Title rivals hope to avoid slip-ups after Champions League semi-final exertions

Just one point separates Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League and fine margins will decide which of the two powerhouses finishes the campaign as champions.

One significant factor could be the schedule and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has bemoaned the fact that his players have only 63 hours' rest between the end of Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg against Villarreal and Saturday's early kick-off against Newcastle.

Klopp will also be wary of next week's fixture list as the second leg of the Villarreal tie takes place in Spain on Tuesday with a league clash against Spurs on the Saturday.

The last time Liverpool were faced with an early Saturday kick-off following a Wednesday Champions League tie was last season when they drew 1-1 at Brighton.

The tables below show Liverpool and Manchester City's records in Premier League games following midweek European fixtures. The sample sizes are small, and the strength of opponents and intensity of games vary, but City appear to have been more vulnerable than the Reds.

Matches between the title rivals have been excluded from the data – both of their league meetings this term followed Champions League games and both ended 2-2.

City's home draw with Southampton, 3-2 loss to Spurs and goalless draw at Crystal Palace were all post-European games although the Palace trip was on a Monday night so is more likely explained by the Citizens missing their chances rather than suffering a Champions League hangover.

They also underperformed in relative terms last season, albeit in harder than average fixtures, dropping points at West Ham and Manchester United and at home to Chelsea.

And the 2-1 loss to Leeds – coincidentally their opponents this weekend – in April 2021 featured a much-changed City line-up as Pep Guardiola's side were already well clear at the top of the league.

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