Race for the Title

(photo credit: Mike Egerton)

There are 10 games left in the Premier League season before a winner is crowned and this race is going right to the end. As of March 12, 2024, the table stands Arsenal sit at the top with 64 points, Liverpool also have 64 points but due to a better goal difference Arsenal have the advantage. Only one point behind them is Manchester City with 63. Fourth place Aston Villa are nine points behind the leaders and would need to win their next four games and Arsenal, Liverpool and City to lose their games to have a shot at the trophy. 

In what is Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp’s last season with the team the hopes are high for the Reds to win everything for him. Man City are coming off a treble winning season last year, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League. Arsenal have not won the league since the 2003-04 season.

Arsenal’s next 10 games include matches against opponents such as Chelsea, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester United and north London rivals, Tottenham.

Liverpool’s next 10 opponents include Manchester United, Fulham, West Ham United, Wolverhampton, Tottenham and Merseyside rivals, Everton. 

Manchester City still have Brighton & Hove Albion, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and West Ham United among others, to play.

Arsenal players celebrate after a Champions League game. (Photo Credit: Hannah McKay)

All three teams are still in European competitions, with City and Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League and Liverpool in the UEFA Europa League. Arsenal and Man City both have booked their spot in the Champions League quarter finals. Liverpool have done so as well. City and Arsenal both have difficult quarter final oppositions with City playing Real Madrid and Arsenal facing Bayern Munich. Liverpool have drawn Atalanta in their quarter final fixture. 

Injuries have been an issue for the teams, much like any other team but none more so than Liverpool. With injuries to enough players to form a starting 11, Klopp’s team has missed players such as Andrew Robertson, Joël Matip, Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Thiago Alcântara and Curtis Jones among others for significant periods of time. 

Liverpool players after winning the Carabao Cup (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

With many players unavailable, Klopp has had to turn to his young talents. Despite the number of academy players making their senior debuts for the club and being trusted to play against the best players in the world, they haven’t done too bad so far. Helping win the English League Cup in February against Chelsea in extra time, where almost half of the lineup were academy players under the age of 21 at that point in the game. Klopps kids have done alright so far and are a huge part of this title challenge.

Manchester City dealt with a huge injury to their star play Kevin De Bruyne back in October where he was out for four months. He came back in January but just recently was left out of his international team, Belgium, due to a groin injury. Widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, having De Bruyne out for any longer might affect this team. 

Kevin De Bruyne during a match for Manchester City (Photo Credit: Reuters)

Arsenal have not had the same amount of injuries as Liverpool and haven’t had a player as crucial as De Bruyne miss out for an extended amount of time but they do have some key players out. Just recently Gabriel Martinelli came off injured during a game and Takehiro Tomiyasu had missed a few games but just recently got back into the matchday squad. Jurrien Timber signed with Arsenal in the summer, and was ready to go from the start. He unfortunately suffered an ACL injury early and has been sidelined for the whole season. There are hopes he does get a couple games in this season which would bring a huge boost to this team. 

Liverpool and Man City have been fierce competitors for the Premier League for the last few seasons, with it becoming one of the biggest rivalries in the league. Last season City won the league with 89 points. Arsenal made a big improvement from previous seasons, finishing second with 84 points. Liverpool struggled, finishing fifth with 67 points, a big drop off from the 2021-22 season with 93 points, where they finished second, only one point off of champions Manchester City. 

There has not been a three way title race this close in many years. With Manchester City and Liverpool dominating for the last six years, City winning five of the six and Liverpool winning once, fans are definitely being treated with a showdown this season. 

Edited by Soleil Dam