With a match against Leeds on Saturday, Arsenal will enter the closing stretch of the Premier League title battle in their quest to win the league for the first time in 19 years.
As the race to avoid relegation intensifies, Manchester City cannot afford to lose a big game against Liverpool.
After the international break, a pivotal weekend in the top flight is due.
Arsenal Fueled By A "Powerful" Relationship
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With ten games remaining, Arsenal is in a prime position to win their first championship since 2004 after racking up six straight wins to pull ahead of Manchester City by eight points.
Although Mikel Arteta's team still needs to travel to Manchester to take on Pep Guardiola's squad on April 26, and they have played one more game than the champions, they are in a solid position to win the championship.
After failing to make the top four last season, few people would have predicted that Arsenal would be so close to winning the championship.
With a modest club devoid of superstars but packed with team-first workaholics who support their manager's ambition to build a bunch of players who like being around each other, Arteta has done marvels.
Before Leeds' match against north London on Saturday, Arteta remarked, "We have the appropriate level of competition and collaboration because they want to support each other, but they have to challenge one other.
"The secret is undoubtedly the harmony and camaraderie they share among themselves".
"They enjoy being around one another and playing together. That is pretty potent".
Man City Prepared For A Matchup With Liverpool.
Manchester City has won their last six games across all competitions and scored 13 goals in their most recent games against Leipzig and Burnley. They are not giving up their title easily.
Yet, City's attempt to win its sixth championship in as many years has little room for error.
Pep Guardiola's team has a more accessible final stretch than Arsenal on paper. Still, they will also be distracted by games against Sheffield United in the FA Cup semifinal and Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinal.
The City must defeat sixth-placed Liverpool in the league for the first time in two years to keep pace with Arsenal. Jurgen Klopp's team still has a chance of salvaging a disappointing season by making the top four.
Erling Haaland, City's standout striker who missed Norway's most recent international matches with a groin injury, could not play against Liverpool.
Ferocious Survival Scrap
Nine clubs are vying for safety, making the fight to avoid relegation more intense.
Southampton, at the bottom of the standings and Crystal Palace, in 12th place, is separated by just four points.
After Palace failed to win a game in 2023, they fired Patrick Vieira and rehired Roy Hodgson. On Saturday, the former England manager took over for the first time against fellow underachievers Leicester.
The 75-year-old Hodgson added, "I know my birth certificate tells me I am old enough to retire, but the way I feel doesn't tell me that."
Southampton, Bournemouth, and West Ham make up the bottom three. Yet, they are only three points behind the Wolves in the 13th position, whose manager, Julen Lopetegui, has pushed his team to embrace the competitive environment.
Playing these types of games is enjoyable. It's beautiful to feel this pressure, Lopetegui noted as he anticipated the matchup with struggling Nottingham Forest.
Leeds and Everton are also far from secure in a battle for survival that appears to be going down to the final seconds.
Fixtures (5 pm unless stated)
Saturday
Arsenal vs Leeds, Bournemouth vs Fulham, Brighton vs Brentford, Crystal Palace vs Leicester, Nottingham Forest vs Wolves, Chelsea vs Aston Villa, Manchester City vs Liverpool (2:30 pm), Bournemouth vs Fulham (7:30 pm)
Sunday
Newcastle vs Manchester United at 4 pm, and West Ham vs Southampton (at 6:30 pm)
Monday
Tottenham vs Everton (10 pm)
