Arsenal take on Newcastle United in a crucial EPL clash to regain top spot
After Manchester City snatched the lead in the English Premier League, Arsenal will be on the task of regaining it when they host Newcastle United today (Saturday) in the 34th round, while Liverpool will be hoping to strengthen their fifth place and get closer to qualifying for the Champions League next season in their match against Crystal Palace.
After beating Burnley 1-0, who were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship, City raised their tally to 70 points, topping Arsenal on goal difference. The Spanish coach Josep Guardiola’s team has a postponed match from round 31 against Crystal Palace, which they will play on May 22, before the final round.
In contrast, Burnley’s tally remained frozen at 20 points in second-to-last place, joining Wolverhampton, who were bottom of the table and the first team to be relegated.
City’s goal was scored by Norwegian Erling Haaland (5), raising his tally at the top of the league’s top scorers to 24 goals, three goals ahead of Brentford’s Brazilian striker Igor Tiago.
City’s final game will be against Aston Villa, while the other three games are against Everton, Brentford and Bournemouth respectively.
As for Arsenal, they will face Newcastle, Fulham, West Ham, Burnley and Palace, noting that they are still competing in the Champions League and will face Atletico Madrid of Spain in the semi-finals.
The London club, seeking to reclaim the title that has eluded them since the 2003-2004 season, will be required to restore their winning form against Newcastle, who are fourteenth (42 points), after suffering two consecutive league defeats against Bournemouth and City with the same score of 1-2, which caused them to lose the lead in the crucial stages of the heated race for the title.
In another match, Aston Villa, currently fourth (58), will be looking to take another step towards securing a top-five Champions League spot when they visit Fulham on Saturday.
For its part, Liverpool, currently fifth (55), wants to continue its resurgence by achieving its third consecutive victory when it hosts Crystal Palace, following the momentum gained after its hard-fought 2-1 win over its host and fierce neighbor Everton in the Merseyside derby.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams this season in all competitions, with Crystal Palace winning the first three encounters. The first was at the beginning of the season in the Community Shield, which they won on penalties after a 2-2 draw, before the team of Austrian coach Oliver Glasner won 2-1 in the league and 3-0 in the League Cup.
In the remaining matches, Sunderland will meet Nottingham Forest on Friday, while Wolverhampton will play against Tottenham Hotspur, who are aiming to move away from the danger zone, as they currently occupy the eighteenth position that leads to relegation. West Ham will also face Everton on Saturday.
In the FA Cup, Manchester City will seek to overcome Southampton from the Championship in the semi-final on Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London, and qualify for the final in search of a domestic treble, after winning the League Cup title and topping the league.
