10 matches that could decide the Premier League title
By James Dudko
10 matches that could decide the Premier League title in the 2017-18 season, including February’s north London derby and April’s Manchester derby.
The 10 crunch games in the Premier League title race for the 2017-18 season will begin in earnest on New Year’s Day, after the full fixtures were released on Wednesday, per BBC Sport.
Expect the same top six as last season to once again be the main contenders for the title. Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United are evenly matched, so results in the mini-league between these six will play the main role in deciding a title winner.
Arsenal will host defending champions Chelsea on the first day of 2018 in a match sure to offer a stern examination of the Blues’ title defence.
The potential title-deciders will come thick and fast after Jan. 1. Arsenal will again be in the thick of it when they visit Wembley Stadium for a crunch derby meeting with north London rivals Tottenham.
Speaking of a derby, the all-Manchester affair between City and United at the Etihad Stadium in early April will speak volumes about both team’s title challenges.
A month earlier, the Red Devils will host bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. It will be a true test of the latter’s credentials as genuine contenders after last season’s fourth-place finish.
Read on to find out which 10 games will decide this season’s title (all dates are subject to change once TV schedules are final).
10. Arsenal vs. Chelsea, Monday, Jan. 1
This fixture proved the catalyst for last season’s eventual champions, although nobody knew it at the time. Chelsea were hammered 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium, prompting Blues boss Antonio Conte to finally switch to the 3-4-2-1 formation that would prove so effective.
Conte’s tactical shift sent Chelsea on a record-equalling winning run, while the emphatic win only proved one more false dawn for Arsenal. The Gunners stumbled in the title race in mid-December, were clinging on in late-January and all-but out of it after losing the rematch with Chelsea in February.
When Arsenal won 3-0, they received outstanding performances from their only two marquee players, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. Both are out of contract in 2018 and could be gone this summer, per Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph.
Losing Ozil and Sanchez would surely weaken the Gunners’ credibility as legitimate title contenders even before a ball is kicked. Manager Arsene Wenger said his squad can win the league after being kept on another two years, despite finishing fifth last season, per Talksport.
This game is will go a long way toward proving whether Wenger is right or if his words are more empty rhetoric.