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But the aching bodies, tired minds and damaged morale that managers Mikel Arteta and Jürgen Klopp must overcome are suddenly threatening to halt Manchester City and Pep Guardiola, too.

If the Premier League trophy is to end the season decked in red ribbons rather than blue, this weekend is the final chance for both Arsenal and Liverpool to turn the screw on City and capitalise on their moment of weakness.

By the time City return to Premier League action, at Brighton & Hove Albion next Thursday, Arsenal and Liverpool could be four points clear of Guardiola's team.



In 2012, when Sergio Agüero's 93rd-minute winner against Queen's Park Rangers sealed the title for City in the final game of the season, both they and nearest rivals Manchester United built and lost significant leads -- United were eight points clear with six games to play -- during the run-in.

This season's title race will be shaped by what happens this weekend.

But although City's confidence will have been dented by the Real defeat, Arsenal and Liverpool must also haul themselves off the floor.

Arsenal face Wolverhampton Wanderers having lost their past two games without scoring, against Aston Villa in the league and Bayern Munich in the Champions League, while a run of one point from Liverpool's past two Premier League games has damaged their own title challenge.

But although both teams now trail City by two points at the top of the Premier League, momentum can shift quickly, and Arsenal and Liverpool simply have to win this weekend to keep their hopes alive.

Liverpool and Arsenal each have possibly their last real opportunity to deny Manchester City a fourth successive Premier League title. Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Arsenal need to buck their recent trend of faltering in the final weeks of a season if they are to win the title.

But a win at Fulham, coupled with another victory in the Merseyside derby at Everton on Wednesday, would lift them four points clear of City, who would have played two games fewer than Liverpool and Arsenal by the time they reemerge on league duty at Brighton.

There are plenty of ifs and buts surrounding Arsenal and Liverpool, but one thing is absolutely clear: they both have to win this weekend to retain any realistic hope of winning the title.
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