Manchester City’s progression to the FA Cup final has provided a little more clarity on their Premier League run-in, with Arsenal’s fixtures also largely now sorted.
Manchester City’s FA Cup semi-final win over Southampton on Saturday ensured the need for another Premier League match to be rescheduled, as City will no longer be able to face Bournemouth on the weekend of May 16th-17th. The FA Cup final is on May 16th, after all.
With Crystal Palace also progressing to the Europa Conference League semi-finals, their date restrictions are also set in stone, and it’s now guaranteed that City will need to play midweek Premier League matches in the final two weeks of the domestic season.
The only unknown is exactly when they’ll play those two games, and in what order.
Palace would likely prefer to play City around May 12th-13th, as they’ll hope to be playing in the Europa Conference League final on May 27th, and having City (A) on May 21st and Arsenal (H) on May 24th would not be the ideal build-up to such a final.
If that’s how it plays out, Bournemouth would then have to be moved to the 19th/21st midweek. Neither the Palace game nor the Bournemouth game will be on May 20th, as that’s the date of the Europa League final, to be kept clear of domestic fixtures.
The uncertainty should soon be cleared up by the Premier League, but we at least know roughly when City and Arsenal will have Premier League match slots, so let’s take a look at the remaining schedule.
Premier League title run-in fixtures
- 2nd May – Arsenal vs Fulham
- 4th May – Everton vs City
- 9th May – City vs Brentford
- 10th May – West Ham vs Arsenal
- 12/13th May – City vs Crystal Palace or Bournemouth vs City
- 17th May – Arsenal vs Burnley
- 19th/21st May – Bournemouth vs City or City vs Crystal Palace
- 24th May – Crystal Palace vs Arsenal and City vs Aston Villa
As per the above, Arsenal will have played two extra games compared to City following the Fulham match, and City will then make up those games in hand before Arsenal are next in action.
After that, Arsenal will play first, then City, then Arsenal, then City, before the two teams play the final weekend together.
So up until the final weekend, Arsenal will always be playing first, with City playing catch-up the following week.
Whether that’s a positive or a negative remains to be seen, as the Gunners can put pressure on their rivals, but City will always know the goal difference and points gap they need to make up.
- Arteta compiles images of Premier League managers leaving their technical areaMikel Arteta has suggested he’s compiling footage of other Premier League managers after being targeted by the media and officials for leaving his technical area.
- Watch: Arsenal loanee makes top diving saveTommy Setford made a fantastic save for Stevenage against MK Dons on Saturday, but the Arsenal loanee couldn’t stop his team slipping to a 1-0 defeat.
- Paul Merson picks surprising Arsenal star performer vs EvertonArsenal’s defenders may have been the ones making the headlines after the Gunners’ win over Everton, but Paul Merson picked out Martin Odegaard as his star player.
- Will there be VAR for Fleetwood Town vs Arsenal?The EFL have confirmed the match official appointments for the upcoming round of League Cup fixtures, including Arsenal’s trip away to Fleetwood Town.
- Arsenal squad & fixtures for the 2026 Messi CupThe 2026 Messi Cup kicks off on Sunday, with Arsenal’s squad and fixture list for the tournament now confirmed.