LONDON • Under normal circumstances, the Premier League season would have already concluded, with Manchester City long relinquishing their crown to Liverpool.
Yet tomorrow, days before the summer solstice, Pep Guardiola's team will step out at the Etihad still harbouring hopes of delaying Liverpool's inevitable coronation as champions beyond this weekend.
Three months after the season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic, the English top flight will resume with Liverpool just two wins shy of sealing their first league title in 30 years.
City host Arsenal and Aston Villa welcome Sheffield United - the first of 92 fixtures crammed into the next five weeks.
It will be a poignant evening, with both games played behind closed doors and a minute's silence observed before kick-off to remember the 41,000-plus victims of the Covid-19 disease in Britain.
Both City and Arsenal managers suffered personally during the shutdown.
Guardiola's mother died from the disease while Mikel Arteta tested positive in March but has since recovered.
In many ways, tomorrow's clash is more important to the visitors. While second-placed City are 25 points adrift of Liverpool with 10 games left, the ninth-placed Gunners are eight points behind Chelsea (48) in fourth, but have a game in hand.
Arteta had revived Arsenal before the break, with his side unbeaten in eight league games and winning three in a row.
Even though their game in hand is at City - Arsenal have lost their last six encounters in all competitions dating back to November 2017 - goalkeeper Bernd Leno believes the circumstances favour the visitors this time.
Referencing the fact Arteta has insider knowledge as he was Guardiola's assistant for three years before leaving for the Emirates hot seat in December, the German said yesterday: "We can surprise City because nobody has the rhythm. I'm sure we can have a good start.
"Mikel knows every player and he knows the (City) manager better than anyone."
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Arsenal have lost each of their last six games against Manchester City.
Unlike Arsenal, Villa entered the hiatus with four straight losses, leaving them second from bottom on 25 points, three from safety.
This may feel like a fresh start though and a home win would see Dean Smith's side leapfrog three clubs into 16th spot.
The bad news for Villa, however, is that the seventh-placed Blades (43) know that three points would lift them to fifth and one step closer towards European qualification for the first time in club history.
REUTERS
ASTON VILLA V SHEFFIELD UNITED
MAN CITY V ARSENAL
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