MANCHESTER, England, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Manchester City have the chance to climb above Arsenal and seize the Premier League lead this Saturday with a home clash against struggling West Ham United, before Mikel Arteta's injury-hit side head to Everton later in the day.
Pep Guardiola's side sit two points behind Arsenal and will move provisionally top with a win over West Ham.
City are in imperious form, with one loss at the Etihad in their last 11 matches and riding a six-game winning streak in all competitions.
Despite injuries to key players like Rodri and John Stones, and missing Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri to international duty, their depth and attacking firepower make them heavy favourites against a West Ham side stuck in the relegation zone and winless in five.
Guardiola's men are unbeaten in their last 19 league games against West Ham since a 2-1 home defeat in September 2015.
Arsenal travel to Merseyside on Saturday evening to face an Everton team that have found some rhythm, winning four of their last six matches.
Arteta's team have stuttered slightly in recent weeks, winning three of their last six league games and a slip at Hill Dickinson Stadium could hand Guardiola's side a psychological edge heading into the busy festive fixtures.
Arsenal have been hard hit by injuries, with Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Cristhian Mosquera, Max Dowman, Ben White and Martin Zubimendi all missing training on Tuesday.
This weekend's league games also mark the first since the exodus of players to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Sunderland, who head to Brighton & Hove Albion, are the hardest hit, with six players on international duty. Sunderland continue to defy expectations, sitting eighth in the standings, while Brighton are three points behind them in 10th.
Manchester United, who drew 4-4 with Bournemouth in a wild game on Monday, face a huge challenge when they travel to Aston Villa on Sunday.
Third-place Villa are three points behind Arsenal, while United are sixth on 26 points. If the task was not already tough enough, Ruben Amorim's United are missing Bryan Mbeumo, Noussair Mazraoui and Amad Diallo to AFCON.
The weekend begins with Newcastle United hosting Chelsea, while Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool will both look for a morale-boosting victory when they meet in North London later on Saturday.
Bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers continue to chase their first win of the season when they host Brentford.
(Reporting by Lori EwingEditing by Christian Radnedge)
