LONDON — Title-chasing Manchester City faces leaders Arsenal in a seismic showdown at the top of the English Premier League on Sunday.
Troubled Chelsea desperately needs a win against Manchester United in the race for Champions League qualification, while Liverpool is also in search of a morale boost in the Merseyside derby, AFP reported.
Declan Rice doesn’t care what the critics say about Arsenal’s untimely loss of form, but the midfielder is well aware they must improve to win their “title-defining” clash with Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s side travels to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday nursing a a six-point lead over second-placed City as they target a first English title since 2004.
Arsenal has spluttered in recent weeks, losing the League Cup final against City, suffering a shock FA Cup quarter-final defeat against second tier Southampton and crashing to a damaging loss against Bournemouth in the top-flight.
Even Arsenal’s progress to the Champions League semifinals came with an asterisk after they laboured to a nervy goalless draw that secured a 1-0 aggregate victory against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday.
The Gunners have won just one of their last five matches in all competitions, while City are approaching top gear, having beaten Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in their last three games.
“There’s no beating around the bush. We have to perform better than we did against Bournemouth and probably Sporting as well,” Rice said.
“Recently, we have made too many errors. The Etihad is the ultimate test but it’s why we play this game. So, bring it on.
“It’s beautiful. I can’t wait. When you’re a kid, you’re watching the Premier League, you see these big matches, these title-defining moments and it comes down to if you’re going to be ready and how much do you want it?”
Rocked by a miserable run of just one win in their last seven league games, Chelsea are on the brink of falling out of the battle for Champions League places.
Liam Rosenior’s sixth-placed side has no margin for error in Saturday’s game against third-placed Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
They are seven points behind United, who lost to Leeds in their last match, and four adrift of fifth-placed Liverpool with six games to play.
A defeat against United would put Chelsea’s Champions League hopes in grave danger, increasing the pressure on boss Liam Rosenior after his team was booed off following last weekend’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City.
Blues midfielder Andrey Santos insisted the players are determined to turn the tide.
“We understand the fans are frustrated,” he said. “We are frustrated too. When you talk about Chelsea, you talk about winning games, which we’re not doing.
“It’s a difficult moment but we have to work hard and keep going. Of course, we believe we can finish in a Champions League place.”
Unceremoniously dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, Liverpool aim to make amends in their first appearance at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday.
Arne Slot’s side lost 4-0 on aggregate to PSG, turning the heat up on the Liverpool boss.
Slot suffered another blow this week when France striker Hugo Ekitike was ruled out for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury.
But Reds midfielder Ryan Gravenberch knows beating Everton in the first Merseyside derby at their plush new arena would lift Liverpool’s anxious fans and, more importantly, strengthen their bid to qualify for the Champions League.
“We have to pick ourselves up as Sunday is waiting,” he said.
“We just want to play in the Champions League next year. We have to give it our all.”
