SportsNews
Arsenal left praying for help while Man City shine as end game nears’
We are nearing the end game now.
As Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola rather succinctly put it: “One week left, three games left. Nine points and we will be champions. Seven, six or three points, Arsenal will win the Premier League.”
Guardiola is not placing much faith in Manchester United then, given he expects Arsenal to win every game and the Gunners visit Old Trafford on 12 May.
But, then, he doesn’t have to.
If City win their final three games they will go into the history books as the first team to win the English title in four successive seasons.
Four Erling Haaland goals against Wolves ensured City navigated their latest obstacle with ease. Now it is on to Craven Cottage and Fulham, a team they have beaten 15 times in a row.
They finish with West Ham at home. City have not dropped a point at Etihad Stadium against the Hammers since Guardiola arrived in 2016.
In between comes a trip to Tottenham. City have not scored a Premier League goal or taken a point at Spurs’ new stadium. They did win there in the FA Cup this season, though, and Ange Postecoglou’s team are in terrible form.
And, as Wolves boss Gary O’Neil pointed out, this is the hardest time to play City.
“Manchester City, in May, when they are chasing down a fourth consecutive Premier League title, are fairly tough,” he said.
“They have an incredible focus at this point. History tells you, at this point in the run-in, they are difficult to stop.”
The one negative for City is that Arsenal’s goal difference is better by six, which means they have to win to reach the top. A draw will not do.
“Goal difference is not possible,” Guardiola said. “We cannot draw. We have to take nine points.”
In a separate interview with BBC Match of the Day, he added: “Hopefully, we can come back here in a few days and have the chance against West Ham to come here and win the title.”
For City to get to the West Ham game and not have a chance of the title, it would require Arsenal to beat Manchester United and for City to get no more than a point from the Fulham and Tottenham trips.
That feels unlikely for a team that has put an astonishing run together of 16 wins and four draws since they were beaten at Aston Villa on 6 December.
Not that it should come as a surprise.
Last season, City went on a 16-match unbeaten run, winning 14 times, to take the title before they lost at Brentford on the final day. The year before that, they won 23 times in a run of one defeat in 28. The season before that, they won 17 times in a 19-match unbeaten sequence.
“When you are coming towards the end of the season, you do think differently,” former City defender Micah Richards told Sky Sports. “These games are the most important and that’s where City seem to thrive.”
As Richards’ fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp said, Arsenal’s task is straightforward.
They must win at Old Trafford and then again against Everton on the final day. Anything else is completely out of their hands.
Given the run Mikel Arteta’s side have been on, and the two seasons they have had, few would begrudge the Gunners a first title since 2004.
But, as Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have found out, running City close and overhauling them are two different matters.
“They are an unbelievable team,” said Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice. “What I have learned in this title race is that you have to be nearly perfect. They have done that for three years in a row.
“I have massive respect for what they have done. But we have two games to go and we’re praying for something to go our way.”
Nigeria’s preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations have taken a fresh hit, with Egypt confirming that the highly anticipated friendly between both nations has been shifted from 14 to 16 December.
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced the adjustment late Friday, noting that FIFA’s updated international release directive, which allows clubs keep African players until 15 December, made the original date unworkable.
EFA Vice President Khaled El-Darandaly explained that the new rule left both Egypt and Nigeria without full squads for the initial date.
Key Pharaohs players, including Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, are now expected to arrive only after the new release window.
Egypt had already named its 28-man provisional squad and opened camp in Cairo, with head coach Hossam Hassan accelerating final preparations for a Group B campaign that includes South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe.
Nigeria’s disruption is more extensive. The Super Eagles were originally scheduled to open camp on 10 December and progress through a streamlined friendly schedule before departing for Morocco. That entire framework has now been dismantled.
Under the revised timeline, camp will open on 14 December, leaving Eric Chelle with barely a week to prepare before AFCON kicks off.
The venue for the friendly is also now uncertain, with Cairo no longer feasible and both federations considering shifting the match to Morocco.
Nigeria’s build-up has been further destabilised by injuries to Ola Aina, Taiwo Awoniyi, Benjamin Fredrick and Felix Agu.
The shock retirement of captain William Troost-Ekong, winner of the 2023 AFCON Player of the Tournament award, creates an additional leadership vacuum in defence.
Chelle, who released a 55-man provisional list, must now trim his squad to 28 within a compressed window. Nigeria will compete in Group C alongside Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania as they chase a fourth continental title.
Chelsea striker, Liam Delap, is set to be unavailable for an extended period with a shoulder injury.
Delap suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder while tussling with Bournemouth defender, Marcos Senesi, during a Premier League clash on Saturday.
The 22-year-old was replaced in the game by Marc Guiu.
This is the second major injury Delap is suffering after he joined Chelsea from Ipswich Town.
Manager Enzo Maresca, speaking after the game, admitted the latest setback is “quite bad”.
He added: “Unfortunately he was already out for two months and he has to be out again.
“We don’t know for how long, but it looks quite bad, his shoulder.”
Alex Iwobi says Fulham must stay positive despite their 5-4 defeat to Manchester City at Craven Cottage on Tuesday.
Marco Silva’s side put up a spirited display in the encounter, and were unlucky not to get at least one point.
Iwobi started the fight back by scoring the second goal for Fulham early in the second half.
The versatile midfielder’s compatriot, Samuel Chukwueze then rose from the bench to score two more goals for the Cottagers.
Manchester City, however, held on to go home with maximum points.
Iwobi stated that they deserved more from the game.
“I feel disappointed because we didn’t get anything out of the fighting spirit that we showed, but I think we have to take the positivity from the game,” Iwobi told the club’s official website.
Fulham will be away to Crystal Palace in their next Premier League game on Sunday.
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