Arsenal’s surprise 2-1 home defeat by Bournemouth on Saturday has presented a golden opportunity for Manchester City to narrow the gap in the title race.
As of full time at the Emirates, City are nine points behind Arsenal but their visit to Chelsea on Sunday is the first of two games in hand, and they face Mikel Arteta’s side at the Etihad next Sunday.
Saturday’s loss leaves Arsenal, as Arteta put it, needing to “stand up and go for the fight… or you’re out”.
City, meanwhile, have already secured silverware this season, beating Arsenal to win the Carabao Cup last month. Can they pip Arsenal to the Premier League title too? Are Arsenal at risk of losing out in the title race yet again? Or can they fend off Guardiola’s side to secure their first Premier League crown in 22 years?
The Athletic breaks down each club’s run-in before the final game of the 2025-26 campaign on May 24.
The run-in
April 12: Chelsea vs Manchester City (currently 6th in the Premier League vs 2nd)
Chelsea rescued a point at City in stoppage time in January. Liam Rosenior’s side have only won one of their last five league games and an FA Cup win against third-tier Port Vale put an end to a four-game losing streak.
April 19: Manchester City vs Arsenal (2nd/1st)
Arteta’s side rescued a draw with a last-minute goal the last time these sides met in the league in September, but lost in the Carabao Cup final three weeks ago. Although Arsenal haven’t won at City since January 2015, the last two meetings there have been draws. This will be the ultimate test of Arsenal’s resolve.
This is clearly City’s biggest chance to narrow the gap, especially given it falls at home. Beat Chelsea on Sunday and win this game and City can guarantee they draw level on points with Arsenal if they win their game in hand.
April 22: Burnley vs Manchester City (19th)
If City win this game having previously beaten Chelsea and Arsenal, they will be able to go top providing they can score enough goals to better Arsenal’s goal difference (they currently trail by six). Burnley are staring down the barrel of relegation and lost 5-1 to City in September. The match comes only three days after the Arsenal fixture and three days before their FA Cup semi-final so it could be a good chance for rotation… and potentially to strike a big psychological blow to Arsenal…
April 25: Arsenal vs Newcastle United (13th)
Were that to happen, Arsenal would soon have the chance to go back top, given they will play twice before City play again. Arsenal won away at Newcastle earlier this season, and Eddie Howe’s side have lost three of their last five league matches. Newcastle, however, beat Arteta’s side three times last season.
May 2: Arsenal vs Fulham (11th)
If Arsenal stay in the Champions League, this game will fall a few days after their semi-final first leg and before the second, which could be a test of their squad and fitness. Arsenal won 1-0 at Fulham in October.
Arsenal are nine points above City and are still in the Champions League (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
May 4: Everton vs Manchester City (8th)
Everton may well still be in the mix for a European place after a strong season under David Moyes. City beat them 2-0 in October and their home record (six defeats in 16) is not quite as good as their away record, which should be encouraging news for Guardiola’s side.
May 9: Manchester City vs Brentford (7th)
Though Brentford are sixth, City have beaten them twice this season already and will face them at the Etihad with a home crowd.
May 10: West Ham United vs Arsenal (17th)
West Ham have hit a run of form in their relegation fight, climbing out of the drop zone with a 4-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday. If Tottenham Hotspur win on Sunday, however, they will be back in the bottom three. It feels likely the east London club will still be battling for points to secure safety at this stage, which could make Arsenal’s task even harder.
May 17: Arsenal vs Burnley (19th)
Burnley look set to be making a return to the Championship next season, are winless in seven games and likely to have been relegated by the time this game rolls around. Burnley are also without a win against Arsenal in their last six meetings.
May 17: Bournemouth vs Manchester City (10th)
Bournemouth have also lost twice to City this season, including a 3-1 league defeat in November. With Arsenal almost guaranteed points against Burnley on this day, dropping points here would be costly.
May 24: Crystal Palace vs Arsenal (14th)
Sat roughly equidistant between the European places and the relegation zone and a good number of points off both, by the end of the season Palace are likely to only be playing for pride — and could have one eye on the Conference League final on May 27. Arsenal have already beaten Palace twice at home this season, but narrowly — 1-0 in the Premier League in October and on penalties in the League Cup quarter-finals in December.
May 24: Manchester City vs Aston Villa (4th)
Villa will arguably be the second toughest test of City’s run in, behind the Arsenal game, after Guardiola’s side lost 1-0 at Villa Park in October. Unai Emery’s side have also been strengthened with the return of Youri Tielemans to their midfield after an ankle injury.
Date TBC: Manchester City vs Crystal Palace (14th)
Palace beat City in last season’s FA Cup final but fell to a 3-0 defeat in December. A date for this game has not been set after it was postponed due to City’s participation in the Carabao Cup final.
City already have silverware under their belt this season (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Are they competing on other fronts?
Both clubs are entering the final stages of the 2025-26 season competing on two fronts but in different competitions.
Having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Southampton in the quarter-finals last weekend, Arsenal remain in the Champions League alongside their title charge. They lead Sporting CP by one goal over the quarter-final tie and play the second leg on Wednesday.
Should they go through, they will face either Atletico Madrid (leading the quarter-final tie 2-0) or Barcelona in a two-legged semi-final. If they reach the final on May 30, Arsenal will have a maximum of four games outside the Premier League to play.
Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League 5-1 on aggregate by Real Madrid in the round of 16 but are still in the FA Cup. They face Southampton on April 25 but, unlike Europe’s premier tournament, the semi-final is a one-off fixture.
If they beat the second-tier side at Wembley, Guardiola’s side will play a maximum of two games outside the Premier League.
Arsenal are still in the Champions League and lead their quarter-final tie against Sporting CP 1-0 (Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
When will City play their rearranged game vs Palace?
Manchester City’s game in hand is against Crystal Palace at the Etihad — a fixture that was rearranged from March 21 due to their participation in the Carabao Cup final.
Arsenal have already played their match that was moved because of the Carabao Cup final, drawing 2-2 with Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 18.
City’s is yet to be rescheduled. Organising the fixture has been complicated by City and Palace both participating in Europe. City were eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League last-16 in March, but Crystal Palace remain in the Conference League and lead Fiorentina 3-0 after the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Thursday.
Should Palace reach the semi-finals, this would block out midweek of April 27-29, and May 5-7.
This leaves the midweek of April 23-24 — Palace are due to play West Ham on Monday, April 21 followed by Liverpool on the Saturday.
Beyond that, the midweeks of May 12-14 and May 19-21 — the last week of the season before the final round of fixtures on May 24 — are the only other free midweeks the two sides have.
City will also have to have their penultimate Premier League match of the campaign rearranged if they beat Southampton in the FA Cup semi-finals on April 25. The FA Cup final takes place on Saturday, May 16, with City due to play Bournemouth on Sunday, May 17. Rescheduling the Bournemouth fixture would be more straightforward as Andoni Iraola’s side are not competing in Europe.
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