, has taken temporary charge of a team he has graced for 23 years and his first match is against Norwich on Saturday.

Mourinho is even having an impact on La Liga, with Atletico Madrid's on-loan goalkeeper Thibault Courtois facing an uncertain future as he becomes entangled in a tug of war between Chelsea and Atletico.

Here are five things to know about the this weekend's Premier League and La Liga action:

WEEKEND FOOTBALL ON FOX SPORTS

Saturday night

9.35pm: Southampton v Everton (Fox Sports 3HD)

11.50pm: Fulham v Hull (Fox Sports 1HD), West Brom v West Ham (Fox Sports 3HD), Swansea v Aston Villa (Viewer's Choice), Stoke v Tottenham (Viewer's Choice)

2.20am: Manchester United v Norwich (Fox Sports 3HD)

Sunday night

9.10pm: Sunderland v Cardiff City (Fox Sports 2HD)

11.05pm: Liverpool v Chelsea (Fox Sports 2HD)

1.10am: Crystal Palace v Manchester City (Fox Sports 2HD)

Tuesday morning

4:50am: Arsenal v Newcastle (Fox Sports 3HD)

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MOURINHO'S LAST-MINUTE MIND GAMES

Perhaps Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been trying to lull Liverpool into a false sense of security by saying this week that the Champions League was his priority this season and that he'd prefer to pick a weakened team for the Liverpool match.

Or maybe he's just being the petulant equivalent of the guy who tells you he wasn't even trying when you smash him in Fifa or Pro Evo.

All will be revealed with his team line-up on Sunday.

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The timing of the match is unfortunate for Chelsea, coming between the two legs of the Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.

Mourinho is sure to make changes to his team to give several players a breather, but how many?

Captain John Terry and goalkeeper Petr Cech will definitely miss out after being hurt in Tuesday's first leg.

It all puts Liverpool in a very strong position as Brendan Rodgers' team goes for a 12th straight league win that would put it in sight of the title.

A victory for Liverpool and a slip-up by Manchester City at Crystal Palace later on Sunday would mean the Reds would have a chance to clinch the title with a match to spare.

Manchester City fans will be praying that Yaya Toure will be fit to play. Source: Getty Images

CITY NEEDS TO STORM PALACE

Aside from maybe Liverpool, was there any team Man City would prefer not to play against this weekend than Crystal Palace? Probably not.

Under the wily stewardship of manager Tony Pulis, Palace has won its last five games to climb away from the relegation zone and secure Premier League football for another season.

It's a remarkable feat, given that the promoted team had only four points when Pulis was hired in November.

City stayed in realistic title contention by beating West Bromwich Albion 3-1 on Monday but it came at a cost, with David Silva injuring his right ankle.

The absence of the Spanish playmaker for this weekend would be a huge blow as he makes City's attack tick.

Key midfielder Yaya Toure could return for City, though, and striker Sergio Aguero is slowly getting his match fitness back after a long lay-off.

City realistically needs to win all four of its remaining matches to stand a chance of winning a second league title in three years.

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RYAN GETS THE (TEMPORARY) GIG

Perhaps the final vestige of David Moyes' woeful reign at Man United was removed on Thursday when the "Chosen One" banner was finally brought down from the Stretford End at Old Trafford.

Will it be replaced by another sign in honour of Ryan Giggs?

Saturday marks another new start for United in the gloomy post-Alex Ferguson era, with Giggs taking charge of his first game as the club's interim manager when Norwich visits Old Trafford.

Assisted by Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville, Giggs' priority will be to start picking up some wins and also to bring a smile back to United fans, many of whom have never seen the club so low.

Seventh-place United still has sixth position, which likely offers the final Europe League berth, to fight for. Tottenham is in situ at the moment, three points ahead.

Aaron Ramsey is back in the Arsenal line-up and in scoring form. Source: Getty Images

GUNNERS CAN GO OUT IN BLAZE OF GLORY

Arsenal is in command of the race for the fourth and final Champions League qualification spot, holding a one-point advantage over Everton with both having three games remaining.

And the Gunners have much the easier match coming up, with Newcastle visiting Emirates Stadium on Monday on the back of five straight losses which has piled the pressure on manager Alan Pardew.

With attacking midfielders Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey back fit, some cutting edge has returned to Arsenal's attack just in time for a crucial last month of the season when the team looks to seal a 17th straight campaign in Europe's top competition and to win the FA Cup final against Hull.

Everton plays at Southampton on Saturday. With its next match being at home to Man City, it's easy to see why the Merseysiders are underdogs for fourth.

Atletico Madrid's on-loan-from-Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Source: AFP

CHELSEA IN TUG OF WAY OVER COURTOIS

Atletico Madrid's scoreless draw against Chelsea opened up further discussion about the future of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

The Belgium international is on-loan from Chelsea, which lost regular Petr Cech to injury during Tuesday's match. Cech's absence means 41-year-old backup Mark Schwarzer is Chelsea's No. 1 'keeper for the rest of the season, a situation manager Jose Mourinho likely pondered while watching Courtois on Tuesday.

Courtois has been one of the pillars to Atletico's success and the club is hopeful of extending the loan-deal for a fourth season.

"It's better not to think about it and to focus on just playing," said Courtois, who is on course to win the league's Zamora trophy for the goalkeeper who concedes the fewest goals in a season.

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