New title race

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Head Start

It is safe to say… 

… And then there were two.

• Liverpool drew 2-2 to West Ham (leaving them five points behind Arsenal).

• Manchester City won 2-0 against Nottingham Forest (they’re a point behind Arsenal - with a game in hand).

• Arsenal won 3-2 against Spurs (they’re top of the league).

But, first things first, if you know a Liverpool fan - stop what you’re doing - and message them to see if they’re OK.

Now you’ve got that out of the way… let’s look at who’s the favourite to take the glory.

According to Opta’s ‘supercomputer’, there’s one team that stands head and shoulders above the others and that’s…

… Manchester City. Who, they predict, have a 67.4% chance of winning the league.

Another projection based on spread betting markets predicts an almost identical outcome…

Hmm… we’re not so sure the predictions are giving Arteta’s men the credit they deserve. 

And even though both sides have similar fixture difficulty… 

… Arsenal fans will be happy that:

• They have two out of three games at home.

• City face their bogey team… Spurs. 

So, in our eyes, there’s still all to play for.

Plus…

Football fan charged over tragedy chanting at Manchester United vs Burnley match (More)

Bournemouth have recorded a record 48 points in the Premier League after their 3-0 win over Brighton on Sunday (More)

Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson left the City Ground with his arm in a sling and it means he could miss the rest of the season and the FA Cup final (More)

Matchday 35 Stats Zone

Tottenham 2 - 3 Arsenal

→ Arsenal are the only undefeated team vs the Big 6 this season (5 wins, 4 draws, 0 losses).

→ Mikel Arteta recorded his 100th victory in charge of Arsenal in the Premier League, with his 169 games. That’s the fifth-fewest of any manager - and 10 fewer than Arsenè Wenger.

→ Arsenal have scored 16 goals from corners in the league this season and Tottenham are the 16th team to concede 50+ goals this campaign.

Nottingham Forest 0 - 2 Manchester City

→ This is the 18th time Kevin De Bruyne has had multiple assists in a Premier League game; the most of any player in the competition’s history.

→ Nottingham Forest had more shots in both of their Premier League games vs Man City this season. 

Aston Villa 2 - 2 Chelsea

→ Aston Villa have scored 73 league goals this season, their most in a single top-flight campaign since 1976.

→ Marc Cucurella’s own goal after 03:44 was the second earliest Chelsea have conceded an own goal in a Premier League match, after David Luiz put through his own net after 03:08 against Manchester United in October 2012.

Full Matchday 35 results…

Saturday: West Ham 2 - 2 Liverpool | Fulham 1 - 1 Crystal Palace | Man United 1 - 1 Burnley | Newcastle 5 - 1 Sheffield United | Wolves 2 - 1 Luton | Everton 1 - 0 Brentford

Sunday: Bournemouth 3 - 0 Brighton

Liverpool in-fighting

Klopp vs Salah

It was meant to be Jürgen Klopp’s fairytale ending.

You know… Klopp was meant to be the main character in a Disney movie. Facing trials and tribulations… 

• Manchester City is the evil protagonist getting in the way of Liverpool’s success.

• Early kick-offs don’t help his player’s recovery.

• And, not to mention, Liverpool’s lowest recovery time between matches in Europe.

… and then - bam - everything falls into place perfectly. 

Liverpool win the league. They win the Europa League. They have the parade through the streets. Klopp is handed the title of Freedom of the City.

(OK. After some research, it turns out that Klopp has already received the Freedom of the City title - but you get the gist.)

Unfortunately for Klopp, the script of life isn’t as kind. 

Liverpool’s 2-2 draw to West Ham on Saturday was (probably) the final blow to their title hopes.

But, Klopp’s nightmare ending doesn’t stop there.

To add a cherry on top, Salah made it clear that he wasn’t happy with Klopp’s decision to bench him in a heated discussion on the sideline… 

… then Salah added more fuel to the fire when he said that, “There’s going to be fire if I speak” when a reporter asked him about the row with his boss. 

It’s funny how football works. One minute it’s a heartfelt farewell, and the next it looks like a messy divorce.

To be honest, we’re hoping they leave this part in the documentary they’re filming this season. Expect TV gold… that’s if Liverpool’s PR team doesn't get hold of it.

Off The Pitch

💎 Scientists have grown diamonds in just 150 minutes (More)

🐈 A cat was accidentally shipped in an Amazon return box and found 650 miles from home by a warehouse worker (More)

🗳️ Rishi Sunak has refused to rule out calling a general election in July amid record-low poll rating (More) 

📵 Norway’s school smartphone ban is working as school kids are feeling mentally healthier (More)

🔪 The moment a shopkeeper traps machete-wielding robbers inside his store (Watch)

❤️ A child’s heart beats again after stopping for 14 hours (More)

😳 TikTok will not be sold, Chinese parent company tells US (More)

Around The Football World

🇫🇷 PSG have been crowned Ligue 1 champions after AS Monaco’s away loss to Lyon last night (More) 

🇺🇸 The Messi Effect means it now costs $285 to attend an Inter Miami game and he has sold two NFL-sized stadiums in a month (More)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Cyriel Dessers kept Rangers’ Scottish Premiership title challenge alive as he headed in a late winner in a 2-1 victory over St Mirren (More) 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leicester City have been promoted back to the Premier League after Leeds were beaten 4-0 at QPR (More)

🇮🇹 Juventus seem set to hire Thiago Motta as their new manager. The former midfielder is currently manager of Bologna, who currently sit fourth in Serie A (More)

🇪🇸 Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao was stopped midway through the first half after Nico Williams was allegedly targeted with racist abuse (More)

Extra Time

Paul Merson and Michael Dawson have an awkward exchange after the north London derby…

… and Merson didn’t hold back on Dawson’s time at Spurs. 

Aitana Bonmati asks for a stretcher to waste time and then sprints over to teammate.

A ball boy was subbed out in the St Mirren vs Rangers game.

Busquets to Messi is still just too good.

Schlupp puts himself in contention for goal of the season.

The renaissance of Kai Havertz in numbers.

Game Face On

Rank these managers by their Premier League matches, most to least:

• Harry Redknapp

• David Moyes

• Sir Alex Ferguson

• Sam Allardyce

• Steve Bruce

• Arsène Wenger

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Championship: Preston North End vs Leicester City (20:00 BST, Sky Sports)

Serie A: Genoa vs Cagliari (19:45 BST, TNT Sports 1)

La Liga: Barcelona vs Valencia (20:00 BST, La Liga TV)

Ireland Premier Divison: Shamrock Rovers vs Drogheda United (20:00 BST)

TENNIS

ATP: Mutua Madrid Open (17:00 BST, Sky Sports Tennis)

SNOOKER

World Snooker Championship (13:00 BST, BBC iPlayer or Disovery+)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer: 

• Arsène Wenger - 828 games

• Sir Alex Ferguson - 810 games

• David Moyes - 693 games

• Harry Redknapp - 641 games

• Sam Allardyce - 541 games

• Steve Bruce - 476 games

“If I speak, there will be fire.”

-Mohamed Salah