LONDON - England greats Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker were on the scoresheet the last time Tottenham Hotspur recorded a league double over Manchester United, but the north London club have the chance to end 23 years of woe on Sunday.

The weekend's other fixtures include: Liverpool vs. Norwich; Manchester City vs. Fulham; Swansea vs. Stoke; Wigan vs. Sunderland; QPR vs West Ham, Newcastle vs Reading, West Bromwich Albion vs. Aston Villa.

After coming out on top in an end-to-end tussle at Old Trafford in September, Tottenham can reinforce their own Champions League ambitions with a second successive win over the Premier League leaders who beat West Ham United 1-0 on Wednesday to reach the FA Cup fourth round.

That would be a remarkable achievement in itself given they have not won a home fixture against United, who are seven points clear at the top of the table, since 2001, 11 years after they last won both the home and away league matches.

It would be an indication of the direction in which the club is heading under Portuguese manager Andre Villas-Boas who has begun to win around sceptical supporters after replacing the enormously popular Harry Redknapp in the close season.

After a short-lived and underwhelming spell at Chelsea, Villas-Boas was hired to bring modern European thinking to the Tottenham helm where Redknapp's more traditional methods had led them to a fourth-place finish the previous season.

They sold Luka Modric, arguably their most influential player, but Villas-Boas has kept them in top-four contention and was rewarded with the manager of the month award in December.

His list of achievements include bringing the best out of Gareth Bale, successfully converting Jermain Defoe into a lone striker and skilfully managing a depleted squad.

To complete a league double over United would add another feather to his cap given Redknapp did not manage a single win against the Manchester club in any competition in his four years with the club.

Last weekend's draw with Redknapp's current club Queens Park Rangers, however, gave fans reason for concern.

A 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers at a similar stage last season was the start of a prolonged dip in form that allowed Arsenal to come from 10 points behind to leapfrog them into third place.

"It is in everyone's minds because it has happened before," said Tottenham's midfielder Scott Parker, who could return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench in their last six league games following a prolonged injury layoff.

"As a team and as a squad we need to maintain our performances. Maybe what happened in the past will stand us in good stead. I just think we can learn from two years ago and last year and stay strong."

A win would also give Tottenham the opportunity to close the gap on third-placed Chelsea who have to negotiate a tricky home game against inconsistent Arsenal on Sunday to maintain their own fading title challenge.

Elsewhere on Sunday, two of the Premier League's most storied clubs will take the pitch at Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea host London rivals Arsenal in a pivotal midseason match.

The Blues won the two teams' first meeting of the year, defeating the Gunners at Emirates Stadium in September, but since then, things haven't gone according to plan for either team.

Sixth place Arsenal, who saw Jack Wilshere fire them into the next round of the FA Cup on Wednesday at the expense of Swansea, have had a below-par season by their standards with the London club struggling to secure a top four slot since the surprise summer departure of Robin van Persie to Manchester United.

Chelsea remains third but Tottenham is only two points behind and the prospect of catching the Manchester rivals in the title race appears increasingly beyond this team.

Rafa Benitez’s side looked certain to capture three points on Wednesday when it was in complete control in the first half against a Southampton side it thrashed 5-1 in the FA Cup on January 5. But they let a 2-0 lead slip late on as the relegation battlers fought back to draw 2-2 at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues are now six points behind Manchester City and 13 adrift of Manchester United.

"My idea is always to think about the next game," Benitez said when asked about Chelsea's title prospects. (Reuters)