LONDON — A year ago, Manchester City edged past Manchester United to go to the top of the Premier League and maintain its thrilling end-of-season surge to a first English title in nearly half a century.
Report by Reuters
A repeat result on Monday, however, will do little more than delay City’s surrender of the trophy to its fierce rival.
With United 15 points clear after a record-breaking run of victories, City has given up hope of defending a championship won in such dramatic circumstances last season and has been more concerned with keeping hold of second place from Tottenham and Chelsea.
There was growing talk of United winning the treble barely a month ago, but Alex Ferguson’s side has recently lost two big games — to Real Madrid in the Champions League and Chelsea in an FA Cup quarterfinal replay — to leave the league as its only chance of silverware this season.
It would require the biggest meltdown in Premier League history if United were to blow the title at this stage, and a win — a 26th in 31 games this campaign — would leave the team needing just four points from its remaining seven matches.
“We appreciate where we are in the league and we want to finish it,” said United goalkeeper David De Gea, who has kept six straight clean sheets in the league. Before that Manchester derby, which has become the Premier League’s standout fixture in last few years, the race for Champions League qualification and survival will heat up.
Third-place Tottenham, which is five points behind City, hosts sixth-place Everton in a match between two of the five teams competing for a spot in Europe’s top competition next season. Fifth-place Arsenal is at West Bromwich Albion while fourth-place Chelsea is at home to relegation-threatened Sunderland, whose new manager Paolo Di Canio will be taking charge of his first match.
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The Italian will be glad to be focusing on matters on the field after a trying first week in his new job following an outcry over his previous political allegiances.
Despite having once said “I am a fascist” and been pictured performing straight-arm salutes to fans of his former club, Lazio, Di Canio attempted to draw a line under the controversy Wednesday by renouncing his links to fascism.
Di Canio, back in the Premier League for the first time since 2004 when he was a player for Charlton Athletic, has taken over from the fired Martin O’Neill and inherits a team without a win in eight games and just a point clear of the bottom three.
Sunderland will look to make the most of Chelsea’s testing run of fixtures, with tomorrow’s match being its fourth in nine days. There are three decisive games at the bottom, with next-to-last Queens Park Rangers at home to fourth-bottom Wigan on Sunday and last-place Reading hosting Southampton and third-bottom Aston Villa at Stoke, which is four points above the relegation area.
QPR and Reading are seven points adrift of safety with just seven games left.
Also on Saturday, Norwich hosts Swansea.
On Sunday, it’s: Liverpool v West Ham; and Newcastle v Fulham.
