Rating Manchester City's remaining Premier League games
Manchester City's quest for an unprecedented fourth Premier League title took a small knock last week when they were held to a draw against fellow title rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
Pep Guardiola's side travelled to Merseyside as the favourites to win the tie given their form, squad depth and Liverpool's injury record. Before the game, the Cityzens were on a run of nine wins from ten Premier League games (D1), which pushed them to second position in the league, one point behind leaders Liverpool. So they needed a win at Anfield to climb to the top of the Premier League table. They eventually missed out on the win and had to settle for a 1-1 draw, moving them to third place on the table, one point worse than the current top two.
While a win would have handed them the initiative in the title race, a 1-1 draw against one of the most in-form teams in Europe and at one of the most feared stadiums in world football was not a terrible result. At least they remain close to the top and can still win the title.
But winning their fourth title in four seasons may require Pep Guardiola's side to be almost impeccable for the rest of the season. The Cityzens no longer have the title destiny in their hands following that result against Liverpool. They are now at the mercy of the Reds and will be praying for the Merseyside club to drop points, while they work to win all their remaining games or at least pick up one more point than Liverpool.
As it stands there are ten games and 30 points still to play. If Liverpool and City win all 30 points, Klopp's men will be crowned champions, beating City by one point.
What about Arsenal?
Arsenal are also in the picture, but City will have a say on whether they will be crowned champions or not, given that the Gunners still play Man City this season. Mikel Arteta's side are currently top of the league thanks to a superior goal difference. As things stand, they can become champions if they win all their games and finish with a better goal difference than Liverpool.
However, the fact that they will travel to the Etihad means that they are not City's biggest problem on their path to the league title.
That said, the Cityzens cannot afford to focus their energy on circumstances beyond their control. Their focus should be on delivering the goods in their remaining league games. There are at least ten Manchester City tickets eligible matches to watch in the Premier League this season, so Guardiola has a lot on his hands as he attempts to do the impossible.
But what are City's chances of winning all these games?
We preview and rate each of the remaining league games, assigning a difficulty level to each on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most difficult and one being the least difficult.
Manchester City vs Arsenal: Difficulty Level-8
City's first league game after playing Liverpool will come against Arsenal, who they will welcome to Etihad Stadium on Easter weekend.
Both sides will head into the international break without playing a league game, thanks to the FA Cup coming up this weekend. So when they meet at the Etihad on Easter weekend, they would still be separated by one point.
City will be the favourites to win this tie, given that they play at home where they have not tasted a league defeat in 25 games (W20, D5). This season, the Cityzens have conceded the joint-least goals at home in the league, so Arsenal will be in for a game when they visit.
However, if there's any criticism for Guardiola's side this campaign it is that they seem to struggle against big teams. Among the traditional top-six teams, only Manchester United have lost to the Cityzens this season.
This may continue when Arteta's side visit, especially considering that the Gunners seem to have become too hard for Pep Guardiola's side to win, beating City in their last two head-to-head meetings. Arsenal are also the most in-form team in the league in 2024, with a 100% win rate, including a 3-1 win against Liverpool pushing to the top of the table.
Manchester City vs Aston Villa: Difficulty level–5
Manchester City will welcome Aston Villa to the Etihad in the first week of April looking to avenge the loss they suffered against Unai Emery's side in the reverse fixture.
Aston Villa are one of the three teams to have beaten City this season, with a 1-0 win in December one of their most memorable results this season.
But Pep Guardiola's side will fancy their chances of easily beating the Villans, given their record in this fixture. That recent defeat was Man City’s first loss in this fixture since 2013, with the hosts winning 13 times out of 15 meetings between them.
That record and Villa’s patchy form in 2024 should encourage Manchester City ticket fans ahead of this game.
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City: Difficulty Level–3
Manchester City's visit to Selhurst Park on May 6th should easily yield a win, considering the quality of their opponents.
Crystal Palace are a team in transition after they sacked Roy Hodgson and hired Oliver Glasner in February after a poor start to the season. The Eagles have made a quiet start under Glasner, with the Austrian overseeing a win in his first game, before losing to Tottenham in his second game in charge and drawing Luton in the third.
City will pose a far bigger threat than these three teams, and Palace's record of one win in their last ten meetings with City (D3, L6), proves it would be a tough job winning here.
Manchester City Vs Luton: Difficulty level–3
Luton may be exciting to watch at home on their day, but they certainly won't be a match for Pep Guardiola's side at the Etihad.
The Premier League newbies are arguably the best of the three teams that gained promotion last season, and they could yet survive given how bold they play. But they have already tasted how sour things can turn when City are in full flow, with Guardiola's side spanking them in the FA Cup last month (6-2 loss) away from home.
Another 6-2 loss may be unlikely, but Rob Edwards’ side will not trouble City at the Etihad.
Tottenham vs Manchester City: Difficulty Level-8
Tottenham versus Manchester City should be one of the most priciest Manchester City tickets out there. If not for the importance of the game, the sheer entertainment that will be on display when both sides meet in London in mid-April should make the fixture tasty.
Tottenham play a brand of football that even Pep applauds, and when they met in December, it was a thing of beauty as each side went home with a point in a six-goal thriller (3-3). City narrowly edged them in the FA Cup the next time they met though, winning 1-0.
Nevertheless, Tottenham are one of the few teams that have stressed Pep Guardiola. The Catalan has lost seven times in 19 games against Spurs (W9, D3), making Ange Postecoglou's team statistically the side with the second-best record against Guardiola after Liverpool.
Therefore, we expect another tough outing for City when they face Tottenham on April 20th.
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City: Difficulty Level-3
It is almost impossible to envision anything except City winning Nottingham Forest on April 27th.
This fixture pits one of the best teams in England against one of the worst. Both are separated by 39 points, and by the time they meet, that gap is likely to be wider given Forest's poor form.
However, the presence of Nuno Espirito Santo in this fixture could be a major decider. The Portuguese is some kind of Kryptonite for Guardiola, as he has three wins and a draw in eight meetings with the Catalan (L4).
Manchester City vs Wolves: Difficulty Level–6
Wolves will travel to the Etihad in the first week of May, looking to do a league double over the defending champions for the first time since 2019 when they beat the Cityzens home and away during Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign at the club.
Gary O'Neil's side were the first team to beat City in the Premier League this season when they secured a 2-1 win over the champions in September. That result was not just a one-off for Wolves, who have gone on to pick up several wins to leave them on the brink of breaking into the top seven.
So while City will be desperate for revenge here, Wolves may prove too stubborn again for the Cityzens.
Brighton vs Manchester City: Difficulty Level-7
Brighton versus Manchester, Pep Guardiola versus Roberto De Zerbi, and the battle of two football maniacs obsessed with the possession game.
Considering how poor Brighton have been this season compared to their standards of last season, one will say City are the favourites to win this tie. But given that Brighton is one of the few sides that can match City for intensity and technique, this game can go either way, and City could drop points as they did last May.
Fulham vs Manchester City: Difficulty Level–5
Fulham are a curious case. They play well sometimes and get played at other times. One wonders which Fulham side will show up when City visit Craven Cottage in May.
But ominously, the Cottagers never truly seem to get it right against City, who have beaten them in each of their last 15 head-to-head meetings. Such an embarrassing stat should shame Fulham but encourage Pep Guardiola, who will be looking to also extend his utterly dominant personal head-to-head record against Fulham's boss Marco Silva to 13 straight wins.
Manchester City vs West Ham: Difficulty Level-5
Manchester City will wrap up their Premier League season at home against West Ham. The Cityzens always play well in their last game of the season and so should easily win this.
Moreso, 14 wins and zero losses in 18 head-to-head games against David Moyes’ side (90 minutes only) suggests that it will be another routine win for Guardiola's men.
