The English Premier League is Reaching the Decisive Stages
The exciting competition for the English Football League title continues in the next three days between Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City, as they face intense tests in matches postponed from the twenty-ninth stage.
Arsenal will host their London neighbors Chelsea, Liverpool will be guests of their neighbors Everton, and Manchester City will visit Brighton.
At the end of last week, Arsenal and Liverpool temporarily regained the lead, which they had lost in the previous stage by suffering defeats to their guests Aston Villa (0-2) and Crystal Palace (0-1), respectively. They are now one point ahead of Manchester City, the defending champions, who still have the chance to clinch the title as they have a postponed match against Tottenham, scheduled for May 14.
These matches were originally set for March 16 and 17 but were postponed due to the FA Cup quarter-finals. At that time, only four matches from the twenty-ninth stage were played.
Arsenal aims to maintain their momentum and hold onto the lead when they face their struggling neighbors Chelsea, who have had a disappointing season and were left empty-handed after losing to Manchester City (0-1) in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
The Gunners ended a three-match winless streak and got back on track after a challenging period that included a loss to Aston Villa and elimination from the Champions League quarter-finals by Bayern Munich. They defeated Wolverhampton 2-0 on Saturday, with goals from Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard.
With this victory, Arsenal moved ahead of Liverpool on goal difference. Their upcoming fixtures include two derby matches against Chelsea and Tottenham, followed by a match against Bournemouth, a visit to Manchester United, and eventually to conclude the season by hosting Everton.
The task of Spanish coach Mikel Arteta’s men will be tough against Chelsea, who have nothing to lose this season after being eliminated from all competitions, including the FA Cup where they lost to Manchester City on Saturday.
But Mauricio Pochettino’s men played an outstanding match against City and came close to victory due to their control and numerous opportunities created, but which were unfortunately wasted by the attack, particularly by Senegalese striker Nicholas Jackson, who was unable to convert. Even Pep Guardiola acknowledged Chelsea’s dominance, saying, “I don’t know how we survived against Chelsea.”
Liverpool regained their form at a crucial time following their disappointing exit from the Europa League quarter-finals. The Premier League now represents their final opportunity to bid farewell to Jurgen Klopp on a high note and secure their second title of the season under his tenure, following their League Cup triumph.
The Reds secured their second consecutive victory by defeating Fulham 3-1 on Saturday, following the former’s 1-0 win over Atalanta in the second leg of the continental competition quarter-finals. However, this result was not enough for them to continue their journey in the tournament.
Klopp made five changes to the lineup from the Atalanta match, resting Alexis McAllister, Dominik Soboszlai, Curtis Jones, Ibrahima Konate, and Mohamed Salah. He also kept Darwin Nunes in the squad in anticipation of the Merseyside derby.
Meanwhile, City faces a challenging trip to Brighton on Thursday, just five days after securing their spot in the FA Cup final at the expense of Chelsea.
After aiming for a historic treble last season, Manchester City found themselves competing in only two competitions after being eliminated from the prestigious continental competition by Real Madrid.
Guardiola criticized the “unacceptable” schedule that puts his team’s tired players at risk, just three days after their exhausting exit from the Champions League.
He said, “I am very happy to play the semi-finals of the FA Cup. I would love to be in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. But it is unacceptable for us to play today.”
He added, “Why don’t they give us an extra day? Chelsea, Manchester United, and Coventry are not playing in the Champions League. Is it because of the broadcast channels? Well, don’t ask me to do additional things (for them),” referring to the channels’ coverage of the Manchester United and Coventry match on Sunday.
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