City players brimming

Manchester City are heading into Sunday’s home match against Arsenal treating it as a title-race hinge, with Pep Guardiola saying his side must win its remaining league games. (mancity.com) The Premier League says Arsenal lead the table with 70 points from 31 matches, while City are second with 61 points from 30. The teams meet at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, April 19, at 4:30 p.m. United Kingdom time. (premierleague.com) (mancity.com) City cut Arsenal’s lead when they won 3-0 at Chelsea on April 12, two days after Arsenal lost 2-1 at home to Bournemouth. That left Guardiola’s team six points back with a game in hand. (premierleague.com 1) (premierleague.com 2) The arithmetic is what has changed the tone around this fixture. The Premier League says a City win, followed by both teams winning out, would leave the title to be decided on goal difference. (premierleague.com) City also arrive with a cleaner run-in than Arsenal over the next week. Arsenal host Sporting in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, April 15, while City have a full week to prepare for the league meeting. (premierleague.com) That matters because City’s most recent European campaign is already over. Guardiola said on March 17 that his side would come back “stronger” after a 2-1 home loss to Real Madrid sent City out of the UEFA Champions League 5-1 on aggregate in the round of 16. (mancity.com) Guardiola has been explicit about the stakes. In his pre-Chelsea news conference, carried by the club on April 10, he said City needed “a lot of points” and had to win “every single game” in the Premier League run-in. (mancity.com) The backdrop is a race that looked far looser a week earlier. Sky Sports reported on April 11 that Arsenal’s lead had been nine points before City’s trip to Chelsea, with Guardiola saying defeat there would leave the race effectively over. (skysports.com) City’s remaining league schedule after Arsenal is also favorable on paper: Burnley away on April 22, Brentford at home on May 9, Bournemouth away on May 17, and Aston Villa at home on May 24, with a postponed Crystal Palace match still to be fitted in. Arsenal’s run includes Newcastle, Fulham, West Ham, Burnley, and Crystal Palace. (premierleague.com 1) (premierleague.com 2) So the message from City is not subtle going into April 19. The champions have turned a six-point gap and a game in hand into a week where one home result can pull the title race into a straight fight. (premierleague.com)