This weekend is going to mark the beginning of the Premier League’s conclusion phase. As, there won’t be more foreign breaks to slow down the game’s progress or give teams a chance to rest and regroup going forward. It is the the home stretch, and the next match day, which starts this mad dash might be crucial for all the teams participat ing
This weekend has loaded fixtures with Man City-Liverpool, Newcastle-Man United, Brighton-Brentford and Crystal Palace-Leicester matches that will put a major impact on the points table.
The title race has come down to Arsenal and Manchester City, while as many as six clubs are battling it out for the final two Champions League spots. There is also the congested battle for European qualification and the relegation fight sees nine teams separated by just four points.
Arsenal have built an eight-point lead at the top with 10 games to play. Reigning champions Manchester City have 11 games remaining, but their hopes of winning a third successive title are likely to rest on the outcome of their clash against the Gunners at the Etihad on April 26. It is a game City must win. For Man City to win the title again, they realistically must win all of their final 11 games and hope Arsenal slip up along the way. City’s best run so far this season is their current streak of five successive Premier League wins, so it will be a tall order to win the rest and make it 16 straight victories.
Race to top four
Manchester United looked set for a third-place finish and Champions League qualification in early January, but a haul of 18 points from their last 10 games has seen Erik ten Hag’s team drop back towards a chasing pack that includes as many as five other clubs. If Ten Hag›s team win at St James› Park, they would move six points clear of Eddie Howe›s fifth-placed side and give themselves a buffer zone, but a defeat — combined with Tottenham picking up at least a point at Everton on Monday — would see Man United drop out of the top four instead. Man United, Spurs and Newcastle are separated by three points and appear the likeliest teams to scrap it out for two spots, but Liverpool, Brighton and Brentford are all seven points adrift of fourth-placed Spurs with games in hand. Spurs face Man United at home on April 27 in another potentially decisive fixture, but much depends on this Sunday’s game at Newcastle in terms of whether Man United are dragged into the top-four battle or if it becomes a five-way fight for fourth place.
