The Title Race 2022/23

[MadchesterCity]

We’re almost at the point where we need to win every single one of our games, especially the two against Arsenal. The team is certainly capable of that but with the fixture congestion and Arsenal having got a lot of their difficult fixtures out of the way It looks difficult.

We just have to hope that post World Cup they lose their momentum and we hit the ground running.

Three in a row is very difficult especially when you consider all the other outside influencing factors. It would appear that with us having 16 players at World Cup it’s only going to get worse before it gets better, hopefully we can peak at end of season and get champions league and FA Cup

 

[wolfie1988]

We’re almost at the point where we need to win every single one of our games, especially the two against Arsenal. The team is certainly capable of that but with the fixture congestion and Arsenal having got a lot of their difficult fixtures out of the way It looks difficult.

We just have to hope that post World Cup they lose their momentum and we hit the ground running.

There's 24 games left! I'm not saying we'll win it but to say Arsenal have got a lot of their difficult fixtures out of the way is a stretch when they haven't played us!

 

[alexmcity]

We’re almost at the point where we need to win every single one of our games, especially the two against Arsenal.

5 pts with 24 games to go isn't a big lead. If we get 4 pts from our games with Arsenal, we have to better them only by 2 pts over 22 games, as our GD is likely to stay better than theirs.

As we saw last season, projections of past tendencies on future games are notoriously unreliable in football. Liverpool dropped 16 pts (!) in the first half of last season, and then only 6 pts in the 2nd half. We dropped 13 pts in the first half of 18/19 season, and only 3 pts in the 2nd half.

Arsenal are likely to go over 80 pts, but a sudden collapse is not completely unlikely. 2 poor results and they'll get anxious.

 

[MCFC1993]

Likely going to need to put together a 10 game winning run to go top.

Arsenal have to be considered title challengers, arguably favourites with their form and 5 point head start when we resume.

 

[alexmcity]

Likely going to need to put together a 10 game winning run to go top.

Arsenal have to be considered title challengers, arguably favourites with their form and 5 point head start when we resume.

They may win it, it's possible, but how many (Arsenal) fans would put big money on it? They are not favourites, and this helps them psychologically. Once they start thinking they have a good chance to win, their psychological advantage will disappear. An Arsenal collapse is not impossible. The league is very hard this season, a lot of teams with quality players or a fighting spirit. Many surprise results will happen, in our games as well.

 

[jrb]

When the fixture congestion kicks in after the World Cup in December, January and February, let’s see where all the teams are after that in the table. The season isn’t halfway through, never mind it being Christmas, according to SS-FP Kelly Dalglish.

 

[Coatigan]

They may win it, it's possible, but how many (Arsenal) fans would put big money on it? They are not favourites, and this helps them psychologically. Once they start thinking they have a good chance to win, their psychological advantage will disappear. An Arsenal collapse is not impossible. The league is very hard this season, a lot of teams with quality players or a fighting spirit. Many surprise results will happen, in our games as well.

We have been favourites from day 1. It is completely irrelevant. Odds, 538 and all that is fun, but it is really just clinging. We need to win games. At least 2 more than arsenal now.

When Pep said those last 3 games would tell us a lot about the title race, I wasn't expecting them to tell us that we are complacent and that Arsenal clearly want it more. The 3 games have been poor. This loss could actually be a bit of a blessing, in the long run.

 

[I'm Blue]

One more than Arsenal

 

[Brightwell Bros.]

There's 24 games left! I'm not saying we'll win it but to say Arsenal have got a lot of their difficult fixtures out of the way is a stretch when they haven't played us!

Tricky to measure at this stage, but both of us have only played one other team from the top four. They're yet to play Brighton. Hard to do straightforward head to heads. We'd have a much better idea if we had played the Spurs and Arsenal games. I always said five points from top going into the world cup game is ok. Everything still to play for.

 

[alexmcity]

We have been favourites from day 1. It is completely irrelevant. Odds, 538 and all that is fun, but it is really just clinging. We need to win games. At least 2 more than arsenal now.

When Pep said those last 3 games would tell us a lot about the title race, I wasn't expecting them to tell us that we are complacent and that Arsenal clearly want it more. The 3 games have been poor. This loss could actually be a bit of a blessing, in the long run.

It's not irrelevant. It's easier to be the underdogs. Arsenal are heroes if they win, it's business as usual if we win. Big difference that.

At the same time, we are favourites for a reason: great manager, exceptional squad, a lot of experience, etc. Odds don't play on the pitch and are irrelevant in this sense, but they are based on something, namely our potential as a team. It doesn't guarantee success, but it makes our win a bit likelier than Arsenal's. We have to win (two more games) and we are likely to win. It's a game of probabilities. Many things are possible, some are more likely to happen, though.