The top flight will stage a south Wales derby for the first time this weekend, with Cardiff City set to play host to arch-rivals Swansea City.

The Super Sunday team will be there to catch all of the action from what promises to be a feisty affair, but before that there are nine other Premier League fixtures to whet the appetite - including a top-of-the-table clash between Arsenal and Liverpool.

Saturday's action will end in north London, but it starts in the north east. Newcastle Unitedsuffered derby agony against Sunderland last time out, with Wearside prevailing over Tyneside. Alan Pardew's men also tumbled out of the Capital One Cup in midweek, so will have a few wrongs to right when they entertain Chelsea. In contrast to the Magpies, Jose Mourinho's Blues could not be in more buoyant mood at present. Victories over Manchester City and Arsenal in the league and cup have them well-placed to challenge on multiple fronts - and they will move to the top of the table, for a few hours at least, if they can secure a seventh straight success in all competitions.

Manchester United's struggles this season have been well-documented, and they have given themselves an eight-point gap to bridge on the early front-runners. If history has taught us anything, though, it is that you write off the Red Devils at your peril - regardless of who is in charge. David Moyes saw his troops dig deep to edge out Stoke last weekend - after twice falling behind - and they are now unbeaten in their last six outings. United also boast a formidable record against Fulham - the next side in their sights - with maximum points taken from their previous five meetings. London has also proved to be a happy hunting ground of late, with the Red Devils having made 11 visits to the capital since they last tasted defeat - at Arsenal in May 2011.

Were Fulham to come unstuck at Craven Cottage, they would tumble back towards the drop zone and could be overtaken by Norwich City - among others. The Canaries would, however, have to claim a notable scalp at the Etihad Stadium if they are to climb the standings. Manchester City will welcome the Canaries to the north west looking to get their title pursuit back on track - much like arch-rivals United. City sit seventh at present, six points adrift of the leaders. Inconsistency, particularly on their travels, continues to plague Manuel Pellegrini's side and Norwich will take heart from that fact that the Blues have looked far from convincing at times this term - and from the fact that they are the last side to take three points away from the Etihad, having prevailed 3-2 on the final day of the 2012/13 campaign.

One of those currently perched above City is Southampton, with the Saints continuing to draw plenty of praise and many admirers for the manner in which they are going about their business. Those inside the St Mary's camp are unlikely to be drawn into a debate regarding possible top-four finishes just yet, but they remain very much a part of that chasing pack. Mauricio Pochettino's side have suffered just one defeat in the league so far, and have gone seven games unbeaten in all competitions since coming unstuck at Norwich. Stoke City will not be relishing a visit from the in-form Saints, with their own form offering serious cause for concern. A run which has brought just two points from the last 18 available has the Potters languishing just above the drop zone, and with only three home wins to their name in 2013.

West Bromwich Albion have suffered no such troubles, but did come unstuck last time out and will be determined to embark on another unbeaten stretch when they entertain rock-bottom Crystal Palace. The Eagles remain without a permanent manager, with a full-time successor yet to be found to the departed Ian Holloway. That means Keith Millen will remain in caretaker charge at The Hawthorns, with no decision on the likes of Alex McLeish, Chris Coleman and Tony Pulis - who have all been linked with the post - set to be taken before Saturday. If this is to be Millen's last stand in the dugout, he will want to sign off on a high - with Palace having slumped to the foot of the table after suffering eight defeats in their nine fixtures so far, conceding 19 goals.

Sunderland had propped up the division heading into the last round of Premier League fixtures, but have become upwardly mobile on the back of their Wear-Tyne derby success. Building on that result is now the challenge for Gus Poyet, with there still a lot of work to be done before the Black Cats can rest easy. They remain four points from safety and still have the worst defensive record in the division - having been breached on 21 occasions.Hull City will be looking to pile the pressure back on Poyet's troops this weekend and cement a standing inside the top half. Two setbacks have been suffered against Tottenham Hotspur in the space of four days, with Spurs taking three points and a League Cup quarter-final berth off the Tigers. Steve Bruce's side more than held their own during those contests, though, and have plenty to be proud of since their return to the big time.

An all claret and blue clash at Upton Park will seeWest Ham United try to move ahead of Aston Villa and offer themselves a bit of breathing space towards the bottom. Just one point separates the Hammers from the trapdoor at present, while Villa are only another point better off. Neither side has offered much in recent weeks to suggest that they can be considered favourites on Saturday, with Sam Allardyce's side collecting one win in eight and Paul Lambert's one point from their last three games. The Hammers' record on home soil against Villa during the Premier League era tips the balance slightly in their favour, as does the fact that they have not suffered four successive top-flight defeats in front of their own supporters since January 2006.

The final game on Saturday pitches two of this season's most entertaining outfits into direct combat, with Arsenal looking to put a dent in the title aspirations of rejuvenatedLiverpool. The Gunners have avoided defeat in the league since the opening weekend, but have seen question marks raised as to their ability to produce the goods against the very best after coming unstuck in recent cup outings against Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea. Victory over Liverpool would help to silence those critics, but the Reds will head to Emirates Stadium having won three of their last four, plundering 12 goals in the process - with a fear-inducing SAS strike partnership having been formed between Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez.

On Sunday, Everton will look to move into the UEFA Champions League places when presented with the opportunity to edge in front of Tottenham Hotspur. The Toffees are playing an exciting brand of football under Roberto Martinez and fancy their chances against anyone at Goodison Park - especially visitors who have found goals hard to come by. Spurs have netted just nine times in as many fixtures this term, but have also been difficult to break down. Andre Villas-Boas' criticism of the White Hart Lane support last weekend produced the desired response in a League Cup tie with Hull City in midweek, but the capital outfit may feel that a trip out on the road has come at a good time and will help to lift some of the pressure off their shoulders.

Once the Sky Sports cameras are done on Merseyside, the second instalment of aSuper Sunday double-header will see history made in south Wales. There will be a lot more than three points riding on a duel between Cardiff City and Swansea City, with two fierce rivals having waited a long time to showcase a unique derby experience on the grandest of footballing stages. The hosts are in greater need of the points at present, having gone three games without a win, but anything is possible on such occasions and Swansea, who have improved over recent weeks, would like nothing more than to poop Cardiff's party and head home with points and local bragging rights tucked securely under their arm.

Sky Bet odds

Punters are finding Super Sunday a tough one to call, with Everton (7/5) slight favourites over Tottenham (19/10) and Swansea (6/5) preferred for the South Wales derby despite Cardiff (11/5) having home advantage. Saturday Night Football has all the ingredients for a goal fest with four of the Premier League's highest scorers involved.Liverpool's free-scoring strikers Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge 13/2 to both find the net, while Olivier Giroud is the 5/1 favourite to open the scoring. Elsewhere,Chelsea and Manchester United are both odds-on for away victories but Manchester City are the shortest-priced favourites of the weekend as they host struggling Norwich.a

The Gunners boss made the admission on the eve of Saturday's first-versus-third showdown at the Emirates - but insisted his club's carefully calculated £40,000,001 offer was in no way meant to be "provocative".

Arsenal had made their specific bid believing it would trigger a get-out clause in Suarez's contract but were quickly rebuffed by the Anfield club in July, with American owner John W Henry posting on Twitter: "What do you think they're smoking over there at Emirates?"

Arsenal opened up a two-point gap at the top of the Premier League after thrashing Norwich City at home as Manchester United stuttered again in their wobbling title defence.

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet endured an afternoon to forget in his first match in charge, while Steven Gerrard scored a landmark goal as Liverpool drew at Newcastle United.

Manchester City claimed a first away league win of the season after proving too good for West Ham United.

Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o finally got off the mark in a home win over Cardiff City, Everton edged past Hull City and Stoke City were held at home by West Bromwich Albion.

Arsenal claimed the outright lead in the Premier League as Mesut Ozil scored a second-half brace in a 4-1 win over Norwich at the Emirates Stadium.

It will be a case of master versus apprentice when Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur lock horns on Saturday lunchtime, while Sunderland continue life post-Paolo Di Canio on home soil against Liverpool.

Swansea City and Arsenal should put on a show to satisfy the purists on Saturday Night Football, while there will be a tale of two cities in the opening encounter of a Super Sunday double-header as Stoke play host to Norwich.

The Premier League weekend kicks off at White Hart Lane, with Tottenham Hotspur's home date with Chelsea expected to see as many eyes fall on the respective dugouts as events unfolding on the field. Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas learnt his coaching trade under the watchful eye of Jose Mourinho, but is now very much his own man and will want to show the self-proclaimed 'Special One' that he took plenty from the time spent as his go-to scout. Spurs' record against the Blues is not the best, to put it mildly - winning just three of 42 Premier League meetings - but they have opened the season in impressive style and boast the meanest defence in the top flight. Chelsea have also kept things tight at the back, conceding only twice, but both sides have struggled at the opposite end of the field and will want to address those issues on derby day.

Jonjo Shelvey put the hosts into a second-minute lead when he converted from close range after forcing his way into space inside the box.

Swansea's joy was short-lived as Daniel Sturridge capitalised on a poor back pass from Shelvey to find the target and maintain his record of having scored in every game so far in 2013-14.

The Reds then went ahead nine minutes before the break as new signing Moses found the bottom corner from the edge of the area after carrying the ball from deep.

The hosts equalised midway through the second half with Michu slotting home from Shelvey's flick to make it 2-2.

With no further goals, the result was enough to send Liverpool back to the league summit, a point ahead of Arsenal and Tottenham.

The pre-match team news confirmed starting berths for deadline day signings Mamadou Sakho and Victor Moses, with the former replacing Daniel Agger who missed out due to a slight knock.

Former Liverpool player Jonjo Shelvey is available again after pulling out of England under-21 duty, leaving Neil Taylor as the only definite absentee.

Liverpool's in-form striker Daniel Sturridge should be fit to start despite missing England's matches with a thigh problem.

New signings Mamadou Sakho and Victor Moses are in the squad.

I was just taking my own personal look at the referee we will see doing the game in Sunderland this afternoon and found there was something extra to say about Martin Atkinson is the ref for this game.

We all know the chant ‘you’re not fit to referee’ as we have to sing it almost every week or thereabouts. In general we then talk of his decision making and I will talk about this of course. But ‘being fit’ (or not) can also point at his general fitness. And well we have something to say about that also.

Because well from time to time we get some little snippets of news blowing our way that send us messages that nobody else knows.

So we heard that Atkinson passed his fitness test for the PGMOL – the organisation that runs the Premier League ref appointments.

But as he is a FIFA ref he also has to pass his FIFA test that is taken fairly obviously by FIFA.

The club has not featured in the Champions League since departing in the group stages during 2009-10.

They have not maintained a strong challenge for the qualifying positions since then but former midfielder Redknapp thinks that will change this season.

"They are realistic challengers," he said.

The Blues hit eight past Villa in the corresponding fixture last season and were quickly into their stride again as Antonio Luna scored an own goal in the seventh minute following good work by Eden Hazard.

Sturridge’s first half winner at Anfield was the highlight of an  enterprising display from Brendan Rodgers’s team, who showed no signs of being  affected by the absence of controversial striker Suarez.

Liverpool needed a last-minute penalty save from debutant Simon Mignolet,  who kept out Jon Walters’s spot-kick, to seal the points, but a draw would have  been extremely harsh on the hosts after a dominant performance.

It was exactly the kind of uplifting afternoon Liverpool required after a  summer spent dealing with Suarez’s attempts to engineer a move to Arsenal.

Suarez, watching from the stands as he serves a suspension for biting  Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic last season, was briefly banished to train on his  own after claiming Rodgers had gone back on an agreement to sell him when the  Reds failed to qualify for this season’s Champions League.