On Saturday two teams who can be extremely happy with their lot meet as Sunderland welcome Arsenal to the Stadium of Light. With 10 games played both find themselves in positions they could scarcely have dreamed of before a ball had been kicked. A win in this match could set them up perfectly for the business end of the season in the months ahead.

For Arsenal it is not so much the table position that is cause for optimism -- their title credentials were long since established -- but the state of the field behind them. Battered and bruised by injuries to their front line, Mikel Arteta's side still find themselves six points ahead of second place. Win on Saturday and they will increase their lead on at least one of their title rivals with Manchester City hosting Liverpool the next day.

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