Man City need to create a safe distance from Arsenal in the rankings before entering the Champions League semi-finals with Real Madrid.
A 3-0 victory over West Ham in the match for round 28 of the Premier League on the morning of May 4 (Hanoi time) brought Man City back to the top with 1 point more than Arsenal.

After the 3-1 win over Chelsea, coach Mikel Arteta confidently said that the “Gunners” had returned to themselves after a series of forgettable matches in April. However, the truth is that Arsenal no longer holds the right to self-determination in the championship race. Premier League rivals and can only hope Man City stumble.

At this time, Pep Guardiola’s team still plays one game less than Arsenal. This weekend, in round 35 of the Premier League, Arsenal will meet Newcastle while Man City will face Leeds United. In theory, this weekend’s round is the perfect opportunity for Man City to continue to increase the gap with Arsenal in the rankings.

The trip to St James’ Park promises to be “more or less good” for Arsenal. In the first leg of the Premier League 2022/23, “Shoot” held Arsenal 0-0 at the Emirates. And no one will forget at this time last season, at St James’ Park, Arsenal lost 0-2 to Newcastle, thereby marking their demise in the race to qualify for the Champions League.

“There are still four games to go,” said coach Arteta after the 3-1 win over Chelsea. That could be Arsenal’s affirmation that they have not given up in the race with Man City.

However, the real challenge will come to the “Gunners” before Newcastle. Frank Lampard’s Chelsea are too bad mentally and professionally and they can’t be the real yardstick. Newcastle is a completely different challenge for Arsenal.

Coach Eddie Howe’s team was among the best playing clubs in the Premier League in April when they defeated MU, West Ham, Brentford, Tottenham or Everton convincingly. At St James’ Park, “Shoot” has been unstoppable for the past month.

They beat MU 2-0, crushed Tottenham 6-1 and came back to win 3-1 against Southampton. In the opposite direction, Arsenal played away badly in the past when they were held by Liverpool and West Ham, then lost 1-4 to Man City at the Etihad.

In contrast to Arsenal, Man City only had to meet Leeds, the team with the worst defense in the league in April. In the past month, Leeds conceded 22 goals, the worst record ever in the Premier League before.

The home team of Elland Road has just surprised when deciding to choose Sam Allardyce to replace Javi Gracia to hold back hope in the relegation race. The 68-year-old strategist is famous for his ability to rescue clubs at the bottom of the Premier League table as well as his ability to revive the defense, the fatal weakness of Leeds.

However, the challenge of getting points at Etihad seems to be too much for “Big Sam”. Hardly anyone believes that Coach Allardyce can do anything surprising before a Man City is proving to be perfect. The impressive force rotation ability from Pep helps the Etihad team to deal well with the opponents even when they don’t play too well.

If Man City wins Leeds and Arsenal lose points at Newcastle, Pep’s team can create a gap of 3 or 4 points with the “Gunners” in the context that there is still one more match to make up. The current difference of Man City (+57) is superior to Arsenal (+42). This is another advantage of Man City in the race to win the Premier League title.

Therefore, it can be said that Man City is allowed to lose in one or even two remaining matches in the Premier League and still be able to win. Man City will face Everton, Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford in their last four matches in the Premier League this season.

With the exception of Brighton, neither Everton, Chelsea nor Brentford can do anything before the green half of Manchester.

Meanwhile, if Arsenal want to win the title, they must win against Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Wolves in the last 3 rounds and pray for Man City to stumble. Even in the event that Arsenal cannot beat Brighton in round 36 on May 14, Man City can touch the Premier League title with one hand if they win at Everton at the same time.