Arsenal face Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon, but it's almost a guarantee that supporters will have one eye on the Everton vs Manchester City fixture that precedes it.
With not long left of the season, the Gunners find themselves in a position where any dropped points on their part in the final three games will further dent their hopes of being crowned Premier League champions and there's a scenario where the title race is settled within the next 10 days.
For this to happen, Mikel Arteta's side would have to lose to Brighton at the Emirates Stadium in addition to Man City winning at Goodison Park and following that up by beating Chelsea in their final home game of the campaign seven days later as an 88 points haul seals the title.
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However, Arsenal will be hoping this isn't the case. In fact, there will be good news for Arteta and company if the same results from reverse fixtures earlier in the season occur this weekend as they won 4-2 at the Amex Stadium on New Year's Eve just a few hours after Everton held Man City to a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
Whilst this set of results would see the Gunners open up a one-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, it's worth pointing out that City will still have a game in hand and their superior goal difference is worth an extra point should the two teams finish level on points.
Unlike the north London outfit, City aren't just occupied with the title race. Already into the FA Cup final where they will face rivals Manchester United next month, they're potentially 90 minutes away from reaching their second-ever Champions League final, thus setting up the chance of completing a unique treble.
But they must overcome Real Madrid in order to stay on track. 1-1 from the semi-final first-leg that took place on Tuesday night at the Santiago Bernabeu, it's been pointed out by many supporters and former City striker Sergio Aguero that Pep Guardiola did not make use of his substitutes bench.
"What I don't understand is why he didn’t put (on) Julian," the Argentine said when speaking on the @AlbicelesteTalk podcast after the game as he questioned why Julian Alvarez didn't feature. "I wonder, but well it's Pep. If it was up to me I would play Julian in almost every game because we need him to be active and for him to have a spark."
It's not the first time Guardiola has kept the same starting XI on the pitch for an entire game. But to do so ahead of an important fixture against Everton on Sunday perhaps points to him freshening things up especially when taking into consideration that the Champions League tie is delicately poised.
Whether this is a good thing for Arsenal remains to be seen as the Spaniard can recall the likes of Alvarez, Aymeric Laporte, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden to the starting line-up at Goodison Park.
Granted those possible decisions don't exactly suggest a weak team selection by Guardiola but if the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva are rested then maybe, just maybe, City will have one eye on the Real Madrid game and the possibility of dropped points on Merseyside may increase.
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