Gunners face moment of truth

Gunners face moment of truth

Tomorrow, colloquially called ‘klein Saterdag’ (little Saturday), sees the highly anticipated clash between Manchester City and Arsenal headline a R13-million TAB Soccer 13 pool – a game Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal must win if they are to wrestle the Premier League title away from Pep Guardiola’s City.

By Mark Gleeson

Manchester City must win at home tomorrow against Arsenal if they are to come from behind to take the Premier League title for a third successive season.

Although the Gunners managed to earn a point against Southampton last Friday, coming from 1-3 down to secure a draw in the dying minutes of the match, they are now only five points clear at the top but having played two more games than City.

Victory tomorrow for City will cut the gap to two points, which will allow them to use the games in hand to topple the Gunners from the summit.

If Arsenal can avoid defeat, then they are still somewhat in the driving seat heading into the final stages of the season with points on the board as they seek a first championship since 2004 and relive the glory days of Arsene Wenger.

It is an absorbing fixture which will be watched by tens of millions. City must be considered as a firm favourite with the power of Erling Haaland and the precision of Kevin de Bruyne their two main weapons.

Arsenal have drawn their last three games and already there is a sense they have thrown their chances away. William Saliba’s injury does not help their cause but Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and former City striker Gabriel Jesus are all capable to taking opportunities if presented.

Tomorrow also sees Chelsea trying to halt their freefall after weeks of horror results as they take on Brentford, while Liverpool’s bid for Champions League football continues with a tough away match at improving West Ham United.

Tottenham Hotspur have conceded nine goals in their last two games and now host Manchester United on Thursday in what could prove another calamitous exercise.

On the local front, the focus will be on avoiding relegation in the DStv Premiership with a number of matches being contested on Thursday, when Freedom Day is celebrated, as well as over the weekend.

It looks like five clubs are in line to drop down a league, with Swallows very much in that number following their loss to Stellenbosch.

Maritzburg United (25 points) and Chippa United (26) fill the bottom two places, but just above them are Swallows (28), Marumo Gallants (28) and AmaZulu (29).

The smart money is probably on the bottom two to stay where they are, but just one win for either of them and the whole picture changes. Swallows host Maritzburg on Thursday while Chippa are home in Gqeberha to Kaizer Chiefs, who are still in the chase for second place despite losing on Sunday to Sekhukhune United as they re-emphasise their inconsistency.