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The race for the Premier League title and the FA Cup semi-finals continue as the season approaches its climax in England ahead of what could be a decisive week.
Events get under way in the Premier League on Friday night as league leaders Arsenal entertain bottom of the table Southampton. Consecutive draws have seen Arsenal's lead cut to just four points over Manchester City, who have a game in hand, with everyone looking at the clash between the two teams at City's Ethiad Stadium on April 26 as a possible title decider, a Xinhua report said. Arsenal can't afford to drop any more points and should have few problems against a rival that looks increasingly doomed to relegation after four defeats and a draw in their last five games. Mikel Arteta needs his side to stamp their authority on this match and to avoid the loss of concentration that saw them surrender two-goal leads away to Liverpool and West Ham. Manchester City's attention this weekend is on the FA Cup. Pep Guardiola's side face Championship promotion contenders Sheffield United in the first semi-final at Wembley. Guardiola commented after his side's 1-1 draw away to Bayern Munich on Wednesday that his players were tired and with the Arsenal game next week, he will probably make several changes to his side. City beat Burnley, who have already won promotion from the Championship, 6-0 in the quarterfinals, and this looks like a chance for players such as Kyle Walker, Aymeric Laporte and Phil Foden to all get their chances. The second FA Cup semifinal on Sunday looks to be a far more even affair, with Manchester United against Brighton. Brighton are playing arguably some of the best football in England at the moment, while United have a tough Europa League tie away to Sevilla on Thursday and are hampered by injuries to Marcus Rashford (who could be fit for Sunday), Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw. Relegation is at the heart of most of the remaining Premier League fixtures: Leeds United, who travel to Fulham, are still rocked from a 6-1 defeat at home to Liverpool and a 5-1 thrashing at home to Crystal Palace. Coach Javi Gracia needs to find solutions or his side could drop into the bottom three. Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp hailed his side's win at Leeds as a new dawn after a difficult season and would expect another win at home to third from bottom Nottingham Forest, who have gone 10 games without a win and lost twice since coach Steve Cooper was told that the results had to improve. Dean Smith makes his home debut as Leicester City coach in a six-pointer against Wolverhampton. Leicester's last win was on February 11, while the consecutive wins have lifted Wolves seven clear of the bottom three. Roy Hodgson has inspired Crystal Palace to three wins, and three points from the home game against Everton would mean Palace are safe for another year, (in fact it would put them level with Chelsea). Everton, meanwhile, are deep in trouble after just one win in eight games. Aston Villa could make it six wins from six and strengthen their case for a place in Europe when they visit Brentford. Ollie Watkins is in fine form for Villa with 11 goals so far in 2023. Bournemouth entertain West Ham in another tense relegation battle on Sunday, before Newcastle United face Tottenham in what looks like a decisive game for a top-four finish. Although Newcastle were beaten by Aston Villa last week, a win on Sunday would lift them six clear of Spurs with a game in hand. --IANS ak/ ( 622 Words) 2023-04-20-19:02:02 (IANS)
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