Four points and games in hand divide title-tussling Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City - but what are the clubs' chances of claiming the crown?

Arsenal extended their lead at the Premier League summit with an emphatic 5-0 win over Chelsea on Tuesday, having reclaimed top spot with a 2-0 win over Wolves at the weekend.

Liverpool, who have one game in hand over Arsenal, beat Fulham 3-1 on Sunday to keep pace, while City, who have two games in hand over the Gunners, thrashed Luton 5-1 last time out.

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from the Premier League clash between Arsenal and Chelsea.

Pep Guardiola's juggernauts, therefore, have the title in their hands: six successive wins would guarantee an unprecedented, fourth consecutive league title. However, one wayward result could flip fortunes.

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool's win against Fulham in the Premier League.

The top three have been tussling since Christmas after Spurs and Aston Villa dropped out of the top three. You can hit play on the interactive table below to see how the table has changed throughout the campaign.

If things do go to the wire with points, Arsenal currently lead the battle for goal difference by some distance with +56, followed by Manchester City (+44) and Liverpool (+43).

Wednesday 24th April 7:00pm Kick off 8:00pm

The next chapter of the title race sees Liverpool face Everton at Goodison live on Sky Sports on Wednesday before City travel to Brighton under the Sky cameras on Thursday.

Thursday 25th April 7:30pm Kick off 8:00pm

As it stands, Arsenal are the form side among the challengers with an average return of 2.4 points per game over their previous five league outings, compared to City (2.2) and Liverpool (2.0).

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So, how do the teams' title chances fare?

ARSENAL

Reasons to be optimistic

Arsenal suffered a dip over the festive period, losing three in five games, but have bounced back to almost perfect levels since with 12 wins and one draw from 14 games - with an aggregate scoreline of 45-6.

Additionally, the best defence usually wins titles and the Gunners have that this season.

Mikel Arteta's side have conceded just 26 goals this season - six fewer than other team. Meanwhile, their expected goals conceded tally is equally impressive at just 24.41 - 6.41 fewer than any other team.

Additionally, Arsenal have kept a table-topping 16 clean sheets - six more than any other team.

As a result, David Raya has shipped just 0.75 goals per 90 minutes on average this term, which, factoring stoppers that have clocked 810 minutes or more, is the best ratio across England's top four leagues.

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Reasons to be cautious

Arsenal's players do not have the same level of trophy-winning experience as their rivals. Additionally, last season's capitulation hangs over them. Having surrendered such a healthy lead over City, when it felt like they might never get a better chance, they now have much to prove.

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LIVERPOOL

Reasons to be optimistic

In terms of form, Liverpool have been the most consistent throughout the campaign - never dropping points in more than two consecutive Premier League games.

Reasons to be cautious

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Crystal Palace's win against Liverpool in the Premier League

They have conceded only 32 goals but the underlying numbers show they give their opponents far better chances than their rivals, with 39.30 expected goals against (xGa) given up so far, compared to Arsenal's 24.41 and City's 30.82.

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MAN CITY

Reasons to be optimistic

City drew three in a row from mid-November before losing 1-0 at Aston Villa. However, Guardiola's side are now unbeaten in normal time since December 6 as they look to see out the campaign in customary, dominant form.

Guardiola's players know exactly what it takes to get over the line as they chase an unprecedented fourth consecutive title triumph.

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Manchester City’s win against Luton in the Premier League

Their strength in depth is unrivalled, allowing them to plough on even without players of the calibre of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland earlier in the season.

Reasons to be cautious

The fact no side has won four league titles in a row is the main one. Amid stiff competition from Liverpool and Arsenal, can they maintain the level required for a fourth consecutive season? There is a reason it has never been done before.

The other glimmer of hope for their rivals is they look more defensively vulnerable than in previous campaigns. Having shipped 32 goals in 32 games, they are conceding close to their highest rate under Guardiola, almost on a par with the 2016/17 campaign, when they finished third.

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The graphic below shows each team's upcoming Premier League fixtures, but which side has the easiest schedule?

The colours represent the difficulty of each opponent, based on the current league position.

Liverpool's average opponent ranks 8.8 in the table, which is slightly tougher than Arsenal's (10.3) and Manchester City's (10.5) run-in.

Predicted table

City are favourites to win the title with a 56 per cent chance, according to Opta's supercomputer. Arsenal's chances have jumped from 22 per cent to 31 per cent after their win against Chelsea, while Liverpool are now the underdogs at 16 per cent.

So, City's chances of retaining their crown is now almost a 50/50 flip.

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Liverpool have opened negotiations with Feyenoord about hiring Arne Slot as their new manager.

Sky Sports News reported on Tuesday that Slot is at the forefront of Liverpool's search for Jurgen Klopp's replacement.

The Feyenoord head coach ticks all their key criteria for the position and sources in Holland indicate the process could move quickly with the 45-year-old keen to join the Anfield club.

Compensation is anticipated to be in the region of £9m if a deal is to be closed.

Why are Liverpool keen on Slot?

Who is Slot and why do Liverpool want him?

• Age: 45
• Trophies won: Eredivisie 2022/23, KNVB Cup 2023/24
• Playing style: Aggressive, full-throttle
• Preferred formations: 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3

Slot, who secured the KNVB Cup last weekend and led Feyenoord to their first title in six years last season, appeals to Liverpool due to his aggressive, full-throttle style.

He has drilled his team to be adept at turning defensive actions into shooting opportunities and they top the Eredivisie for tackles won in the opposition's final third.

Feyenoord have the best defence in the league and the second-best offensive metrics.

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Feyenoord boss Arne Slot gave an inspirational team talk following a huge win against Ajax last season - his side then went on to win the Eredivisie

Slot has proved capable of improving individuals as well as the collective, while operating on a smaller budget than his core competitors, and his penchant for a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation fits Liverpool's squad.

Slot has previously been approached by Tottenham, Chelsea and Leeds. He signed a new contract last May to keep him at Feyenoord until 2026 but has referenced a desire to make the next step in his career.

Sporting manager Ruben Amorim was under consideration by Liverpool but sources say he is no longer in the frame, as it stands.

West Ham are interested in Amorim but Julen Lopetegui, the former Wolves, Real Madrid and Spain boss, and Paulo Fonseca, currently in charge of Lille, are considered the frontrunners.

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Peter Smith and David Reed discuss the news that Liverpool have opened negotiations with Feyenoord about hiring Slot as manager 'Slot brings crazy, sexy football'

Slot took over from Dick Advocaat at Feyenoord for the start of the 2021/22 season with the club having finished fifth the previous campaign. Just two years later, they were champions of the Eredivisie. He built a pressing team playing intense, attack-minded football while also being able to win.

Feyenoord are second behind PSV Eindhoven this season, nine points adrift with four games to play. In Europe, they finished third in their Champions League group before dropping into the Europa League where they were knocked out by Roma on penalties in February.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Dutch football journalist Marcel van der Kraan said: "He is the prime candidate for Liverpool. It was only a matter of time before another big English club would come knocking on the door. He's not only been a successful manager, he's also been hugely impressive with his playing style of very attack-minded, Pep Guardiola-style football.

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Dutch football journalist Marcel van der Kraan explains why Slot is the right candidate to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager

"I don't expect Feyenoord to stand in the way. They know he's a manager in demand but they will demand a big compensation fee. He has two years left on his contract that was a record deal.

"Never before in Dutch football has a team paid a manager such huge wages. The players like him, the fans love him, the club love him - they won't want him to go. Feyenoord have every right to demand a big fee as there is no clause in his contract which he renewed last year.

"He's been a successful coach and made Feyenoord champions playing crazy, sexy football. It is sexy what this man brings on a football pitch. There's nothing more to win for him here. The next step for him is to enter a club in a big league and no league is bigger for the Dutch than the Premier League. I will be surprised if Slot doesn't bite at this chance and become the manager of Liverpool next season."

What has Slot said about managing in Premier League?

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Slot revealed his admiration for the Premier League last May when he was previously linked with a job at Tottenham

Last summer, Slot was one of the leading contenders for the then-vacant Tottenham manager's role and Sky Sports News reporter Gary Cotterill went to Rotterdam to cover the story.

Cotterill found Slot to be "engaging, polite, very smiley, he's got presence and charisma - and he's funny" when writing about his trip to get the lowdown on the Feyenoord boss, who has been open about his desire to manage in the Premier League.

"My next step will not be a club in Holland," he said in May 2023.

"If that is my next step, then I've failed completely. The normal next step will be to go abroad and I've always said the best league in the world is the Premier League."

What happened with Tottenham's approach for Slot? Image: Slot was wanted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou

Spurs were determined to get Slot last summer after he secured the Eredivisie title with Feyenoord.

However, Slot ruled himself out of the running to take over in north London before signing a new contract at Feyenoord a few days later which runs until 2026.

"I'm not done here yet," Slot said after the announcement of his new deal.

The potential deal with Spurs never got to any formal stage of discussions with him or Feyenoord and Spurs bosses felt that Slot used their interest in him to get an improved contract in the Netherlands.

Ange Postecoglou was eventually appointed by Spurs from Celtic.

Image: Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was keen on securing Slot last summer 'Slot is no shrinking violet'

European football expert Andy Brassell told Sky Sports News:

"Slot is a guy who has got a consistent record of success and playing attacking football over several years. That idea of redeveloping teams and working with younger players as well is something that really appeals to Liverpool.

"The way he wants to attack would really appeal to Liverpool fans, too. He always wants his teams to find a way to put pressure on the opposition, to press, to score goals, and they do that in Europe as well.

"No one is quite like Jurgen Klopp in front of the media, but Slot is no shrinking violet at all. We've seen this when his side have played Roma and he's come up against Jose Mourinho. He's not afraid to upset and won't back down.

"Premier League clubs have known he would fit in well for quite a while. The Premier League has moved more towards possession and front-foot football, so it's probably the right time for Slot. Of course, there's a gap in quality compared to the Eredivisie, but he'll have better players at his disposal in the Premier League."

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