Nine fixtures ahead for Arsenal, Liverpool and City in thrilling Premier League title race

The 2023-24 season Premier League title race is set to become one of the closely fought three-horse races for some considerable time as Arsenal, Liverpool and reigning champions Manchester City lead the pack with just nine games of the current campaign remaining.

Manchester City and Arsenal played out a goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium with Liverpool the main benefactors from Sunday’s action as the Reds as Diaz and Mohamed Salah bagged the goals at Anfield after Welbeck put the Seagulls ahead in the opening minutes.

Aston Villa and Spurs still hold the keys in determining the outcome of the title battle with all three contenders having to face both Unai Emery’s side and take on the North Londoners with both sides determined to secure that key fourth place which in turn would secure Champions League football next season.

Following a disciplined draw at the Etihad on Sunday, It would appear that Arsenal have matured and this season Arteta’s men have the meanest defence in the league (having only shipped 24 goals all season) and are also the most clinical in front of goal rattling in 70 goals this season to date which is the highest in the division.

Damien Rice and Martin Odegaard have the Gunners purring in midfield and with the timely return from injury for the likes of Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz. Gabriel Jesus, Thomas Partey and Fabio Vieira, the North Londoners will relish the tag of ‘outsiders’ in the title race.

The ‘Big Two’

How much of an emotional impact will Jurgen Klopp’s imminent departure have on the run-in? The Liverpool players and even the Anfield faithful seem to be extra motivated in ensuring that the German leaves the club in a blaze of glory with the Reds still on track to secure a historic treble after winning the Carabao Cup with a win over Chelsea. The Anfield side are into the quarterfinals of the Europa League and face Serie A side Atalanta having moved on from the disappointment of after their recent FA Cup elimination at the hands of Manchester United in their recent FA Cup fifth round clash.

Injury concerns could be Liverpool’s undoing with Alisson, Thiago Alcantara, Konate and Joel Matip out of action for the German coach but the return of Andy Robertson and also Mohamed Salah from his hamstring problems sustained with Egypt during AFCON a source of some good news for Reds fans.

While no side has an easy run-in, Liverpool fans could possibly claim that, at least on paper, their run-in is less daunting than that of the other side in the title hunt.

Can Manchester City make history and become the first side to win four successive Premier League titles? That is the challenge ahead for Pep Guardiola with his team also competing in the FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.

The Etihad Stadium side have experience in game management at this stage of the season and are many people’s favourites to lift the title once again on 19 May.

A tricky trip to Tottenham and home game against Villa next week aside, the Sky Blues will face a series of mid table sides with little to play for and will be hoping that the best versions of Rodri, Stones, De Bruyne and Haaland (who is far from the player we saw last season in his Premier League debut) are on show as they push to make history.