Top 5 things to look forward to in the EPL this weekend

5) Hatem Ben Arfa’s return to form

Newcastle United are doing very well in the league at the moment, with 30 points in the kitty. A few more wins could see them threatening the European spots and the teams above them too. This, however, hasn’t always been the case for the Geordies this season. Pardew and co. didn’t have the best start to their season, but they seem to have turned it around of late.

They’ve been on a 5 match unbeaten run, of which 4 have been wins, and the striking characteristic of these games has been that their best player, Ben Arfa was left on the bench for most of this run. Prior to the win at Stoke, the French player had played a total of 68 minutes in 4 premier league games where his side picked up 10 points.

It looked like the Geordies were performing better as a unit without their top dog, but Ben Arfa seemingly put all such theories to bed after his majestic performance in the demolition of 9 man Stoke on Boxing Day where he hit the woodwork twice, had an assist, and completed an astounding 12 dribbles. It was however, done against a side with 9 men.

The dilemma for Pardew is whether or not to start the man. He has undoubted quality, but his presence may unbalance the side.