Why Liverpool and Arsenal's next five matches could decide the Premier League title race - opinion
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The race to the Premier League title between Liverpool and Arsenal this season feels different very early on.After a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday, the Reds’ rivals Arsenal followed with a dramatic 2-1 win over Newcastle United, which made pundits and other football fans sit up and change their tune about the title picture.Arne Slot’s team have admittedly not performed to their usual high standards from the start of the season, but their initial unbeaten run seemed miraculously like it was there to stay before facing Oliver Glasner’s brilliant Palace side.But after facing back-to-back defeats in both the domestic league and the Champions League this week, fans are worried about how this form will affect their chances at either title.Photo by Hakan Akgun/Anadolu via Getty ImagesIt is such a different-looking team from the one that won the title last season, and while Slot has not changed his demeanour, he seems to be finding it difficult to immediately work out the squad’s issues.Liverpool have the second-hardest five-game run of fixturesThis may not get any easier for the manager, though, who is still trying to fit his new players into his best starting XI.But Opta have also revealed another reason that there will be huge difficulties ahead in the opponents they have to face in their next five games.READ MORE: Theo Walcott claims Liverpool have a £34m player who’s better than Gareth BaleAccording to the data analysts, Liverpool’s next five games harbour a 93.5 difficulty rating, which is the second hardest in the league.What makes this worse news for last year’s champions is that their current title rivals, Arsenal, have statistically the easiest run out of all the teams in the league (88.6), which could be a very pivotal moment in the race to become champions.For the Reds, Chelsea, Manchester United, Brentford, Aston Villa, and Manchester City await.Despite United being really poor this season, they do pose a significant threat, which is that they have put up a fight against the Reds last season, even when they were poor.Three of Arsenal’s games are against sides from 10th and below, with two of those being the current teams in the relegation zone.If the run of form continues from the past two games, it could spell trouble for Liverpool incredibly early on and tip the advantage in Arsenal’s favour.Manchester City’s fixture list could be a blessing for LiverpoolWhile there is the immediate threat of Mikel Arteta’s side, Pep Guardiola’s City team is still waiting in the wings and going slightly under the radar because of their less-than-stellar performances.However, they have the joint third hardest next five games in the league (93.3), which could be a great sign for the Reds, given they want to create separation between as many rivals as possible.One of those games is against Slot’s side, which will definitely be an interesting watch given how they have performed so far and how handily Liverpool beat them home and away last season.It is still too early to decide the title race, but with the recent performances, an upcoming international break, and a hard run of fixtures, it is something that Liverpool fans will be worried about.