Arsenal’s victory over Liverpool means that the Premier League’s top three are separated by only five points, with Manchester City having two games in hand.
Arsenal scored three goals at The Emirates on Sunday, with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Leandro Trossard on target. Liverpool briefly leveled the score following Gabriel’s own goal, but they lost for only the second time this season.
As a result, Arsenal is two points behind first-place Liverpool and three clear of City, which is in third. However, Pep Guardiola’s team has played two fewer games before their match against Brentford on Monday night.
There are still many twists and turns ahead. So let’s take a look at the next five games for the three championship candidates.
Liverpool (51 points).
Burnley (H), Brentford (A), Luton (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Manchester City (H)
Liverpool’s Europa League voyage has resulted in a longer hiatus before their next European fixture. However, they still have domestic cup matches to play.
They will play Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final at the end of March, followed by a fifth-round FA Cup meeting against either Watford or Southampton. The match vs City is without a doubt the most important in the Premier League. However, before that, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will face four teams currently at the bottom of the standings, including two new ones.
Liverpool has won three of its previous five matches without conceding a goal. The other two games, against Luton and City, resulted in draws.
Arsenal (49 points).
West Ham (A), Burnley (A), Newcastle (H), Sheffield United (A), and Brentford (H)
Arsenal will begin their quest to keep ahead of their opponents with a game that harmed their chances last season. West Ham managed. They drew with Arsenal after trailing 2-0, and they’ve beaten Mikel Arteta’s squad twice this season.
Mikel Arteta’s side may defeat three opponents twice, including Sheffield United, whom they smashed 5-0 in October. They’ll also want to avenge Newcastle’s contentious 1-0 defeat.
Arsenal will take a break from the league to compete in Europe, travelling to Porto on February 21. However, they do not have any more domestic cup games.
Manchester City (46 points)
Brentford (a), Everton (h), Chelsea (h), Bournemouth (a).
Yes, you read that right: City will play Brentford twice in February. The first encounter is set for this week’s Monday night, while the second, which was postponed from December owing to City’s Club World Cup participation, will be played later in the month.
The other three games are rematches of games in which City scored a record 13 goals prior to Christmas. However, only Bournemouth and Everton were defeated, with Chelsea drawing 4-4 in West London in October.
City also has an FA Cup match at Luton and a Champions League trip to Copenhagen on the schedule. If they win all of their league games, they may lead the table, and we all know how well Pep Guardiola’s club plays in the final.
