In other words, all nine teams currently ranked from 4th to 12th in the table can switch places after this weekend's round of matches, as the maximum gap between them is just 3 points.
Both "dark horses" Bournemouth, Sunderland along with MU and 3 English representatives in the Champions League - Liverpool, Newcastle, Tottenham - are in the group of teams mentioned above. The other three teams are Everton, Crystal Palace and Brighton. That's just talking about the upcoming round. Looking further, Liverpool can even surpass the team currently ranked second in the rankings Chelsea after only 2 rounds, if the results of the next 2 matches go as they wish. The same goes for the other teams. The next round will take place in the middle of next week. The Premier League is entering its most intense period of the year, with each team playing 9 matches in just 5 weeks (not including the League Cup and European cups).
It is worth noting that due to the tight gap between the 9 teams mentioned above, all of them have to seize the opportunity when they can score more goals or try not to concede any more. The specific score, not just the result of the match, will decide many things. In the last round, although both played at home, Liverpool lost 0-3 to Nottingham while MU "only" lost 0-1 to Everton. As a result, MU is now 2 places above Liverpool, even though they have the same number of points! That is also a small difference between the two teams above and below the relegation line, West Ham and Leeds, with a 1-goal difference in the secondary index.
Manchester City looks to Erling Haaland (center) for goalscoring
PHOTO: REUTERS
The rivalry in the rankings makes the Premier League matches from now until the end of the year very tense, regardless of the name or position of the teams facing each other. Of course, there are still "nail-biting" matches. The most special match in this weekend's round is the "Super Sunday" - second-placed Chelsea takes on top-placed Arsenal. As the first team in the homeland of football to compete at the highest level for exactly 100 consecutive seasons, Arsenal are full of chances to win the title, with a gap of 6 points over Chelsea.
The matches on Saturday night (10pm on November 29) are Manchester City - Leeds, Brentford - Burnley, Sunderland - Bournemouth and at 3am on November 30, Everton - Newcastle, Tottenham - Fulham. MU will visit Crystal Palace in the early match on Sunday night (7pm on November 30). The remaining matches (9pm on November 30) are West Ham - Liverpool, Aston Villa - Wolverhampton, Nottingham Forest - Brighton.
Once sharing 2 of the top 4 positions, Bournemouth and Sunderland have not known what it means to win in the last 3 rounds, falling near the middle of the table. Tonight, they will meet directly, with the prize for the winner being the honor of returning to the top 4, at least for 1 day. Whether star Antoine Semenyo will recover in time to return to the Bournemouth squad is the biggest question related to this match.
Meanwhile, coach Pep Guardiola's "role rotation" strategy backfired, causing Manchester City to lose 0-2 to Leverkusen in the Champions League midweek. That was a miscalculation by the coach. However, that shows how seriously coach Guardiola takes tonight's match. He rested Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias... even though tonight's opponent is only Leeds in the relegation zone. If they don't win this match, Manchester City's hopes of winning the championship will be shattered.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngoai-hang-anh-cang-nhu-day-dan-185251128231546908.htm
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