Man Cityvs.Liverpool

Mikel Arteta's men are capable of moving to within five points of the Reds on Saturday should they overcome London rivals West Ham United at the Emirates, having seen Liverpool drop two points in their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa in midweek.

The Reds' failure to leave Villa Park with maximum spoils means that they missed out on the chance to go 10 points clear for a few days, and if Man City and Arsenal both win this weekend, Liverpool will only be five points clear having played a game more.

However, victory for Liverpool will keep them at least eight points better off by the close of play this weekend, and speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, Parlour admitted that Arsenal need Pep Guardiola's side to do them a favour if they are to keep their hopes of glory alive.

"Arsenal need Man City to definitely get something out of the game on Sunday to keep the title race alive," Parlour said. "This is a big test for Liverpool to go to Man City, as although Man City won't win the league this year, they still have loads of quality and if they can perform at their best, they are a match for anyone."

Parlour: 'Man City will not roll over for Liverpool'

While Arsenal have now triumphed in their last three Premier League games after edging out Leicester City 2-0 last weekend, Liverpool have now dropped points in two of their last three in the top flight.

Furthermore, the Reds had to survive a second-half scare to pick up their only victory in that sequence - a 2-1 triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers, where they did not register a single shot on target in a Premier League half at Anfield for the first time.

In contrast, Man City are bidding to make it four Premier League home wins in a row after slaughtering Newcastle United 4-0 last weekend, although they were comprehensively beaten by Real Madrid in the Champions League in midweek.

Nevertheless, the holders' 17 points won since Christmas is the third-most behind Arsenal and Liverpool, and Parlour - a three-time Premier League winner with Arsenal - expects Guardiola's men to put up a strong fight.

"Liverpool will be favourites to win the game, but Man City come into this off the back of a 4-0 home win over Newcastle [United] and they know their top-four place is up for grabs so will be looking to put a dent in Liverpool's title charge," Parlour added. "It promises to be a great game and Man City will not want to roll over for Liverpool."

Premier League title race: Do Arsenal or Liverpool have the tougher run-in?

Parlour knows better than most how to overcome a seemingly insurmountable Premier League deficit, as his Arsenal side were 12 points behind Manchester United in February 1998 but still went on to pip the Red Devils to the crown.

However, an eight-point gap to Liverpool with a game in hand will be too tall an order for Arsenal to overcome in his eyes, as the Gunners still have several tough assignments left before the end of the season.

Arteta's men must still head to Anfield on May 10, in addition to travelling to Nottingham Forest (February 26), Manchester United (March 9) and a rejuvenated Everton (April 5), not to mention hosting Champions League-chasing Bournemouth and Newcastle United.

Liverpool also have some tricky fixtures left on the menu, also hosting Newcastle in midweek before facing all of Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion between April 26 and May 18.

As well as a daunting fixture list, Arsenal are still ruing the absences of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka, while a Mohamed Salah-inspired Liverpool attack are still firing on all cylinders.

Ray Parlour was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of FC25 Points.

Written by

Ben Knapton