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LONDON, UK | Xinhua | Second-placed Manchester City hosts leader Arsenal on Sunday in a game that could decide the outcome of this season’s Premier League title race.
Arsenal’s defeat at home to Bournemouth last weekend, coupled with Manchester City’s win away to Chelsea, threw the title race wide open. Although Arsenal holds a six-point lead, Manchester City has a game in hand, and victory at the Etihad Stadium would bring Arsenal within striking distance.
Manchester City goes into Sunday’s match full of confidence after recent performances, and after getting the better of Arsenal in the EFL Cup final on March 22, while Arsenal has looked tired and nervous recently, including a narrow 1-0 win on aggregate over Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal.
Other vital games include the one between Chelsea and Manchester United, and the derby between Everton and Liverpool.
Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior desperately needs three points to keep his side’s hopes of reaching next season’s Champions League alive.
Enzo Fernandez is available again for Chelsea after being left out of recent games for disciplinary reasons.
Defeat at home to Leeds United on Monday complicated Manchester United’s Champions League qualification and raised some doubts over Michael Carrick’s long-term future at the club.
Carrick’s job is complicated by suspensions for central defenders Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez, with Matthijs de Ligt still recovering from a back injury.
Aston Villa could move back into third with a win over Sunderland and confidence will be high after it qualified for the semifinal of the Europa League on Thursday.
Liverpool paid a heavy price for its Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, with Hugo Ekitike suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon that means he will miss the rest of the season and the World Cup.
Everton can be optimistic ahead of the first derby at the Hill Dickinson Stadium knowing a win would lift the team within two points of its neighbor and make European qualification a real possibility.
Elsewhere, Brentford also has European options if it can win its home game against local rival Fulham, while Bournemouth will also get into the mix with three points away to Newcastle United.
Bournemouth is unbeaten in 12 league games, but could be affected by Andoni Iraola’s decision to step down as coach at the end of the season, with Newcastle rumored to be one of several clubs interested in signing him.
The relegation battle also has three huge games. Leeds United and Nottingham Forest will view their matches against the bottom two sides, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley, as a chance for three vital points to climb away from the relegation zone.
The pressure is huge on Tottenham Hotspur ahead of its home game to Brighton, with Roberto De Zerbi’s first home game as Spurs’ coach being against his former club.
Defeat to Sunderland last week dropped Tottenham into the relegation zone, and it also lost center-back Cristian Romero to a season-ending injury. ■
