Who Will Come out on top in the 2021/22 Premier League Title Race?

Manchester City and Liverpool, the pinnacle of English football. 2019 saw the highest-scoring title fight in English football history, climaxing with City beating Liverpool to the title by one point, despite the Reds finishing on 97.

2021/22 looks to be another tight and high scoring affair. One of these great teams will however have to lose so we take a look at fixtures and past experiences to decide who we think will win the title.

After 29 matches in the Premier League season, City and Liverpool are separated by just one point. The team from the Etihad hold the slender advantage, sitting on 70 points in comparison to the men from Anfield who have so far collected 69 points.

When taking recent form into consideration, Liverpool are by far the front runners. Since Liverpool drew 2-2 in a pulsating draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on January 2nd, Jurgen Klopp’s side have won nine out of nine.

In the same time frame, Manchester City have collected just 20 points, a seven-point swing which has allowed the team from Anfield back into a title fight.

Momentum is important in football and Liverpool have it. Advantage Liverpool.

We’ve been here before with these two. As mentioned earlier, City pipped Liverpool to the title in 2019 by just one point. To achieve this monumental feat, the Cityzens won their last 14 Premier League games. Having achieved a similar run last season as well as in the middle of this season, the current crop at the Etihad will know that they can beat anyone and everyone.

City’s experience in previous Premier League title fights will also be a big factor when deciding where the title will end up in May. In the previous three title fights which have gone to the final day of the season, City have come out victorious in all three.

The Sky Blues have the upper hand in terms of experience. Advantage City.

Upcoming fixtures will play a huge factor when deciding who will be Champions of the 30th Premier League season, with Manchester City having the favourable fixture list. Guardiola’s side still have to play five of the current bottom eight sides, and with City so far boasting a 100% record against these teams, it’s hard to argue that the Spaniard’s side won’t collect maximum points in these five games.

Aston Villa, though improving under Steven Gerrard, will likely not have enough firepower to cause City problems on the final day of the season (despite the former Liverpool captain wanting nothing more than his boyhood club collecting the title).

This leaves the awkward away games against Wolves and West Ham. Allowing Wolves to score first would be a disaster for City, seeing as the side from Molineux have only lost two of their last 48 Premier League games when going ahead.

An away journey to the London Stadium proved difficult regardless of the situation, but City will be praying that the Irons will be preparing for a Europa League Final at that point meaning David Moyes might rest key players.

Liverpool’s fixture list is certainly the hardest when analysing the two side-by-side. Still having to face three of the top six, Jurgen Klopp knows that his side will have to play at the top of their game to achieve maximum points.

Manchester United will be determined to stop their fiercest rivals having been thrashed 5-0 at Old Trafford earlier on in the season. Tottenham Hotspur however could prove more difficult, having already taken a deserved point against the Reds back in December.

Of course there is the massive elephant in the room of a certain fixture on the 10th of April where Liverpool have to travel to the Etihad Stadium. Looking at the previous encounters at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League, City certainly have the recent superiority over their title rivals.

Liverpool haven’t taken all three points from the Etihad since November 2015, where Klopp’s side ran out comfortable 4-1 winners. Only Roberto Firmino and James Milner from that side still call Anfield home and since Guardiola’s arrival, the Spaniard has not lost a home Premier League game to Liverpool.

However, when the pressure was on the most, Liverpool did succeed in a Champions League quarter-final. After an early City goal, Liverpool were able to turn it around to win 2-1 on the night as the Reds would eventually progress to the Champions League final that campaign. Klopp has also only lost four of seventeen games against City as well.

With all this taken into account, the fixture at the Etihad is, without doubt, the most important. If Liverpool were to carry their momentum and come out on top in this, it would then be hard to look past the Reds not winning the league, this game will be vital for City to get a foothold in the title race once again as it could stabilise their position at the top of the ladder which looks to be slipping away.

Prediction: Liverpool to win the 2021/22 Premier League title.