Manchester City could be handed the title tonight should Liverpool fall to defeat against Southampton as the title rival plays their game in hand this evening.
The scenes of Vincent Kompany chilling in a British pub or fans gathering outside the iconic statues at the Etihad will not be replicated tonight should Liverpool come away from the South Coast with a point or more.
Four points is currently the difference between the two teams with City being handed the advantage after Tottenham drew with Liverpool, only for the Citizens to drop two points against West Ham on Sunday.
The majority of the neutrals will be supporting Jurgen Klopp’s men as they will be wanting a tense entertaining final day of the season with a lot of twists and turns potentially upon us.
And that potentially goes for City fans, what a better way to clinching the title in front of your home fans against Aston Villa. A draw tonight would be a perfect result allowing a more comfortable Sunday viewing at the Etihad – a point will only be required.
Of course, if Liverpool loses tonight, it will be welcomed at the Etihad, but the spectacle of winning requires another final day experience like fans will remember fondly at Brighton in 2019, or even, to an extent, at St. Mary’s Stadium a year earlier when the record of 100 points in a campaign was achieved after Gabriel Jesus sparked celebrations amongst everyone associated with the club.
Although, a guaranteed positive outcome is not entirely favourable, it is a situation where City fans have become all too familiar with previous title victories. They clinched the titles both last season and in 2018 when rivals Manchester United fail to get three points on a day when they weren’t even playing.
Pep Guardiola has claimed he is unsure if he will be watching the midweek game at St Mary’s. The manager has reiterated that any result remains in City’s hands as they will only have to focus on their game and win.
"He said: “It doesn’t matter what happened in all the games, it is in our hands. The debate is over if they lose, if they win – it depends on us.”"
Aston Villa will surely not let their team be walked over given they won’t have anything to play for, however Steven Gerrard’s popularity will increase even further on the red side of Merseyside should his team hand the title to his former team.
He will want to play his hand despite the difficulty of his task given City has only lost twice in the league this season; both against London clubs, Tottenham and Crystal Palace.
Whatever the scenario, City fans will want to see Fernandinho and co lifting the trophy dressed in sky blue ribbons come 18:00 on Sunday.