Man City schedule leaves Premier League champions needing something new to best Arsenal

Manchester City have been trying to chase Arsenal down for months.

Mikel Arteta's side have led the way in the Premier League for most of the season, with the Blues tending to miss opportunities to move above them when the rare chances arose. City did leapfrog Arsenal with victory at the Emirates last month, but handed back their advantage days later when they could only draw with Nottingham Forest.

Arsenal beating Crystal Palace last weekend while Pep Guardiola's side were in FA Cup action means that the gap is now eight points between first and second, albeit the Blues now have one game extra to play. One of their postponed matches - West Ham at home - has been penned in for the beginning of May, meaning that their trip to Brighton is almost certain to move to the final midweek of the season.

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City do host Arsenal at home before then, and return from the international break against Liverpool but do have an excellent record in these fixtures and will hope to close the gap both directly and when Arsenal travel to Liverpool. However, barring a spectacular collapse from the league leaders Guardiola and his seasoned team will have to do what they have never done before and come from behind in the final matches of the season if they are to defend their crown.

Last season saw them respond emphatically in their final two games, coming from 2-0 down at West Ham to secure a point before winning 3-2 against Aston Villa from the same situation to win the title in dramatic fashion. They also chased Liverpool down in a high-quality 2018/19 campaign.

But City were always in control last season, and did not relinquish their lead over