MANCHESTER-Despite Manchester City’s victory against Tottenham to get closer, there are still many reasons to hope for the crown in the 2023–24 campaign.
What’s the city’s next move?
The Premier League title dreams of Arsenal are in shambles. They are still beyond Mikel Arteta’s hands, but Manchester City could expect heavy punishment from them if they fail to defeat Everton on the last day. Even Arsenal’s finest efforts seem insufficient after Pep Guardiola’s team defeated Tottenham on Tuesday to record their ninth consecutive domestic victory and eighth league victory. The match in north London was regarded as the Gunners’ last chance to swing the odds back in their favor. Now that they know, all City has to do to win a fourth consecutive title is defeat West Ham at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. They were in a similar predicament against Aston Villa on championship day just two years prior, down 2-0 before astonishingly winning the trophy.
They’ve done that kind of thing before. Someone like Sergio Aguero? To make matters worse, the Hammers have not triumphed at the Etihad Stadium since September 2015, despite the fact that it is David Moyes’ last game as manager of the team. Arsenal would have an advantage in a draw, however in the last 16 encounters, there have only been three draws in this match.
Can they escape the charges?
Moyes has a dismal track record versus Guardiola personally. In 15 games, he has only triumphed once in a penalty shootout two and a half years ago, two of those as manager of Manchester United against Bayern Munich in 2014 and the other two in charge of Sunderland two years later. As a coach, he has never defeated City at the Etihad Stadium and has only managed two points out of a possible 36 against the Spaniard. But Arsenal’s only chance to win the championship is to outperform City against West Ham. Even if the goal differential is larger, they will still lose by two points if they match victories.
In the unlikely event of an unexpected draw in Manchester, Arsenal would defeat Sean Dyche’s Toffees and win the title. Arsenal isn’t much changed by an even more surprising loss for City, though. To have any chance of taking home the championship for the first time in twenty years, a victory on the final day is all that is needed. But there is one possibility that things may work out for them, and it doesn’t stop with the season. There are still 115 Premier League accusations pending against City, as is widely known.
Will the plan pay Oof?
According to footballlondon, Richard Masters, the CEO, has confirmed that a trial date has been set for the matter; however, no public announcement has been made. The trial is scheduled to take place later this year. It is anticipated to be a pivotal event in the history of English football, beyond administrative decisions, point deductions, or other legal disputes. City are in a different situation than Everton, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, and Leicester City, all of which have been accused of illegally surpassing the threshold of permissible losses under profitability and sustainability standards (PSRs) and have in certain cases been found guilty of doing so. Among other grave accusations, the charges against them include reporting false financial data, using connected parties, and receiving unreported managerial compensation.
Since the alleged offenses are more serious and extensive than comparatively straightforward loss-making, there’s still a chance that the punishment will exceed even the point reductions that were meted out this season on an unprecedented scale. Here’s when Arsenal enters the picture. According to mirror, The Premier League is believed to have the authority to deprive teams of their crowns and relegate them. That being said, there is still no certainty as to whether it would proceed that far. City wouldn’t be the first team in Europe to lose historic victories in court. Juventus was hit with a 15-point punishment, demotion, and retrospective penalties in 2006 as a result of a match-fixing incident that involved the Italian football federation.
What’s behind the surprise tactic?
The Premier League has docked Nottingham Forest four points for violating its sustainability and profit policies. It was confirmed on Monday that Forest is the second Premier League team to receive a points penalty. Everton was given ten points for violating the same regulation in February, but their punishment was later lowered to six points after an appeal. The Toffees are still awaiting word on the result of another charge that was made public concurrently with Forest’s. Should Forest want to file an appeal, the matter needs to be heard and resolved by April 15; the decision-making deadline is May 24. Forest made a furious statement on Monday night, but they did not indicate if they will file an appeal.
