Man City 2025/26 Premier League run-in fixtures, schedule, predictions and results in the battle for title

Manchester City’s pursuit of a fifth Premier League crown in eight seasons will be decided over a nerve-shredding final nine-match stretch that begins with Nottingham Forest’s visit to the Etihad and could climax against Aston Villa on 24 May.

Pep Guardiola’s side sit five points behind leaders Arsenal but crucially hold a game in hand against Crystal Palace that has yet to be scheduled, leaving the destiny of the trophy delicately poised.

City’s recent 2-2 draw with Forest, in which they twice surrendered the lead to strikes from Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson, allowed Arsenal to stretch their advantage after the Gunners’ 2-2 draw at Brighton. Yet Guardiola’s squad, still alive on three fronts, believe momentum can swing again.

The run-in opens with a trip to West Ham, where City have lost only once since the Hammers left Upton Park. A potential Champions League quarter-final sandwich awaits when Chelsea travel north on 11 April; the Blues snatched a stoppage-time point at the Etihad in January and need a repeat to keep their own top-four hopes alive.

The pivotal fixture arrives on 25 April. City host Arsenal in a match widely viewed as a title-decider, though both camps caution that twists are inevitable. Guardiola’s men were held 2-2 by the Gunners last season and a similar stalemate is forecast this time around.

A favourable sequence follows: Burnley at Turf Moor, where Guardiola has collected 22 points from a possible 24; a first-ever league visit to Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium; and a home date with Brentford that could descend into a shoot-out if Keith Andrews’ side remain in European contention.

The penultimate weekend sends City to Bournemouth, scene of the 2-1 defeat last November that sparked their mid-season wobble. The Cherries have since lost three straight tight contests, yet Andoni Iraola’s freewheeling style poses a threat to tired legs.

Should the race remain undecided, the final day offers a dramatic encore: Aston Villa at the Etihad. Memories of 2022’s 3-2 comeback against Villa still linger, and Unai Emery’s revitalised side are expected to provide another stern examination.

The phantom fixture against Palace, postponed due to the Londoners’ Conference League commitments, could yet be squeezed into the final midweek if City progress in the FA Cup and Champions League. By then, Oliver Glasner’s departing squad may have little left to play for, handing City a theoretical edge.

Predicted results: West Ham (W), Chelsea (D), Arsenal (D), Burnley (W), Everton (W), Brentford (W), Bournemouth (D), Aston Villa (W), Crystal Palace (W) would leave Guardiola’s side on 88 points, setting up the tightest title dash since the centurion seasons of a decade ago.

The table, however, is not yet written. With cup finals, European nights and the ever-present risk of another slip, City know that nine games stand between redemption and a second straight season watching someone else lift the trophy.

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