Big wins for Nottingham Forest and Everton stole the limelight in the Premier League on Saturday.

Forest routed Brighton to strengthen their hold on a top-four place, while Everton punished struggling Leicester in a result that moved them clear of the bottom three at the expense of a Foxes side yet to respond to Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Off the pitch, what could be one of the headline deals of the January transfer window has moved a step closer with Aston Villa closing in on Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

Forest’s bouncebackability

Forest well and truly bounced back from last week’s 5-0 loss to Bournemouth as they thrashed Brighton 7-0 with the help of a hat-trick from in-form striker Chris Wood.

Nuno Espirito Santo was looking for a response and got an emphatic one as Morgan Gibbs-White pulled the strings, forcing an own goal from Lewis Dunk and scoring one of his own, while Anthony Elanga had a hat-trick of assists, with Neco Williams and Jota Silva also scoring.

“We were looking for a response and our responsibility to do much better,” Nuno said. “Last week was not good enough and the response of the players was beyond our expectations. I’m always looking forward to what I have and I’m hoping it continues. You cannot judge whether it’s the best one or not.

“They were ruthless in their desire, they wanted to show their talent. Morgan was good, Anthony amazing with three assists so overall very good all the players.”

Moyes’ magic touch

David Moyes said he could not be a magician when he returned to Goodison Park, but Everton fans might disagree after the fourth-fastest goal in Premier League history set them on their way to a 4-0 rout of Leicester that moved then nine points clear of danger.

Abdoulaye Doucoure found the net just 10 seconds in against the Foxes, the fastest ever goal by an Everton player. Only Shane Long, Philip Billing and Ledley King have scored faster in the history of the competition.

After that Beto, the Toffees’ only fit striker, scored twice before the break and Iliman Ndiaye added a fourth late on.

“I am certainly not getting carried away,” Moyes said. “We can’t until we are in a strong position. But I’ve got to say, today’s result is a big result for us. After 10 seconds I was thinking ‘My goodness this is fabulous’. The second goal backed it up.”

Rashford expected for Villa medical

Rashford is expected to have a medical on Sunday ahead of a loan move to Aston Villa for the rest of the season.

The 27-year-old has been looking for a new club this month, having said he is looking for a “new challenge” and being frozen out by Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim since being dropped for the Manchester derby on December 12.

The PA news agency understands Villa are keen to offer him a way out, and the Midlands club are closing in on an initial loan deal until the end of the season with an option to buy.

It is understood Villa, seeking to replace Jhon Duran after his £71million move to Al Nassr, will pay a loan fee and cover the majority of Rashford’s £300,000-plus-per-week salary.

Arsenal and City go again

Manchester City will get another major test of any sort of revival on Sunday when they head south to take on title challengers Arsenal.

Having won 12 straight league games against the Gunners between 2017 and 2023, City have not won any of the last three.

The most recent of those was September’s 2-2 draw, a game in which Rodri suffered the knee ligament injury which will keep him out for most if not all of the season.

“I’d have preferred to lose that game and have Rodri all season,” Pep Guardiola said. “But the situation we had this season was not just because of Rodri.”

What’s on today?

Away from Rashford’s medical, there will be plenty of action on the pitch. Arsenal’s match against City takes top billing, but it is one of three Premier League matches on the day.

Under-pressure Ange Postecoglou takes his Tottenham side to Brentford in dire need of some good news. Spurs sit in 16th place with only seven wins from 23 league games this season, but might take encouragement from Brentford’s home woes as they have lost four of their last five in all competitions.

Manchester United have won only two of their last seven Premier League games, and have often struggled at home when expected to take the initiative in games. The visit of Crystal Palace to Old Trafford at 2pm could be more awkward than it first appears for Amorim’s side.