The magic number for Manchester City to clinch the Premier League title has emerged.
Five more wins.
[ MORE Man City want title ASAP ]
City eased by Arsenal on Thursday to go 16 points clear atop the Premier League table with 10 games to go.
Pep Guardiola’s men will guarantee the title if they win their next five games, with the fourth of those games coming against crosstown rivals Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium. You get the sense Jose Mourinho’s side will be doing their best to make sure that doesn’t happen early, while City could seal the title with their trip to Wembley to face Spurs in mid-April.
They would have been able to guarantee their title win if the won all four games and then beat rivals Man United on Apr. 7, but Brighton’s involvement in the FA Cup quarterfinal on Mar. 17 has seen City’s game against the Seagulls postponed to a later date in the season.
Here are City’s next five games in the Premier League:
March 4: Chelsea, home
March 12: Stoke, away
March 31: Everton, away
April 7: Man United, home
April 14: Tottenham, away
Of course, if City’s title rivals (for arguments sake, we will call them that...) slip up in the next few weeks then they could clinch the title even earlier than April 14 but they are set for a record-breaking season.
The earliest a team has clinched the PL title is Manchester United, who hold the top three earliest title wins in history as they clinched the trophy on Apr. 14 2001, plus Apr. 22 2000 and Apr. 22 2013. City will be hoping to beat United’s Apr. 14 record, which they will definitely equal if they win their next five games in the Premier League.
With 75 points on the board from 25 wins in 28 games, plus 82 goals scored with just one defeat, this City side are on the brink of becoming the best the Premier League era has ever seen.
The added bonus of wrapping up the PL title in record time would allow City to focus on winning the UEFA Champions League for the first time in club history, as Guardiola and Co. already wrapped up the first piece of silverware of the season, the League Cup, last weekend.
