There are just two weekends of Premier League matches remaining until club football pauses for the World Cup.
Two weekends which could ultimately prove pivotal come the end of May, even though right now that must seem a long way off.
Two weekends for strugglers to make their mark and either climb out of the drop zone or pull away from that close knit section of the table where teams are one win or defeat from officially being classed as “in the midst of a relegation battle”.
Two weekends in which players on the periphery can potentially stake their claim for a berth in their respective international squads for Qatar.
Two weekends in which clubs can lay a foundation upon which to build for a title push or European challenge when the action all begins again on Boxing Day (even that seems some time off too for this SBOTOP writer).
As it stands, the Premier League betting odds make Manchester City title favourites and with good reason.
Pep Guardiola’s side have clinched four of the last five titles and showed real pedigree on Saturday – a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Leicester effectively earned through a resolute defensive display and a sheer moment of magic from the best player in the league.
What’s more while Ederson, Aymeric Laporte, Kevin de Bruyne & co were doing their bit in the East Midlands, the champions were without the man whose goalscoring record is so obscene it’s not inconceivable that, by the time of the festivities, he could have equalled the tally of the league’s top scorers from the entirety of last season.
For he has been scoring in virtually every game since the opening weekend of the season and Guardiola knows the next fortnight offers, on paper, a relatively kind schedule with four successive home games (domestically and in Europe) before eyes turn to Qatar.
With rivals likely to drop points and City hoping to avoid fatigue and defeat, the coach acknowledged: ‘We can arrive after the World Cup being there on top of the league.’
Of course, while the majority will back City to retain the title, what a boost it would be for Arsenal if they can head into the enforced break at the summit.
They returned there on Sunday with a five-star performance against newly promoted Nottingham Forest.
That was game in which Bukayo Saka started but was taken off with an injury which, it’s hoped, will not threaten his World Cup participation with England.
Saka was replaced by another young gun in Reiss Nelson, who marked his first Arsenal appearance since August 2021 with two goals and an assist.
If the Gunners can keep producing Premier League highlights at Chelsea and Wolves over the next two weekends, even City will not be able to end the first part of the campaign in a spot they have made their own in recent years.
These are big weekends ahead also for the likes of James Maddison (Leicester City) and Callum Wilson (Newcastle) who, with a couple of impressive showings over the next fortnight, may just get the nod in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
If Maddison can help Leicester move out of the drop zone in, admittedly tricky visits to Everton and West Ham, he may seal a place.
Likewise, Wilson will look to add to his goalscoring tally with a trip to Southampton, followed by a home test against Chelsea, on the horizon.
Despite largely struggling in his first few months at the club, not helped by being played in an array of positions, anyone who remembers his contribution at Euro 2020 last summer will argue the case for Raheem Sterling to be included.
Likewise, Marcus Rashford is too much of a talent to be left out, fresh from notching his 100th club goal for Manchester United – all before his 25th birthday.
As out-and-out centre forward options go though, Wilson seems the man in form to act as back-up for captain Harry Kane.
Elsewhere, with just seven points separating bottom club Forest and ninth place Liverpool, it is hard to know who will be in the relegation zone but the current trio – Forest, Wolves and Leicester – will certainly not want to spend the six-week break pondering on how to get out of it.
Psychologically, to move outside of the bottom three just before the World Cup begins could be a key long-term boost. All in all, there truly is much to play for over the next two weekends and, at both ends of the table, both collectively and individually.
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