Pretty much every football club has those teams that they just can’t seem to beat, no matter the occasion, the respective form of the two sides or their league position.
Whether it’s a mental block or just a quirk that has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, some clubs just seem to have one over on a rival; and the combinations of teams involved in this are often very random.
There are times when this matters less; in the middle of the season, another loss or draw against that team you can never seem to beat is mildly annoying but the business end of the season is the last time when you want to be faced with an old nemesis.
In a bizarre twist, the Premier League fixture list has thrown up no fewer than five such matches this weekend and with just a handful of games remaining, it has never been more important for that quarter of the division to overcome their demons.
We’ve taken a closer look at five clubs who will be looking to finally get one over on their bogey teams…
Of the last eight Premier League meetings between the pair, Palace have won four and gained a further draw – the now infamous ‘Crystanbul’ 3-3 draw that ended the Reds’ title hopes in 2014.
Klopp has already revealed that Palace had got under his skin, early on in his Anfield reign, but his side have managed to win three of the last four league meetings, so maybe the tide is turning.
Nevertheless, Palace need the points to bolster their survival bid and will still fancy their chances of unsettling a Liverpool side who may well have one eye on the Champions League quarter-final tie against Manchester City next week.
Louis van Gaal’s United just could not get to grips with the Swans during the Dutchman’s reign.
They won at Old Trafford in his first league match and went on to beat United in their next two encounters as well; all three times, the scoreline was 2-1.
Jose Mourinho has enjoyed a better record against the Welsh side, but under Paul Clement they were able to take a vital point from the Theatre of Dreams to bolster their relegation bid last season.
A repeat may make United sweat on their top four place this time around.
Everton have only lost two of their last eight matches against City in all competitions, and are unbeaten in the last four league encounters between the pair.
Pep Guardiola is yet to enjoy a victory over the Toffees in three attempts and Toffees fans will hope that plays on the mind of a manager who can take his side within one win of the Premier League title with a victory this weekend.
The Spaniard also endured the worst result of his City reign at Goodison last season, a 4-0 defeat that knocked his side out of the title race and led some to question whether he could handle English football.
Arsenal have really struggled on their visits to the Bet365 Stadium, winning just one of their last ten visits to Staffordshire and they lost this season’s reverse fixture 1-0 in August.
Meanwhile, Stoke have not picked up so much as a point at the Emirates in the Premier League era; their last away win against the Gunners came in 1981.
So, in a bizarre way, this pair are something of a bogey team for each other. Home advantage has a hugely transformative impact on the outcome but Paul Lambert will hope to arrest that trend this weekend.
This is another rivalry in which home advantage is massive, especially when Spurs have to travel to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have never lost a Premier League game against Tottenham at home. You have to go all the way back to 1990 for the last time they suffered a league defeat against Spurs on their own patch. Gary Lineker got the winner on that occasion.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side will travel across London this Sunday in the knowledge that a win would all but extinguish Chelsea’s top four hopes so there would be no better time to end the drought.
