Who has the easiest title race run-in out of Manchester City and Liverpool? Final 9 games rated

Manchester City and Liverpool have nine Premier League games remaining this season with the Sky Blues sitting in top of the table, one point ahead of the Reds.

Pep Guardiola’s side has won three of their last five league games, while Liverpool boast a nine-game winning streak in the top flight.

Both clubs temporarily turn their attention to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Sunday, with City travelling to Southampton and the Reds visiting Nottingham Forest in the last eight.

The international break follows soon after with the Sky Blues’ John Stones, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling announced in Gareth Southgate’s England squad on Thursday, while Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson also make the Three Lions list.

City and the Reds return to league action on 2 April with both clubs clashing with teams in the relegation zone.

With that being said, let’s take a look at who has the ‘easiest’ run-in out of the Sky Blues and Liverpool.

Top 10 toughness

If we’re basing the fixture run-in being ‘easier’ due to the league position of the teams City or the Reds face, then Liverpool have a ‘tougher’ remaining nine games than the Sky Blues.

Klopp’s men take on six of the top 10 clubs as of writing in their final nine games, with their trip to the Etihad Stadium a standout on 10 April, while they also face rivals Manchester United, who sit fifth, nine days later.

Guardiola’s side meet four top 10 teams in their remaining games with a trip to West Ham United arguably their toughest, excluding the Reds of course.

No home advantage

Neither City or Liverpool have an advantage in terms of the number of remaining fixtures being played at the Etihad or Anfield, with both clubs having five home games and four away matches.

This means the Sky Blues  and Reds have equal opportunity to secure as many points at their home ground as possible.

Front three fury

With the scoring ability of Liverpool’s front-three it could be argued they have the better morale going into the last nine fixtures, thus making it ‘easier’ for them to potentially pip City to the title.

Mohammed Salah is currently the league’s top scorer with 20 goals and is followed by Diogo Jota in second with 13, while Sadio Mane is joint-third on 12. These numbers will give the trio, Klopp, their fans and the rest of the squad a huge confidence when coming up against future opposition.

However, despite Guardiola opting to play a false-9 for the majority of the season, his side still have goals in them, Riyad Mahrez and Sterling have netted 10 each, while Kevin De Bruyne has nine.

Verdict

Goals win games but tougher opponents are likely to mean less chances being created. Therefore, based on the above points it can be argued that City have the ‘easier’ run-in and are likely to retain their title this season.

• Let us know your predictions: tweet us @MancWorldUK.