Man City on brink of reclaiming EPL throne

• When Liverpool was romping to the Premier League title last season, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling promised there would be a “massive reaction” from Pep Guardiola’s chastened side and his ominous prediction has proven to be spot-on.

A win for City at Crystal Palace Saturday and a loss by second-place Manchester United against Liverpool Sunday would confirm City’s restoration with four games of the season remaining.

It would be the fifth Premier League title in 10 seasons and a third in five since Guardiola brought in his special brand of football.

It would complete a sublime week for Guardiola, whose team won a fourth successive League Cup last Sunday, then produced an excellent second-half display to beat Paris St. Germain 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.

That performance in Paris put City on the brink of its first Champions League final and Guardiola in sight of delivering the European crown club owner Sheikh Mansour hired him to deliver.

While next week’s second leg looms large, Guardiola’s immediate focus will be on securing what he described after last weekend’s League Cup triumph as the “most important title.”

A 25th league win of the season at Selhurst Park on Saturday would leave City with 80 points, with neighbours United at 67.

City cannot attain the points total of its first two Premier League titles under Guardiola (100 and 98) and it will be the lowest tally for champions since Leicester City won it with 81 points in 2016. But statistics aside, in many respects this year’s title charge, played out inside empty stadiums and during the dark lockdown days of winter, might be the sweetest for City.