Arteta says he has players fit and in form, so picks his side according to how they can hurt their opponent but also according to who he thinks is important at the start versus those whio can affect the game later on.

Emery, meanwhile, wants his side to stick to the gameplan, controlling it when they can.

Bayer Leverkusen are still unbeaten in all competitions this season; what an achievement it’ll be if they can see out the season.

Back to the women’s FA Cup, it’s still Man United 2-1 Chelsea with 75 gone.

Arsenal, meanwhile, know that if they play well, they win. So I’d expect their focus to be on doing what they do well: stepping on to Villa, sending lots of men forward, and looking to pin them back inside their own half. They know Ezri Konsa won’t fancy being isolated, so might look to attack his flank, and also that Pau Torres isn’t the most physical – I’d not be surprised to see him targeted at set-pieces, nor to have men running down the sides of him.

So where is our game? I thought Arteta might go for Takehiro Tomiyasu at left-back instead of Oleksandr Zinchenko, in order to negate Villa’s threat down the flank – if they’re playing two up, in particular, they’ll be looking for overloads and crosses. But Arteta isn’t messing about, picking attacking options, so I’d expect Emery to target the left side of Arsenal’s defence in particular.

Full time at Anfield and Palace have beaten Liverpool 1-0!

As for Villa, Emery doesn’t really have options, so the intrigue concerns his team’s formation. I think it’ll be 4-5-1 in order to contest midfield, but it could just as easily be 4-4-2 with Bailey partnering Watkins, or 4-3-3 with Zaniolo on the opposite flank.

So what do these teams mean? I’m not surprised Arsenal have left out Jorginho, whose lack of athleticism can be a problem against young, physical sides – so not Bayern – and given Rice’s ability to play as the number six and the need for three points, it makes sense to play him there to include another attacker.

In attack, meanwhile, I imagine Martinelli is being nursed back to fitness and required in midweek, hence Trossard today, while Jesus’ ability to scavenge is understandably deemed more useful for this match than Havertz’s hold-up play and aerial threat.

As for Villa, they make one change from Thursday night’s big win over Lille: Douglas Luiz is suspended, so Nicolò Zaniolo comes in.

Specifically, Artetz makes three changes from the team that drew with Bayern in midweek: at left-back, Kiwior is replaced by Zinchenko; in midfield, Havertz moves back from false nine with Jorginho dropping out; and in attack, Gabriel Jesus plays through the middle while, down the left, it’s Leandro Trossard instead of Gabriel Martinelli.

Righto, our teams…

And there’s been a massive game in Scotland which might, in the final analysis, hand the title to Celtic.

Elsewhere: it’s West Ham 0-2 Fulham, Andreas Pereira with both goals.

Also going on right now: Man United 2-1 Chelsea

In a repeat of last year’s final, Lauren James pulled a goal back for the holders on the stroke of half-time; the second peruod will be a belter.

Going on right now: Liverpool 0-1 Palace, 67:28 gone.

Of course there’s a decent chance Liverpool find what they need and win from here but they’ve been second-best today, again. Or, put another way, they are – in the opinion of this observer – significantly less good than City and Arsenal, and have been scabbing it all season thanks to their coterie of nasty attackers and the genius of Jürgen Klopp. Given that, I’ll be surprised if they find a way to win the title, but the energy of their manager has already done some incredible things.

Preamble