EPL Review: Title race, relegation dogfight and priority problems

Premier League weekend preview: European struggles hit English clubs; Palace, Forest, Liverpool, Spurs face survival battles amid cup ties.

It's crunch time for top managers in the Premier League. With European commitments forcing them to prioritize, where would they tilt? (Photo credit: BBC)

We're back to the weekend! What a time we're having with all the English teams that played in Europe struggling, bar Aston Villa.

Arsenal won all group stage games in the Champions League, only to need a fortuitous penalty to earn a draw in the first leg of their round of 16 game against Bayer Leverkusen. Newcastle was forced to a stalemate by Barcelona late in the game, and the Magpies can dream of a huge second leg next week.

The rest of the English teams in the Champions League all lost, with only Liverpool hanging on to slim hopes. The Reds lost to Galatasaray 1-0. Spurs, Chelsea, and Manchester City all lost woefully by three-goal margins.

This brings us to the games in the Premier League this weekend. Will commitments in Europe affect some teams in the league? Crystal Palace drew at home against AEL Lanarca, while Forest lost at home and will be off to Norway next Thursday.

With the Eagles failing to beat their Cypriot opponents on Thursday night at Selhurst Park, how are they expected to approach the visit of Leeds United on Sunday? Is Crystal Palace about to be dragged into the relegation dogfight again?

Later on Sunday, Nottingham Forest will host Fulham. Forest wants to beat the drop, but they also would fancy going further in the Europa League. Vitor Pereira and everyone at Forest must prioritize now. With a trip to Norway coming up, can they challenge on both fronts?

Liverpool will host Tottenham on Sunday, and this is where it gets tricky. Liverpool would keep an eye on the Wednesday game against Galatasaray while also needing a win at home against Tottenham. This is tough on everyone.

Tottenham can wrap up in Europe. They won't beat Atletico Madrid handsomely enough for them to advance after losing 5-2 away. They're just one point above the relegation zone; they may have to shift their focus to Premier League survival now.

Well, we can't talk about the weekend without discussing the title contenders. Arsenal must beat Bayer Leverkusen at the Emirates on Tuesday to avoid embarrassment. The Gunners must also beat Everton to steer clear of Manchester City.

The Cityzens also have their own headaches. They lost woefully against Real Madrid and would now decide whether to dare the second leg or focus on the Arsenal matchup in the title run-in.

There's also a small matter of the League Cup final next weekend. Arsenal would head into that game on the back of their second-leg encounter against Leverkusen, while the Cityzens would do so having played Real Madrid at the Etihad.