Stoke City are to be joined by Manchester City and Manchester United in the Uefa Europa League round of 32, but 19 other teams will compete for the remaining nine places on Wednesday and Thursday.

Manchester City face their next big test in the Premier League campaign this season when they travel to Stamford Bridge on Monday evening to take on Chelsea.

The Premier League teams will be tested to the maximum over the festive period, with a packed fixture list. Injuries and suspensions are starting to kick in and could have a major impact this weekend – with the rarity of all seven matches kicking off at 3pm.

Both Manchester clubs have now slipped into the Europa League (City 5/1f Outright Winners) after their failure to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League. The pair now head the market, but just how seriously will they take the competition?

Chelsea’s impressive 3-0 Champions League win over Valencia on Tuesday has eased the pressure on their young coach, Andre Villas-Boas, but the Portuguese still has plenty of work to do to convince he is the right man to bring silverware back to Stamford Bridge (Chelsea 14/1 – Premier League Outright).

Both Manchester clubs go into their final Champions League group games on Wednesday still unsure whether they will make the knockout stages. United are in the stronger position, with City’s fate out of their own hands and facing a tough looking clash against Bayern Munich (totesport – Champions League).

There are seven Premier League matches on Saturday with league leaders Manchester City likely to secure three points against Norwich at the Etihad Stadium, but the stand-out games in our treble sees the under-fire Andre Villas-Boas take his Chelsea side to Newcastle, rock-bottom Blackburn host Swansea and Manchester United travel to Aston Villa.

Tuesday sees the return of the Carling Cup, with three quarter-finals set to take place. For those fans of teams in blue it could be a good night as Chelsea, Manchester City and Cardiff all look poised to march on into the last four.

There are two Premier League games on Sunday but all eyes are sure to be in what looks like a mouth-watering clash at Anfield as Liverpool host leaders Manchester City, kick off at 4pm.

Champions League action returns this week and with the group stages reaching a climax, the top two clubs in England will be looking to confirm their places in the knockout stages on Tuesday.