Manchester City could wrap up a third Premier League title in four seasons this weekend, but Manchester United can keep their local rivals waiting by defeating Liverpool.
Seeing how they effortlessly defeated Roma 6-2 in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final, some are even speculating that the Red Devils may possibly overtake the Blues and snatch the title away from them.
City becoming champions seems inevitable, however, the fact remains there are 10 points between them and United, while both sides still have five league matches to play.
Pep Guardiola’s men lifted the League Cup for the fourth consecutive season last weekend before taking a huge step towards the Champions League final with a 2-1 semi-final, first leg win away to Paris Saint-Germain.
The return leg against PSG is likely to play a big factor in Guardiola’s team selection for the trip to Crystal Palace.
On paper it seems City have the easier fixtures and will thus win the title comfortably. But United are the team with form, avoiding defeat in their last five in the league and City losing one in as many games.
City also struggled against Borussia Dortmund and an FA Cup defeat to Chelsea showed a vulnerability that hasn’t been there that much this season.
They are still taking risks on the fitness of star player Kevin De Bruyne, who sustained an ankle injury against Chelsea, where they failed miserably. Tuchel’s men were the better side and they surely moved the ball better – City had their hopes of an unprecedented quadruple ended that night.
City had to make eight changes and that is a clear problem. They didn’t click against Leeds, the first half against Dortmund they weren’t the better side and the first half against Chelsea was bad too.
De Bruyne looks like he’s healed, but he has a habit of getting physical and that could land him in trouble again during a crucial time of the season.
For City, it’s only second-half performances where a bit of pride or desperation has turned around performances.
When bad performances set in, previous events could play on the minds of the Man City players, and history has shown that their lead over Man United could be temporary.
In fact, the situation was the opposite nine years ago, when City fought back with an 8-point deficit with six matches left to overtake Man United en route to winning their first ever Premier League title.
Back in 2014, City again powered themselves to title glory when they pipped Liverpool and Chelsea to the trophy. This season’s Premier League title race may just have a few more twists in United’s favour.
