LONDON, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Arsenal and Tottenham play a north-London derby that is vital to both of their interests at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night in a midweek round of fixtures.

Arsenal has to win to keep its title hope alive, and could go into the game nine-points behind Liverpool, if Liverpool beats Nottingham Forest (who is level on 40 points with Arsenal) on Tuesday night.

Mikel Arteta's side lost in the third round of the FA Cup at home to Manchester United on penalties on Sunday, with that defeat followed hot on the heels of their 2-0 Carabao Cup loss at home to Newcastle United.

Arteta's side is starting to run the risk of being labeled as a team that lacks a cutting edge, but with Bukayo Saka already out with a knee problem, Gabriel Jesus was added to its long injury list with a knee problem on Sunday.

Tottenham's problems are even worse as it was taken to extra-time by fifth tier (National League) Tamworth on Sunday, while in the Premier League, three defeats and a draw from the last four games have seen it drop to 12th in the classification and a heavy defeat on Wednesday could mark the end for coach Ange Postecoglou.

There is a very different vibe at St James Park, where five straight wins, eight in all competitions, have taken Newcastle United to fifth place ahead of its match at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Newcastle forward Alexander Isak is clearly the man to watch as he aims to extend his scoring run to eight consecutive games, while Anthony Gordon is also in excellent form for Eddie Howe's team.

There will be emotion as David Moyes returns to the Goodison Park dugout after being named as the replacement for Sean Dyche on Saturday.

The 61-year-old needs an immediate reaction as he begins his second spell at the club after a round trip which has taken him to Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland and West Ham.

Everton faces Aston Villa and anything but a win could see it slip into the bottom three.

Wednesday also sees Leicester City at home to Crystal Palace, with Leicester needing to build on its FA Cup thrashing of Queens Park Rangers, to end a run of five straight defeats that has seen it drop to second from bottom of the table.

Two games on Thursday see Ipswich at home to Brighton, while Manchester United faces rock bottom, Southampton. Enditem

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