Gary Neville believes Tottenham vs Man City is the game that decides the Premier League title race; Arsenal have a one-point lead over City, with the Gunners needing a hand from their rivals; watch Spurs vs Man City live on Sky Sports on Tuesday from 7pm; kick-off 8pm
Wednesday 15 May 2024 07:18, UK
Gary Neville believes the Premier League title race between Arsenal and Manchester City will be decided on Tuesday night, when Tottenham host Pep Guardiola's side, live on Sky Sports.
Tottenham vs Man City - follow live updates
Arsenal's 1-0 win at Manchester United means the two-way title race will definitely go down to this Sunday's final day, with the Gunners holding a one-point lead over City with one week of the season remaining.
However, City have a game in hand at Arsenal's north London rivals Spurs on Tuesday night, kick-off at 8pm. Should Guardiola's side win that game, they will hold a two-point lead over the Gunners with one round of Premier League fixtures left.
Neville believes both City and Arsenal - who face West Ham and Everton at home respectively on the final day - will both win those final matches, meaning Tuesday's match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will have the ultimate impact on where the top-flight trophy goes this season.
"Tuesday is the decider," he said on the Gary Neville Podcast. "A month ago, I said I look forward to the Tottenham vs Man City game.
"There are some moments along the way but it will come down to that game on Tuesday night. They [City and Arsenal] will not make mistakes on Sunday.
"Tuesday night is where it will decided - and there will be that expectant audience where you think: can Tottenham play? Can they cause them problems? They can, but can they take their few chances they will get in the game?"
Tuesday night's showdown will be a conflict of emotions for Tottenham supporters, whose side have an outside chance of pipping Aston Villa to the fourth Champions League spot.
However, the victory Spurs need to keep their top-four hopes alive would in turn put the title in arch-rivals Arsenal's hands, but Neville believes the Tottenham players will still give their all against Guardiola's side, despite the fascinating context.
The Sky Sports pundit also believes City, who need to be perfect in their final two games to be sure of the title, will not be deterred by Arsenal's win at United on Sunday.
"City will do what Arsenal have done [at Old Trafford], which is concentrate on your own job, win our game," Neville added.
"City do that regularly, they've been in that position before being pushed by Liverpool. It's not unusual for their players to be going through this.
"They won't be panicking sat there this afternoon, that's the problem for Arsenal. There won't be any City manager or coach or fans even at this point overly worried. They will trust their team, in the same way that Mikel Arteta has trusted his players in this run-in.
"We will wait and see what happens on Tuesday, particularly if Tottenham scores first and something happens. There will be these normal pre-commentary lines that Tottenham don't want Arsenal to win the league but those Tottenham players will perform at their very best."
Before Arsenal's win at United, City showed their title credentials with a 4-0 win at Fulham, with defender Josko Gvardiol scoring twice alongside goals from Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez.
However, Tuesday's trip to London is a bigger task for City, who have lost every league game at Spurs since the north Londoners moved to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019, with Guardiola's side failing to score a goal in any of those games.
While Ange Postecoglou's side also held City to a 3-3 draw at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, City did go and beat Tottenham on their own patch in the FA Cup fourth round back in January.
"You switch on [the Fulham game] at home and you're thinking it will be a long shot and then the inevitable happens," Neville added. "We will be at Tottenham on Tuesday night and the inevitable may happen again. But the main thing for Arsenal is at least Man City have to go there and win.
"I suspect City may have stayed in London - I don't think they would have come down on Saturday night and then gone back down on Monday. Maybe, I don't know. But when they were watching that [United vs Arsenal] game, there will have been a little bit of: 'Something might happen there, it's Old Trafford'.
"But now they will switch on again, obviously they will have had to have got points on Tuesday anyway. They're a machine. It's been said so many times. And Tottenham has been a difficult ground for them."
It's one of the biggest sporting events in a generation. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk collide for the undisputed world heavyweight championship on Saturday May 18, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book the fight now
