Manchester City Eyeing Their 4th EPL Title

The 2018/19 season of the English Premier League is closing to an end, with only 3 more rounds to go, while Manchester City and Liverpool remain separated by only 1 point. Should this margin remain the same until May 12th is yet to be seen, however City are arguably in the home stretch after going through the hardest part of their EPL calendar.

Leroy Sane of Man City
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – APRIL 24: Leroy Sane of Man City celebrates after scoring their 2nd goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on April 24, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images)

Manchester City remain at the number one spot on the EPL leaderboard after what was considered the hardest part of their campaign. In the last few weeks, Manchester City schedule did not look too promising for them as they had to face off against Manchester United and Tottenham. With 3 encounters with the Spurs; twice in the Champions League and once in the Premier League as well as the away game against United on April 24th, all the spotlight was on the Sky Blues, with the burning question; will they manage to win the Premier League matches and retain the no.1 spot?

By now the answer is clear. They managed to do it.

The month of April started off for Manchester City with the Champions League match against Tottenham, which they lost 1:0. Only 5 days later they were put against Crystal Palace, who failed to defend themselves against Sterling, who helped his team win 1:3 with two goals of his own. Three days later, City had to admit defeat to Tottenham in the Champions League, who managed to win on aggregate score and knocked out City from the most prestigious club tournament in the world. At this point, all Manchester City had left was their race for the Premier League title, however, they had two tough matches ahead of them which could easily result in them losing the Premier League title as well.

Only 3 days after being knocked out by Tottenham in the Champions League, City were to play against Spurs again, only this time in the Premier League.

After a somewhat subpar performance in the Champions League, all eyes were on City and their 35th match of the season. While it was a close match, it was City who managed to win due to an early goal in the 5th minute. The match ended 1:0, and Manchester City dreams of winning 2nd EPL title in a row were still very much alive. Still, they had to face off against an old rival, Manchester United on April 24th, which by many was described the match when City will slip and fall and lose the title to Liverpool. Despite what many thought, Manchester City proved why they are considered one of the best teams in the world, and won 0:2 at Old Trafford, thus more or less securing their 5th EPL title.

Sergio Aguero of Man City laughs
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – APRIL 24: Sergio Aguero of Man City laughs with teammate Bernardo Silva of Man City after the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on April 24, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images)

As it stands now, City have 3 more opponents to face off against. Burnley (A), Leicester (H) and Brighton (A). Looking at their opponents and records against them, City winning the EPL seems very likely.

Burnley managed to grab only one draw against City in the last 7 encounters, Leicester while winning their most recent encounter, won only once at Etihad Stadium in the last 5 H2H matches, and then there is Brighton, who have never won a match against Manchester City. While they did manage to finish one fixture in a draw, it was in 2008 and in the EFL Cup.

Taking all into consideration, City should be more than capable of winning the remaining three matches. Not only are they historically a better team than their upcoming opponents, but the motivation is also there, which should prevent any upsets. If however, City fails to win all three matches, Liverpool still needs to overcome Huddersfield (H), Newcastle (A) and Wolves (H) to steal the title from Guardiola and his men. 

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