Premier League: Man City in command despite Liverpool's momentum
Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates after scoring the first goal during the Premier League match against Leeds United at Anfield on Wednesday. Picture: John Powell/Liverpool FC
MANY neutrals and, of course, Liverpool fans were excited to see the Merseysiders claim their three points against Leeds on Wednesday night, effectively guaranteeing that the race for Premier League supremacy will last for another few weeks anyway. The 6-0 margin over the Yorkshire men was the cream on the cake for the supporters at Anfield.
Liverpool had finally caught up on the much talked about game in hand and are now just three points behind after playing the same number of games as the champions and current leaders Manchester City.
It is quite an achievement when one considers that back in January 15, Liverpool were 14 points behind the champions, albeit with two games in hand. A couple of swing results and talk of a City procession to retaining the crown has been put on hold.
Unfortunately, due to the League Cup final and FA Cup fifth round, City will have again played a match more than Liverpool, and maybe be back to six points ahead, by the time the Merseysiders get back to league action on March 5.
But as it stands, Liverpool are back in the title race, and beyond the comings and goings of the next few fixtures, They can technically make it all square when the two sides meet at the Etihad in April.
But there is a bit of football to go before that comes along so it's interesting to see what lies ahead for the top two in the remaining months of the Premier League.
The consensus is that it's still City's to lose. They have the three points advantage already in the bag and have been on the front foot with momentum since before Christmas.
More significantly though, is that they simply look to have the easier run-in of the two. A look at their final games of the season will clearly show that they would have the conventionally believed easier looking opponents running up to May 22.
City have to face only five sides from the top half of the table in their run-in, while Liverpool face eight top 12 sides.
Everton (A) - February 26, Man United (H) - March 6, Crystal Palace (A) - March 14, Brighton (H) - March 19, Burnley (A) - April 2, Liverpool (H) - April -9, Wolves (A) - April 16, Watford (H) - April 23, Leeds (A) – April 30, Newcastle (H)– May 7, West Ham (A) – May 15, Aston Villa (H) – May 22.
Liverpool's path to the title in comparison looks significantly tougher than City's. The Reds, like City, also have Man United, Brighton, and Wolves, but also face top half of the table residents in West Ham, Spurs, Southampton, Arsenal and then City away as well.
West Ham (H) - March 5, Brighton (A) -March 12, Arsenal (A) - March 16, Man United (H) March 20, Watford (H) - April 12, Man City (A) April 9, Aston Villa (A) - April 16, Everton (H) - April 23, Newcastle (A)- April 30, Spurs (H) May 7, Southampton (A) - May 15, Wolves (H) - May 22.
Looking at the two run-ins it would seem clear that it would take an uncharacteristic slip from City to see them lose the title even with Liverpool cutting the gap to three points. But there are still points of hope for Liverpool, even in this apparently favourable list of fixtures for City.
The first hope comes, as in the recent game against Spurs, in the fact that City have lost more games at the Etihad in the league this year than they have on the road. And their next three home games are against three of the five top half sides we mentioned earlier. Man United is the first one on March 6. And while United's form is fluctuating, to say the least, there is nothing like a derby clash to throw a cat among the title-chasing pigeons. Next, come Brighton on March 19, and while you'd expect City to get by them, Brighton have this season shown that they are one of the most difficult of sides to dispose of when they are in the mood for a scrap. And then, of course, there is the Liverpool game on April 9, which if it is still competitive by then, would take on the vestiges of a winner-takes-all cup final.
But even in this scenario, one would still consider that City would be in the better position, particularly when you consider the shocking fact that City have not lost a home league game to Liverpool in the entire time of Pep Guardiola's tenure.
If Liverpool do manage to swing this title run in their favour, the Anfield faithful should not bother waiting any longer and just go right ahead with putting up that statue to Jurgen Klopp outside Anfield.
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