Arsenal and Manchester City resume title duel after woeful week for English clubs

LONDON – After a sobering week in Europe for English clubs, some bruised egos return to domestic issues this weekend with the English Premier League title race and relegation battles both reaching pivotal moments.

The league’s boast of being the continent’s best took a bit of a hammering over 48 hours this week, with none of the six clubs in Champions League last-16 action winning their matches.

Manchester City were one of the four teams to suffer defeat and they will need to dust themselves down quickly from a 3-0 loss at Real Madrid when they face West Ham United away on March 14. At kick-off they could find themselves 10 points behind league leaders Arsenal, although City will have played two fewer games.

The Gunners, who needed a last-minute Kai Havertz penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw away to Bayer Leverkusen on March 11, have the opportunity to really turn the screws on Pep Guardiola’s side as they host Everton earlier in the day.

“It is a pleasure to be here. It is nice,” the City manager said of the title race on March 13.

“We arrive in the last 10 games and everyone is playing for something. Now there is no second chances.

“Tomorrow is important for the Premier League. We are used to these situations. All the time we are making decisions and I think a lot about what is best for the team. The league is the most difficult title. Every game is important. We will fight until the end.”

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal start the weekend seven points clear having played one game more and while they appear to be labouring of late, they are grinding out results.

They are on a three-match winning run in the league, but the last two – at home to Chelsea and away at Brighton & Hove Albion – were both nervy affairs as the pressure of trying to secure a first title since 2004 began to show.

City were beginning to look ominous in their pursuit after a four-game winning burst had them breathing down Arsenal’s necks, but the suspicion that they are way off Guardiola’s clinical machines of the past remains.

The 2-2 draw at home to Nottingham Forest on March 4 hindered their momentum and the way Real cut through them on March 11 will have shaken their confidence.

City have won their last seven Premier League games against West Ham but will be wary of a side scrapping to stay in the top flight and showing signs of form.

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior suffered his first major setback since replacing Enzo Maresca as his side went down 5-2 at Paris Saint-Germain on March 11.

The fifth-placed Blues will need to quickly shrug that off on March 14 when they host a Newcastle United side who produced arguably the best display by an English club this week, drawing 1-1 at home with Barcelona.

Reigning champions Liverpool, whose 1-0 loss at Galatasaray on March 10 began the dismal set of results for Premier League sides, are in danger of finishing outside the top five.

But they will be confident of getting back to winning ways on March 15 against a Tottenham Hotspur side who lurch from one crisis to the next and are in serious danger of relegation for the first time since 1977.

“What I want is that every single player gets the maximum out of everything until the end of the season. That is the aim for me and the players,” Reds manager Arne Slot said.

“The bar at Liverpool is always high, it has always been high and will always be high. We are a top club. The bar should be set high by the people around us, but we will set the bar just as high.”

Spurs lost 5-2 at Atletico Madrid, as interim manager Igor Tudor’s reign went from bad to worse with defender Micky van de Ven fearing a “doomsday scenario”. The club sit just one point above the drop zone.

In another key match this weekend, the winners of Manchester United’s clash with Aston Villa at Old Trafford on March 15 will take a giant step towards qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Third-placed United are ahead of fourth-placed Villa on goal difference, setting the stage for a vital showdown. REUTERS, AFP