sport news Man City have taken top spot but they face a congested fixture list, potential ... trends now

There are just six games to go and things are beginning to look ominous. Manchester City are top of the Premier League.

The weekend's results have put City firmly in the driving seat as they look to seal an unprecedented fourth straight title.

Pep Guardiola's side laid down the gauntlet on Saturday with a five-star showing against Luton Town as they swept aside the Hatters 5-1.

Then on Sunday afternoon, Liverpool suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat by Crystal Palace - a result that saw them fail to move from third to first.

Then to make matters better for City, Arsenal were beaten 2-0 at home by Aston Villa to see them relinquish top spot to Guardiola's side.

As things currently stand, City hold a two-point lead over Arsenal and Liverpool, but Mail Sport are on hand to explain why fans of the latter duo shouldn't be too pessimistic.

Once again, let's stress - it's only two points separating City from Arsenal and Liverpool. That is not insurmountable.

And with the way the Premier League fixture scheduling is laid out, both chasing clubs can now put pressure on the team to beat.

And that is because both sides now play twice in the top flight before City continue their own title charge.

City are not playing in the Premier League until April 25 when they take on Brighton due to their FA Cup involvement, meaning it is an opportunity for both Arsenal and Liverpool to potentially go four points above their rival - albeit having played two games more.

The road to attempting that begins this coming Saturday evening when Arsenal travel to Wolves before hosting bitter rivals Chelsea three days later on April 23. For Liverpool, they have a trip to Fulham on Sunday afternoon before making the short trip to their fierce rivals Everton on April 24. 

The following weekend (April 27-28), City are the last to play - with Liverpool heading to West Ham in the Saturday lunchtime match, while Arsenal head to north London foes Tottenham in the early Sunday kick-off. Following that encounter, City then travel to Nottingham Forest.

In fact, even the week after on May 4 Arsenal play before City once again - hosting Bournemouth in the Saturday, 12.30pm game, five hours prior to the reigning champions entertain Wolves. Liverpool face Tottenham the next day.

You have to go until May 11, and the penultimate week of the season, before City can apply pressure on their rivals. That weekend they travel to Fulham in the Saturday 12.30pm kick-off. The following day they can put their feet up and watch Manchester United versus Arsenal (May 12) before Aston Villa versus Liverpool on the Monday night (May 13).

This point ties in with the next two sections below (more on those in a moment). City's fixture scheduling means their remaining Premier League calendar is slightly more bunched up than their title rivals.

With everyone playing in midweek next week (April 23-25), City also have another midweek fixture to contend with in the final week of the season with a game at Tottenham (May 14).

That tricky trip to north London is sandwiched between the visit of Fulham (May 11) and the last game of the season at home to West Ham (May 19).

Then there is the small matter of a historic two-peat Treble that City are juggling. With all three teams still in Europe, City are the best equipped - and

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