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Premier League questions: Will Man City be the top-flight's earliest ever winners? Will Everton finally beat Liverpool?

Pep Guardiola
Image: Pep Guardiola is on the verge of his first Premier League title

The Premier League returns this weekend and there will be plenty of questions answered.

The weekend begins with the Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park, where Everton are looking to end a record they'd like to forget against Liverpool.

And by the end of the day, the title could be clinched, with Manchester City able to wrap up their third Premier League crown if they beat city rivals Manchester United in the late kick-off.

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Derby Day is coming on Sky Sports, with Everton playing host to Liverpool and Manchester United taking on Manchester City in a potential title decider

On Sunday, Chelsea could be subjected to back-to-back London derby defeats for the first time in 19 years if David Moyes can shake off his hoodoo at Stamford Bridge, while Southampton will have to do likewise if they are to get anything at Arsenal.

Ahead of the games, we look at the potential questions that could be answered this weekend...

Will the Toffees end their miserable derby run? (Everton v Liverpool, Saturday from 11.30am live on Sky Sports Premier League)

Bragging rights on Merseyside have been hard to come by for the blue half of Liverpool in the last few years, and the Reds are on their longest ever unbeaten run against their cross-city rivals (eight games).

Mo Salah celebrates after scoring against Watford on Saturday
Image: Mo Salah leads the Premier League goalscoring charts with 29 goals in 31 games

The Toffees have won only one of their last 22 league meetings with Liverpool, and are winless in their last 14 dating back to October 2010 when Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta scored in a 2-0 win at Goodison Park.

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Everton can also add to an unwanted record of having been shown 14 red cards across the two sides' Premier League meetings, the most of any club against another in the competition's history.

Will Manchester City wrap up a historic title win? (Manchester City v Manchester United, Saturday from 5pm live on Sky Sports Premier League)

If Manchester City win against their local rivals on Saturday, they will win the top-flight earlier than anyone else in history, with well in excess of a month to go before the end of the Premier League season.

City are one win away from the most ever in a top-flight season (28), matching a record they set themselves in their 2011/12 Premier League victory - even if they did have to wait until Sergio Aguero's moment of magic to earn that final three points.

Pep Guardiola v Jose Mourinho - Head-to-Head
Image: Pep Guardiola has beaten Jose Mourinho in nine of their 20 meetings

The game will be the 21st meeting between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, the most either has faced another manager. Guardiola has won nine of the 20 to date (drawn seven, lost four), the most defeats inflicted on Mourinho by any opposition manager.

Gunners to keep up Saints hoodoo? (Arsenal v Southampton, Sunday from 1.30pm live on Sky Sports Premier League)

Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 22 Premier League home games with Southampton, stretching back to 1987 when they were beaten 1-0 at Highbury.

A victory here would be their 150th league win at the Emirates, making them the first team to pick up that number of victories in the Premier League at two different stadiums.

Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates scoring the first goal
Image: Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored five goals in his first six Premier League games

Mark Hughes has already beaten Arsenal this season, having won 1-0 with Stoke in August. If he can repeat the feat on Sunday, he will be the first manager to beat the Gunners with two different clubs in the same Premier League season.

Will Chelsea regain London pride? (Chelsea v West Ham, Sunday from 3.30pm live on Sky Sports Premier League)

Chelsea have not lost back-to-back home London derbies since 1999, when they lost 1-0 to West Ham in March and then were beaten 3-2 by a Kanu-inspired Arsenal in October.

But after crumbling from 1-0 up against Tottenham last Sunday, Antonio Conte's side are at risk of wiping out that record as West Ham visit Stamford Bridge.

Luckily for them, David Moyes has never beaten Chelsea in London, having lost eight and drawn six of his away games against the Blues.

Will Bournemouth strike late again? (Bournemouth v Crystal Palace, Saturday, 3pm)

If you like living on the edge, it's a good time to be a Bournemouth fan. The Cherries have seen goals scored in the 89th minute or later in each of their last six games, with four of them having an outcome on the result.

The most recent of those was in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Watford, where they picked up a 17th point after falling behind thanks to Jermain Defoe's injury-time leveller and cemented their record as the side who has picked up the most points from losing positions in the top flight this season.

Bournemouth's Jermain Defoe celebrates scoring an injury-time equaliser against Watford at Vicarage Road
Image: Bournemouth's Jermain Defoe scored in the second minute of injury time at Watford on Saturday

Defoe has scored twice in each of his past three games with Palace, while the Eagles' main striker Christian Benteke is enduring a tougher time. Going by expected goals, he should have netted nine times in the Premier League this season, but has scored only twice.

Brighton to tackle the Terriers again? (Brighton v Huddersfield, Saturday, 3pm)

The Amex has not been a happy hunting ground for Huddersfield Town, who have lost three and drawn two of their last five visits to Brighton since a 3-2 win in April 2011, when both sides were in League 1.

The Terriers did see off Chris Hughton's side on home soil earlier this season, however, winning 2-0 at the John Smith's Stadium.

But they will not be helped after conceding in each of their last 13 games on the road, the longest record in the Premier League this season.

Will Newcastle make it three in a row? (Leicester City v Newcastle, Saturday, 3pm)

Back-to-back wins have helped Newcastle look up the Premier League table, rather than over their shoulders, and move away from trouble at just the right time.

Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez
Image: Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez has led Newcastle to 12th with back-to-back wins

If they win at Leicester, it will give Rafa Benitez a third straight league win for the first time since September.

However, Newcastle have never won at the King Power Stadium since Leicester City moved to the ground in 2002, drawing two and losing three of their five games there.

Jamie Vardy has also been in fine form for the Foxes, scoring in eight of their last 10 games in all competitions.

Will Spurs' goal glut at Stoke continue? (Stoke City v Tottenham, Saturday, 3pm)

Tottenham have won their last four Premier League games at Stoke by a four-goal margin, a Premier League record, and Paul Lambert will probably be glad to see the back of this fixture against one of the Potters' worst bogey sides.

Harry Kane warms up at Chelsea.
Image: Harry Kane could be back in the Spurs starting line-up after coming on at Chelsea last week

No team has won more games at the Bet365 Stadium than Spurs, who are joint level with Chelsea on six victories in Staffordshire.

Peter Crouch has scored 12 Premier League goals against sides he's previously played for in the competition, only Nicolas Anelka has more (18). However, he's yet to score in eight games against Spurs since leaving the north Londoners in 2011.

Can Burnley mount best top-flight run in 50 years? (Watford v Burnley, Saturday, 3pm)

Burnley have returned to form with a bang after a miserable run in the new year, winning their last three games to cement their place in the top half of the Premier League.

If they can stretch that run to four games, it will be their best top-flight run of form since 1968, when they went on a run of six straight victories in the old Division 1.

The Hornets are unbeaten on home soil under Javi Gracia, however, having picked up only a pointless (11) from their last five home games than they did from the previous 11 games (12 points).

Time for Moore to shake off miserable record? (West Brom v Swansea, Saturday, 3pm)

Temporary West Brom head coach Darren Moore failed to win any of his last 31 Premier League games as a player, all with Derby County during their horrendous season in 2007/8 when they finished with just 11 points.

His last win in the competition came with West Brom in January 2006, a 1-0 win at Wigan - although he was sent off in that game.

Darren Moore was made first-team coach by Alan Pardew
Image: Darren Moore was made first-team coach by Alan Pardew before taking over this week

Swansea are looking to avoid back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time since December, in what were Paul Clement's last two games in charge.

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