This week’s English Premier League matchday not only takes us one step closer to the end of the season, elevating the significance of each remaining game, but also sees some huge fixtures take place in on-going battles across the table.
The highlight of these fixtures features Liverpool and Manchester City going to battle, pitting first and second place in the league against each other. Elsewhere, Aston Villa take on Tottenham in a game of crucial importance in the contest for fourth spot.
These are just two of the upcoming matches that are sure to provide drama and with this, we’ve picked out our top talking points ahead of the upcoming matchday:
1 – Title race heats up
The thrilling contest between Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal continues in dramatic fashion this weekend. First-placed Liverpool, who are looking to give Jurgen Klopp the perfect send-off at the end of the season, face second-placed Manchester City, under the guidance of serial winner Pep Guardiola. A win for either side will see them enter into the final 10 matchdays of the season in the coveted top spot, while a draw could see Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal stay in first place if they are to beat Brentford on Saturday evening.
All three sides are in superb form entering into this matchday and with just two points separating third and first, we expect this title race to go right down to the very end regardless of which way the big Liverpool-Man City matchup goes. However, with just 10 games remaining, being in the driving seat is an extremely desirable position and leaves this weekend anticipated to be fiercely competitive as each team looks to gain an advantage in the race.
2 – Fourth-place showdown
Another highly pivotal moment in the potential league standings come the end of the season taking place this weekend is the showdown between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.
Aston Villa currently reside in the fourth, and possibly final UEFA Champions League spot ahead of this fixture, but Tottenham will be looking to reduce the gap to just two points with a victory at Villa Park.
The Villans haven’t featured in the UEFA Champions League since back-to-back appearances in 1981/82 and 82/83, owing to their triumph in the former campaign. This season could see them earn their long-awaited return to Europe’s most prestigious competition, but they must first hold off a Tottenham side who are just five points behind and have a game in hand over the hosts.
Spurs disappointingly exited last season’s tournament at the round of 16 stage and failed to qualify for this year’s edition. Ange Postecoglou will be aiming to take his side back into the Champions League at the first time of asking though, and a win against Villa would certainly leave them on track to do so.
Three points for either side could prove to be a major turning point in which team will go on to win the battle for fourth place, leaving this one likely to be an incredibly intense encounter.
3 – Relegation dogfight
Finally, the landscape at the bottom of the table could undergo massive changes come the end of this matchday. All of the newly promoted clubs currently make up the bottom three, with Luton Town being the only one still perceived as being in the fight to continue their stay in the top flight with both Sheffield United and Burnley 11 points adrift from safety.
Luton enter into this weekend four points behind 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, but have a game in hand against Bournemouth still to play. This weekend will be at the forefront of the Hatters mind though, as they face a Crystal Palace side who are just eight points ahead of them in 14th place.
A win here for Luton would see them put themselves in a great position to stay up, with the game in hand playing a big part in this. If this is to happen then it would also see Crystal Palace creep closer to the ongoing dogfight at the bottom of the table, something new boss Oliver Glasner was brought in to try and avoid.
Instead, Glasner will try to steer his side away from the relegation zone and a win could do just that as it would see them move 11 points clear of Luton with just 10 games remaining to play.
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