Manchester City must take Chelsea claim with pinch of salt ahead of season-defining game

When the final whistle blew at Prenton Park on Wednesday night, there will have been few people happier than Lauren Hemp.

The Manchester City forward was watching from the stands as top-four-chasing Liverpool came from behind to topple Chelsea in a pulsating clash that saw the title pendulum swing firmly in the favour of Gareth Taylor's side. The magnitude of the result was such that Emma Hayes went as far as to publicly relinquish her team's Women's Super League (WSL) crown, declaring the title race was "definitely" over.

"I’ve had amazing memories at this football club and we won a lot of things," she told Sky Sports. "I’d love to bring titles again to Chelsea but that’s not going to be this year I’m afraid. We will never give up but the title is far from us, it’s not in our hands."

It's a sentiment that is reflected in the latest predictions from Opta's Supercomputer, which now gives City a 90.7 percent chance of winning the league. But, while the stars seem to be aligning for Taylor's side to secure their first title since 2016 this term, the Blues cannot afford to take their foot off the gas ahead of what is arguably the club's biggest game in more than half a decade.

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City will host third-place Arsenal at the Joie Stadium on Sunday afternoon where a victory would - providing their rivals win all of their remaining games - leave them requiring just a single point from their final match of the season against Aston Villa in order to wrestle the WSL trophy from Chelsea's grasp. Though the Gunners have little left to play for,