Chelsea are the next hurdle to overcome in Manchester City’s quest for an unprecedented club treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup trophies. Frank Lampard’s west Londoners are rank outsiders to upset the applecart, having won only one of their last eleven matches to sink into mid-table oblivion whereas Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues are motoring especially at their impregnable Etihad Stadium fortress where they’ve won 15 matches in a row, including an emphatic 4-0 pummeling of ousted European champions Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Sunday’s showdown provides City’s 52-goal Norwegian striker Erling Braut Haaland, who was on Thursday named on the shortlist for both the young player and overall EPL footballer of the year awards, with a perfect opportunity to improve on his record Premier League tally of 36 goals against a Chelsea outfit that has a negative goal difference for the first time in three decades. Haaland was unusually absent from the score sheet on Wednesday after witnessing Real Madrid shot stopper Thibaut Courtois, a former Stamford Bridge hero, thwart him on numerous occasions.
City could even be crowned champions for a third consecutive season for the first time ever in the unlikely event that closest pursuers Arsenal lose at Nottingham Forest in Saturday’s late kick off. Mikel Arteta’s Gunners have set the title pace for much of the season but a calamitous spell of two victories in seven outings has coincided with Manchester City’s return to imperious form. A 23 match unbeaten run has propelled the Abu Dhabi Group owned outfit to an FA Cup final date with neighbours Manchester United on June 3 and a Uefa Champions League collision with Inter Milan in Istanbul on June 10.
Newcastle United can seal qualification for next season’s cash spinning Uefa Champions League against Leicester City on Monday by matching the high standards they displayed in dispatching Brighton 4-1 on Thursday. The Magpies are four points clear of fifth placed Liverpool who must confront Unai Emery’s much improved Aston Villa on Saturday without manager Jurgen Klopp. The German tactician is serving a two match suspension for shoving a match official. The game at Anfield is to serve as a farewell for departing quartet Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain.
Tottenham Hotspur are to set the match day 37 ball rolling against a Brentford side still reeling from news of an eight month suspension handed to power forward Ivan Toney for breaching Premier League betting rules. Spurs need victory to hasten their chances of qualifying for either the Europa League or Europa Conference League. Record champions Manchester United can meanwhile count on the services of top scorer Marcus Rashford when they visit Bournemouth on Saturday. The Red Devils need all three points to stave off the challenge of Liverpool for a place in next season’s Champions League.
SATURDAY
Tottenham Hotspur v Brentford,
Bournemouth v Manchester United,
Fulham v Crystal Palace,
Liverpool v Aston Villa,
Wolves v Everton,
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal
SUNDAY
West Ham United v Leeds United,
Brighton v Southampton,
Manchester City v Chelsea
MONDAY
Newcastle United v Leicester City
WEDNESDAY
Brighton v Manchester City
THURSDAY
Manchester United v Chelsea
