Ranking remaining schedules as Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City battle for Premier League crown

Everything came up Liverpool on Sunday when Manchester City’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal meant the Reds’ 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion was enough to see the Reds take top spot in the Premier League table with only weeks of competition left on the schedule.

It means that Liverpool have a 47% chance to win the title, per Opta, better than Manchester City’s 34% and Arsenal’s 19%. Considering there’s just a three-point gap between first-place Liverpool and third-place City, though, a lot will come down to the remaining fixtures on the list.

Though none of the three title contenders will face each other in this final stretch of the season, they each will face a combination of sides at all different ends of the table. That includes notable faceoffs with teams who currently are in the the top half of the Premier League table, three of which will take on the trophy-seeking trio — Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers. It sets up for an incredibly competitive race to the finish line for Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City and leaves very little room for error.

With nine games left to go, here’s a ranking of each team’s remaining schedule by easiest to hardest.

Premier League standings

3. Manchester City, 64 points

Remaining schedule
All times Eastern/U.S.

• April 3, 3:15 p.m.: Aston Villa (home)
• April 6, 7:30 a.m.: Crystal Palace (away)
• April 13, 10 a.m.: Luton Town (home)
• April 25, 3 p.m.: Brighton and Hove Albion (away)
• April 28, 11:30 a.m.: Nottingham Forest (away)
• May 4, 10 a.m.: Wolverhampton Wanderers (home)
• May 11, 10 a.m.: Fulham (away)
• May 19, 11 a.m.: West Ham (home)
• TBD: Tottenham Hotspur (away)

City’s schedule is almost perfectly balanced with a trio of contenders for European berths, three midtable sides and three teams ranked 14th and below. Their toughest matches will no doubt be against fourth-place Villa, who they play on Wednesday, fifth-place Spurs and seventh-place West Ham. It’s especially the case for Villa and Tottenham, who are directly competing with each other for what could be the only remaining Champions League berth up for grabs.

The other six opponents, though, rank from ninth to 18th and should be teams that only provide a limited amount of trouble for City. The group includes two teams currently in the middle of the relegation battle — 17th place Nottingham Forest and 18th place Luton. Those two games might also help City with their goal difference, should they need it, since their goal difference sits at plus-35 while Liverpool’s is plus-40 and Arsenal’s is plus-46.

2. Liverpool, 67 points

Remaining schedule
All times Eastern/U.S.

• April 4, 2:30 p.m.: Sheffield United (home)
• April 7, 10:30 a.m.: Manchester United (away)
• April 14, 9 a.m.: Crystal Palace (home)
• April 21, 11:30 a.m. Fulham (away)
• April 24, 3 p.m.: Everton (away)
• April 27, 7:30 a.m.: West Ham (away)
• May 4, 10 a.m.: Tottenham Hotspur (home)
• May 11, 10 a.m.: Aston Villa (away)
• May 19, 11 a.m.: Wolverhampton Wanderers (Home)

The next few weeks might be full of challenges for Liverpool, who have to play each of the teams ranked from fourth to seventh — Villa, Spurs, Manchester United and West Ham. The back-to-back games against Tottenham and Villa as their penultimate fixtures might also be crucial tests of the Reds’ ability to hang onto top spot, while next week’s showdown with United could provide an early answer on how strong Liverpool are as they attempt to close things out.

That said, Liverpool have three games on the schedule against teams ranked 14th to 20th, a group that’s eight points or more behind the rest of the table. Like City, Liverpool will play two sides in the relegation race — rivals Everton, currently in 16th place, and last place Sheffield United, who they will face midweek. The remaining fixtures against midtable opposition should also be relatively straightforward.

1. Arsenal, 65 points

Remaining schedule
All times Eastern/U.S.

• April 3, 2:30 p.m.: Luton Town (home)
• April 6, 12:30 p.m.: Brighton and Hove Albion (away)
• April 13, 11:30 a.m.: Aston Villa (away)
• April 20, 2:30 p.m.: Wolverhampton Wanderers (away)
• April 23, 3 p.m.: Chelsea (home)
• April 28, 9 a.m.: Tottenham Hotspur (away)
• May 4, 10 a.m.: Bournemouth (home)
• May 11, 10 a.m.: Manchester United (away)
• May 19, 11 a.m.: Everton (home)

Arsenal have it a little bit better than Liverpool in terms of facing top-half teams — they will not have to play seventh place West Ham but still have Villa, Spurs and United before the season wraps up. Tottenham will likely be in the midst of a competitive race for fourth when Arsenal take them on, but the added incentive that comes with one of the Premier League’s fiercest rivalries means that matchup might be a little bit harder for the Gunners than it is for the rest.

The bulk of Arsenal’s schedule, though, consists of faceoffs with midtable sides, playing four of the five teams ranked from ninth to 13th. The biggest disadvantage Arsenal have, though, is that they will take on just two relegation contenders during this stretch rather than the three Liverpool and City take on. One is against Luton on Wednesday, which should provide a good opportunity for them to pad the goal difference. The other is a final day showdown with Everton who might need the points to stay up, again making that matchup potentially more difficult than it might look on paper.