Arsenal and Liverpool’s next six fixtures after huge late twists in Premier League title race

Liverpool moved six points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League after Darwin Nunez’s dramatic late brace combined with Aston Villa’s comeback at the Emirates Stadium

The Premier League title race took a twist on Saturday as Liverpool and Arsenal picked up contrasting results.

Liverpool appeared to be dropping two valuable points after their first 35 shots failed to produce a goal at Brentford. But Darwin Nunez scored twice with Liverpool’s 36th and 37th shots to secure a 2-0 win which sparked huge celebrations in west London.

By stark contrast, Arsenal went 2-0 up only to surrender their lead and draw 2-2 at home to Aston Villa. The Gunners had won 46 straight home games in the Premier League once they took a 2-0 lead, but snapped their run, which went back to October 2019, as Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins scored from crosses.

The draw leaves them six points behind Liverpool, who also have a game in hand thanks to their postponed Merseyside Derby against Everton. Once again, it looks as though Arsenal have slipped up in pursuit of that elusive Premier League title. But could their upcoming fixtures bring more twists and turns? Mirror Football looks at the upcoming matches for both sides.

Liverpool

Arne Slot’s side have negotiated a difficult period, having drawn with Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, without adding another defeat to their only one of the season, which came against Forest back in September. It has been a little wobble, but might not be costly.

Liverpool host Ipswich next weekend in the Premier League after playing Lille in the Champions League – which they also top – before a tricky trip to Bournemouth at the start of February. The Cherries are in fantastic form, unbeaten in 10 Premier League matches, following their incredible 4-1 win over Newcastle in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Next comes the rearranged Merseyside Derby against Everton, before a home match against Wolves. Things get trickier again, with a trip to the Etihad to play Manchester City before a home game against Newcastle rounds off February.

Liverpool’s next six fixtures

Ipswich (h) – January 25

Bournemouth (a) – February 1

Everton (a) – February 12

Wolves (h) – February 16

Manchester City (a) – February 23

Newcastle (h) – February 26

Arsenal

The Gunners are missing Bukayo Saka, as well as a whole host of defenders, and have struggled of late, with just one win from their last five games in all competitions. They face an uphill battle in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle, having lost the first one 2-0, and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United on penalties.

Next up, they will try to bounce back against Wolves next weekend. Wolves are winless from their last three league games, having initially enjoyed the new manager bounce when Vitor Pereira arrived, and are relegation threatened.

A home game against Man City will follow before another relegation-threatened side, in the form of Leicester, who are in free fall under Ruud van Nistelrooy. The difficulty of the following game, against West Ham, will depend on the impact Graham Potter has, before two tough matches as February turns to March.

A trip to the City Ground to play a solid and formidable Nottingham Forest side will be followed by another to Old Trafford to play Manchester United – the team who triumphed with just 10 men against them recently.

Arsenal’s next six fixtures

Wolves (a) – January 25

Manchester City (h) – February 2

Leicester City (a) – February 15

West Ham (h) – February 22

Nottingham Forest (a) – February 26

Manchester United (a) – March 8

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