Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool's next seven matches after Gunners' double blow (original) (raw)

Following their return this weekend Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal will have seven matches to play before the next international break as they prepare to reignite the Premier League title race, knowing it will be crucial to pick up as many points as possible

Arsenal could face a tough time in their next seven games with Martin Odegaard set for a spell out injured

The Premier League title race is set to reignite this weekend as teams prepare to return from the international break.

As things stand, it's looking like fans will be treated to a three-way race between Man City and Liverpool - who are both top with nine points - and Arsenal, who have seven points from three games.

All three teams have seven matches before the next international break disrupts Premier League action again at the start of October, knowing it will be crucial to pick up as many points as possible at this early stage of the season.

Mirror Football takes a look at Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal's upcoming fixtures and the challenges they face ahead of their return to domestic duties.

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola's men have some challenging games to come - after facing Brentford at home in their first game back on September 14. The Bees are having a solid season so far with two wins from their first three games, but are much grander tasks ahead.

City's play their first match in the new-look Champions League competition just four days later, welcoming Inter Milan to the Etihad on September 18 before hosting title rivals Arsenal the following Sunday.

The Sky Blues then play three times in the space of a week as they play Watford at home in the Carabao Cup third round on September 24 before a testing trip to Newcastle - and then jetting off to Slovan Bratislava. They round things off with a home clash against Fulham before the next international break.

Erling Haaland and his Man City team have a handful of tricky games to come over their next seven matches (

Image:

PA)

City still have a few injuries to contend with over this period, with new signing Savinho pulling out of the Brazil squad this month after picking up a knee problem that ruled him out of City's 4-1 win over West Ham.

Key midfielder Rodri hasn't featured for City this entire campaign after suffering with a hamstring problem but started for Spain in their 4-1 win over Switzerland and is in contention to play against Brentford. Oscar Bobb remains a long-term absentee.

Liverpool

Arne Slot will be confident his Reds side can make a real statement over the next match of fixtures - with his team having the most forgiving run of games out of the three.

The Reds restart their season with a home clash against Nottingham Forest before a trip to AC Milan - arguably their toughest match of the seven-game run - and then then return to Anfield for back-to-back home clashes against Bournemouth and West Ham, the latter in the Carabao Cup third round.

A Champions League clash at home to Bologna is sandwiched in between trips to Wolves and Crystal Palace before the international break.

Liverpool are joint top of the Premier League and have a favourable run of fixtures coming up (

Image:

Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Slot is still waiting on new £12.5m signing Federico Chiesa to return to full fitness as he steps up his preparations in training, while Harvey Elliott returned to the club injured after a setback on England Under-21 duty.

Curtis Jones is also still out, though Slot was given a boost after Alexis Mac Allister's injury while playing for Argentina turned out to be a minor one.

Arsenal

A tough few weeks lie ahead for Arsenal with some tricky games - the first of which they are likely to have to play without two of their key midfielders.

Mikel Arteta has been dealt the blow of losing Martin Odegaard over the international break, with the Norway playmaker picking up an ankle sprain against Austria and is now facing a likely spell on the sidelines, meaning he is set to miss their next clash against Tottenham in the North London Derby on September 15.

The Gunners have another blow too with Declan Rice set to miss that game too through suspension after his red card against Brighton last time out, though he will return for a trip to Atlanta to kick-start their Champions League campaign before a potential season-defining clash against title rivals Man City on September 22.

Arsenal face Tottenham and Man City in their first few games back - and will be without Declan Rice and Odegaard against Spurs (

Image:

Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

The games become more forgiving for the Gunners after that, with four home games in a row. They play a third-round Carabao Cup clash against Bolton three days after City before a home game against Leicester on September 28.

They then welcome PSG to the Emirates in midweek before Southampton pay a visit on October 5 - with some winnable games towards the end of that spell.

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