Liverpool's Premier League lead could be cut as Arsenal face make-or-break week in title race

Liverpool's Premier League lead could be cut as Arsenal face make-or-break week in title race

April is set to be a defining month for the Premier League title race between Liverpool and Arsenal

Liverpool boss Arne Slot and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta (Image: Getty Images )

Liverpool know the endgame is now near on a Premier League title race that has taken many by surprise. Arne Slot's impact at Anfield has been unimaginable, with the Dutchman guiding the Reds to a 12-point advantage at the top of the table with nine games to go.

It is a start for Slot that even the most optimistic Liverpool fan would have struggled to conjure up when predictions were made at the start of the season, as life without Jurgen Klopp began.

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And with Manchester City's season imploding as the Autumn nights closed in, coupled with Arsenal's inability to kick on after two seasons as the closest challengers to Pep Guardiola's side, Liverpool's consistency under the cool guidance of the former Feyenoord boss has come at the perfect time.

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Indeed, the Reds know they essentially now have one hand on a 20th English crown, with just 16 points required from those final nine games to secure the title - and that total will only need to be achieved should Arsenal win every one of their final league games, including a trip to Anfield on May 10.

But that title isn't won just yet.

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Reason for optimism, then, after a miserable week saw Liverpool enter the international break having been knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 phase by Paris Saint-Germain and defeated at Wembley by Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final.

Liverpool will need no motivation in their first game back after a two-and-a-half week break, though, with Everton arriving at Anfield in the Merseyside derby and scores to settle after James Tarkowski's late equaliser in the 2-2 draw at Goodison Park back in February.

That will be the first game in what will be a defining April for Liverpool, but that pivotal month starts a day earlier for their title rivals, Arsenal.

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Indeed, the Gunners know that the five games they play next month will be their last Hail Mary at a title that must feel like a missed opportunity for a team who ran City so close in 2023 and 2024. Mikel Arteta's men simply have to make up points on Liverpool if they are to somehow claw their way back into the race before the two sides meet with three games to go in May.

And Arsenal will have the chance to do just that throughout the month, with Arteta's side consistently going first to give them the chance of cutting down Liverpool's lead. They host Fulham the day before the Merseyside derby, then the two sides trade opponents just days later, with Arsenal travelling to Everton on April 5 and Liverpool at Fulham the following day.

We'll then see Arsenal tested with what could be the biggest week of April for the title race. The Gunners face Real Madrid in the two legs of their Champions League quarter-final either side of a home match against Brentford, all within eight days in the middle of the month.

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Liverpool face West Ham at home during that week with Slot's side now benefitting from the midweek breaks granted as an unwanted boost provided by no European football.

The two sides then travel to relegation candidates Ipswich Town and Leicester City on the same day on April 20, with Arsenal playing the Tractor Boys just two hours before Liverpool face the Foxes.

The month is then rounded off by Arsenal hosting Crystal Palace the day before Liverpool play their bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield.

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It's a testing time and Arsenal may see their resources stretched after a season in which they've suffered a number of injuries. They will still be without strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, who won't return next until next season, but star man Bukayo Saka should be back to boost their options.

But the pressure is now firmly on the Gunners to start making up that gap. If it remains 12 points at the end of April they will still have a mathematical chance, with four matches still to play in May, but realistically they will want to at least halve that if they are to stand a real chance.

Fail that, and Liverpool's dreams of number 20 will surely become a reality.

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