Manchester City fell seven points behind 2022-23 Premier League leaders Arsenal on New Year’s Eve.
The defending champions were surprisingly held 1-1 at home by Everton before the Gunners went to Brighton & Hove Albion and won 4-2 later in the day.
There are still 22 games left for each team, which gives Manchester City plenty of time to overhaul the current points deficit. What’s more, these side are yet to face each other in the league this season.
The first head-to-head meeting is scheduled for Wednseday 15 February at the Emirates Stadium.
Before then, Mikel Arteta’s side face some potentially tricky fixtures – starting their 2023 at home to a Newcastle United side who sit third in the table having suffered just one defeat so far this season.
Arsenal have to travel to rivals Tottenham Hotspur on January 15th before hosting Manchester United the following weekend. So a lot could change between now and mid-February, albeit there’s no guarantee that Manchester City will win their games or even the trip to the Emirates themselves.
Even with their deficit on the leaders, the bookmakers still have Manchester City as the 4/5 favourites to win the 2022-23 Premier League title. Arsenal are still odds-against at 5/4.
One factor that is expected to play in Arsenal’s hands is that City will resume their UEFA Champions League campaign in late February, whilst the North London side themselves are only competing in the Europa League.
Some already feel Pep Guardiola may make a decision to concentrate on trying to win the Champions League for the first time in Man City’s history and therefore end up dropping points in Premier League matches either side.
