Matchday 33 of the Premier League could prove decisive at both ends of the table. On Sunday Manchester City face Arsenal in a clash that could decide the destination of the title while Spurs, Forest and West Ham all aim to secure another season in the big time.
I don’t think there’s been a bigger game in the Premier League in the last few years. Arsenal, seemingly throwing it all away. They’ve been knocked out of the two domestic cup competitions – obviously beaten by Manchester City in the final of the Carabao Cup, and knocked out by Southampton in the FA Cup.
That said, they are through to the semi-finals of the Champions League but they’ve had a relatively easy passage compared to the other three sides still in the competition.
And now they head to the Etihad having let Manchester City get right back in this title race. Of course, the Gunners are six points ahead, but City have a game in hand, and the sides play one another this weekend.
So if City win this weekend and they win their game in hand, the title race could be decided by goal difference – it’s that tight!
Looking at the game itself, I’m going to go for a bit of a surprise. I just think the whole world thinks that Manchester City are going to win. Of course, they’re in great form. Yes, they’ve kept clean sheets. Yes, they’ve beaten Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea convincingly in recent weeks.
But Arsenal aren’t mugs. They’re rock-solid at the back and they don’t need to win. And I think that’s important. A draw would be an amazing result for Mikel Arteta and his team. I think they’re going to go to Manchester City, and they’re going to make it really hard for Pep Guardiola’s team to break them down.
And you know what, I might be totally wrong here. This could be a smash-and-grab for Arsenal. I think they can keep a clean sheet and nick a goal on the counterattack.
A lot of times, when two big teams play against one another, things can get cagey. And of course, because Manchester City need to win, they’ll be looking to get forward. If they make just one small mistake, Arsenal can capitalise.
Michael Owen’s matchday 33 predictions:
Brentford 2-0 Fulham
Leeds United 2-1 Wolves
Newcastle United 2-1 Bournemouth
Tottenham 3-1 Brighton
Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United
Aston Villa 2-0 Sunderland
Everton 1-1 Liverpool
Nottingham Forest 3-0 Burnley
Manchester City 0-1 Arsenal
Crystal Palace 1-2 West Ham United
