Europe's Top 5 Leagues: Who will win their domestic titles?

Let's start by looking at the Premier League title race, where Manchester City are once again on the hunt for what would be their third successive league win. Over the last five years, their nearest competitor has been Liverpool. But this year, Arsenal have been their main competition.

Mikel Arteta played for Arsenal for five years before becoming Guardiola's assistant coach at Manchester City. In 2019, he left Manchester City to become the first-team coach at his old club and will meet his mentor in the race to win Arsenal's first Premier League since 2004.

The race for the title has been intense. As a result of Queen Elizabeth's death in September 2022 and the postponement of games for this season, Arsenal and City did not play each other in the league until February, which is unusually late in the season. Pep's side came out on top on that occasion, putting themselves ahead of Arsenal, only to lose to Nottingham Forest, allowing Arteta's side to leapfrog them once again.

After playing one fewer game, Arsenal have a two-point lead over City. With 15 games to go, there'll be plenty of twists and turns ahead.

Over in Spain, there is a wider gap at the top. Barcelona are five points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. What's most impressive about their season so far is their defensive record. With just seven goals conceded, that's at least ten fewer than the next-best team. Due to their exit from the Champions League earlier in the season, Barcelona will have to play Europa League football on Thursday nights, which could affect their schedule and form.

"I think that the main favourite to win a La Liga trophy is Barcelona, not only obviously because they are leading the league but because of other different factors,"