The Premier League is heading right into a classic title race, with Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal locked in a 3-way battle at the start of the season.
What a weekend we have had, with each Liverpool and Arsenal suffering defeat at home, leaving Championship side City in front with six games remaining. Pep Guardiola’s men are aiming to win a fourth consecutive Premier League title – a feat that has never been achieved before in the history of English football – and the title is now of their hands.
It got here after Arsenal and Liverpool lost the lead on a dramatic afternoon. Liverpool, eight games away from the title, suffered a shock defeat to Crystal Palace at Anfield before Arsenal, chasing a primary title in 20 years, were stunned by Aston Villa at the Emirates.
Even after they were losing the lead, City were dangerous and now they’ve run ahead of them after hitting the front. Also, the defeat in the Champions League against Real Madrid implies that Guardiola’s men should focus only on the Premier League and the FA Cup for the remainder of the season.
But it isn’t over yet. Both Arsenal and Liverpool have two games to play before City’s next Premier League match, so with six games to go, which team has the best games and which has the hardest run of games to finish the season? Here’s where to win and lose a title…
Manchester
Points: 73
GD: +44
Wed. opponents PpG: 1.37
Difficulty: ★★★
You can imagine Pep Guardiola sitting in his chair waiting for the Masters to start out, while Liverpool and Arsenal suffered defeats at home on the same afternoon, leaving the champions answerable for the title race.
Guardiola’s men were unable to beat either Liverpool or Arsenal in the two title clashes either side of the international break, but the title race turned the other way up as their rivals weakened and the champions returned to their goalscoring form.
There might be no repeat of the treble after City were knocked out of the Champions League on penalties, but the double still stands. After all, City have played here before and their Premier League matches look more favorable, now matches against Liverpool and Arsenal are out of the query. That leaves the trip to Tottenham, where City have never won in the Premier League under Guardiola, as their hardest game at this stage of the competition. There, the Gunners could use a favor from their north London rivals.
The match might be played in the final week of the season, after City reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup. This may be a must-win match for Ange Postecoglou’s side as Spurs look to secure Champions League qualification. Tottenham will even already know what they need, having already faced Arsenal and Liverpool.
With this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, City won’t play in the Premier League again until Thursday, April 25. With each Liverpool and Arsenal having played twice in the title race by then, this will likely create the illusion that City might be playing catch-up. This gives Liverpool and Arsenal a likelihood to place pressure on.
Arsenal
Points: 71
GD: +49
Wed. opponents PpG: 1.44
Difficulty: ★★★★
Arsenal were seven games shy of the title, but their 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa was a devastating blow and might have been the moment the Premier League slipped out of their hands.
Arsenal have been in great form since the start of the 12 months and now need to choose themselves as much as avoid the mistakes of last season. The nature of their defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League suggested that a hangover had set in and Arsenal’s season was once more at risk of failing. The Gunners won just three of their last nine Premier League games last 12 months, which included a 4-game winless run, before crashing out of the title race.
Mikel Arteta’s team have already proven they’re product of stronger stuff than last 12 months, but the Gunners still face tough tests against Wolves on Saturday evening, in addition to away matches against Tottenham and Manchester United. Arsenal now need City to drop points, but first they need to rediscover their form in the event that they are to have any likelihood of pushing Pep Guardiola’s side by the end of the season.
Liverpool
Points: 71
GD: +41
Wed. opponents PpG: 1.50
Difficulty: ★★★★
Liverpool are eight wins away from the title and the Premier League of their hands, but now they need a favor from elsewhere after a devastating week. A 2-2 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford was a blow, but a shock 1-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace could prove fatal to Liverpool’s title possibilities.
The Reds have lost their advantage and are actually trailing Arsenal and Manchester City in the title race. In their current form, their clash now looks even harder, as away games against Fulham and a visit to Goodison Park for Wednesday’s Merseyside derby aren’t any longer the formalities they could have seemed at the starting of April.
Liverpool even have the hardest final three, and other key clashes value maintaining a tally of are those against teams chasing the Champions League. Liverpool will face Tottenham at Anfield before an away match against Aston Villa on Monday evening in the final week of the season, giving Liverpool a difficult final trio of matches in May, with Wolves at home on the final day also being considered.
The Reds, who had already won the Carabao Cup, were favorites to succeed in the Europa League final and the highlight in Dublin on May 22. However, a shock 3-0 defeat to Atalanta at Anfield implies that now looks unlikely, which could leave Klopp with only the Premier League to fight for in his final few weeks in office.
The Manchester City-Arsenal Champions League semi-final could have been a distraction for Liverpool’s title rivals, but that will not be the case after they are each eliminated from Europe on the same evening.
Credit : www.independent.co.uk
