Premier League title race update

In a Premier League race as tight as this, a single loss can sink a team’s title hope.

Manchester City sits in pole position in the Premier League, courtesy of defeats by Arsenal and Liverpool at the weekend. Pep Guardiola’s squad has six remaining fixtures against Brighton, Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham.

City has not lost a game in over four months with its last loss coming on Dec. 6, 2023 to Aston Villa. Manchester City is also one of the healthiest teams in the league.

John Stones was the only notable player to miss City’s 5-1 victory over Luton Town, and the English defender is slated to return to the squad for its Champions League match versus Luton Town.

On the other hand, Liverpool is dealing with key injuries late in the season. Conor Bradley, Liverpool’s starting right back had to be helped off the field in the second half of its loss to Crystal Palace. Bradley has been diagnosed with an ankle injury that will sideline him for at least three weeks.

Key players Trent Alexander Arnold, Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota recently returned to the Liverpool squad, but the team has still not been able to overcome the injury bug that has plagued their title hopes for the past few years.

The total number of injury days the Liverpool squad has needed this season is a staggering 1,252.

While Arsenal boasts a relatively clean bill of health, the club has relied too heavily on their star players this season, and the fatigue is starting to take a toll. Bukayo Saka has played just under 3,500 minutes for the Gunners this season.

Saka has started every Premier League game but two for Arsenal, along with eight Champions League matches.

The English youngster has been scoring in streaks this season most recently scoring eight goals in seven games. During Saka’s frenzy, Arsenal won seven of eight games tallying 21 out of a possible 24 points.

But Saka also went scoreless for long periods of time, earlier in the season, he tallied just one goal in 11 Premier League matches. During this drought, Arsenal won just six of 11 matches gaining 20 out of a possible 33 matches.

Man City controls their own destiny. If the club wins their remaining six matches, the Sky Blues will be crowned Premier League champions for the fourth consecutive time.

In terms of Man City’s remaining opponents, only Tottenham currently sits above eighth place in the table and Wolves, Fulham and Forest all reside in the bottom half of the table.

Arsenal and Liverpool have tougher remaining fixtures. The Gunners still see Tottenham, Manchester United, and Chelsea this season with the first two being away from home. Liverpool’s most difficult remaining fixtures are Aston Villa away, Tottenham at home, and West Ham away.

With the Premier League race in full throttle, the question seems to be, whose season will Tottenham ruin the most?

Owen Cameros is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ohc5024@psu.edu.