Premier League title races never quite come as relentless or intense as those shared between Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. In the 2018/19 season, the pair went head to head for the crown, with City finishing out on top by just one point with a mammoth 98 points attained from a possible 114.
Liverpool’s mightily impressive haul of 97 points is still the most a side has ever achieved without winning the Premier League title. This statistic alone helps to demonstrate both the level of quality as well as the lack of room for error between these two battling sides.
This present campaign is no different with the same two teams vying for English football’s highest domestic honour, again with not much to split them in terms of both quality and points.
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So with six games to go, where do the potential pitfalls lie for Manchester City in their quest for what would be a fourth Premier League title in just five seasons? We profile our picks for the toughest fixtures in City’s final stretch that could make or break their season.
Newcastle United (Home)
Tonight’s match represents a unique challenge for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. Newcastle, despite being threatened by relegation in the first half of the season, have bounced back and find themselves 11th in the Premier League table.
The Magpies have put together some great form since their big-money takeover in October of last year and have beaten the likes of Leicester City as well as drawn against Man United in a run that has seen them win 10 games out of 15 since the new year in all competitions
City need only look to their last title race with Liverpool in 2018/19 when they succumbed to a shocking 2-1 defeat at St James Park to remember what a tough challenge Newcastle present despite their lower position in the table. City will face Newcastle on Sunday, May 8 at the Etihad Stadium.
Wolves (Away)
Wolves have been in fantastic form this season since the appointment of Portuguese manager Bruno Lage, going on to claim 15 wins already in the Premier League. The West Midlands side have caused as many problems to the bigger sides as they have to their smaller opposition, beating the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham, as well as drawing against Chelsea this campaign.
The team in gold have also caused City problems in particular in recent seasons with a frustrating 1-1 draw at Molineux in their first season year back in the Premier League. Wolves also completed an unprecedented league double over City the season after, including a dramatic 3-2 comeback win at home after trailing by two goals.
Such results undoubtedly acting as a crucial blow to City’s conceding of the Premier League to Liverpool in 2020 and the tricky away trip to Molineux could prove decisive once again this year in the title run-in. The match is still to be scheduled due to its postponement for City’s FA Cup semi-final commitment.
West Ham United (Away)
This current campaign has been one of West Ham’s finest seasons in recent years with the Hammers performing both domestically and in Europe. They currently find themselves seventh in the Premier League table, well within touching distance of the higher-placed Man United, Arsenal and Tottenham.
West Ham’s highlight of the season has been their magnificent Europa League run which has seen the team reach the semi-finals. Beating strong European teams like Sevilla and Lyon has shown the London-based team to be more than capable when facing the big boys.
The Hammers have caused many an upset domestically this season too with wins against Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs in the league. In the cups, West Ham have performed well too, knocking out both Manchester United and City themselves in the Carabao Cup in autumn.
Thanks to this and the London side’s high-flying confidence, Guardiola’s City must be watchful as not to slip up on their trip to the capital. This rings all the truer as this fixture currently sits as the penultimate game of the season, meaning it could define proceedings heading into the final day of the season.
City will face West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday, May 15.
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