English Premier League Drama: Three Top Clubs Battling for Championship
On Monday, March 4th, London's Arsenal secured a 6-0 victory against Sheffield United away from home. Following this triumph, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta urged his team to "maintain the momentum" ahead of potentially decisive weekends in the fight for the Premier League title – the Gunners could top the league table for the first time in 2024 if they defeat Brentford on Saturday, reports BBC Sport.
"The energy now is very good. When you win, everything becomes much simpler - now we must keep up the momentum," said Arteta after his team's victory over Sheffield United, marking their seventh consecutive win in the championship.
The upcoming weekend in the Premier League will also see a clash between other contenders for the English football title - Liverpool and Manchester City. Currently, Jürgen Klopp's Reds lead the league table with 63 points, just one point ahead of City and two ahead of Arsenal. Any of these three teams could top the league table after the pivotal round of matches.
Following this round, the hypothetical final series of the championship consisting of 10 matches will commence, determining the tournament's winner. Currently, only two points separate the top three teams in the Premier League – marking just the second occasion in the competition's history where the top three teams have 60+ points before the final 11 games.
Manchester City under Pep Guardiola faces arguably the toughest series of matches in the coming weeks, notably against their main rivals Liverpool and Arsenal.
As for Liverpool, their defeat on February 4th remains the only blemish for the team in the championship over the last 19 matches. Besides hosting Manchester City on March 10th, they face a challenging trip to Goodison Park for the Merseyside derby against another Liverpool club – Everton, known for its intensity and uncompromising nature.
Therefore, the closing stretch of the English Premier League season promises to be exceptionally thrilling, with the intrigue likely to persist until the final round.
It's worth noting that reigning Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich risks finishing a season without trophies for the first time in many years. Last August, Bayern failed to win the German Super Cup. Then, in December, the team was eliminated from the German Cup, suffering a shocking defeat to FC Saarbrücken from the third division. In the Champions League, Bayern Munich currently ranks fourth among the bookmakers' favourites, so serious hopes for victory in this tournament should not be placed. In the championship, they are already trailing Bayer Leverkusen by 10 points.