Parties, exits, referees - what could decide Man City fate in Premier League title race

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Manchester City have six games to go in the Premier League and all of their opponents look like they will have some form of extra motivation

After downing Arsenal, what is stopping Manchester City from racing away and claiming a seventh Premier League title in nine years? Six teams can directly stop them, and Mikel Arteta's side will be doing everything they can to pile the pressure on as they look to bounce back from successive defeats.

City's run-in looks like it is more difficult than Arsenal's on paper, with the quality of opposition slightly higher. That is in part because of the congested race for European qualification this season with a more competitive Premier League meaning that upcoming games with Everton away and Brentford at home are matches where City's opponents are firmly in the hunt for European football next season.

Burnley have been fighting relegation all year, so there will be extra determination from Scott Parker and his players to continue their fight for as long as possible. That doesn't mean that City won't be able to beat them, but it adds another layer to the match.

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The one remaining fixture for City that is seen as the most dangerous is their trip to Bournemouth, currently pencilled in for the penultimate weekend of the season. If the Blues beat Southampton on Saturday at Wembley, the game will have to be rearranged for midweek in order to allow City to compete in their fourth consecutive FA Cup final.

Squeezing another game in obviously makes City's schedule fuller, and there is also the potential Andoni Iraola factor. Whenever the game is played, it will be the last home game for Bournemouth fans to enjoy the manager's team before he leaves in summer on the expiry of his contract.

City's end to the season is also intriguing because it contains two teams who are in European semi-finals with hopes of progressing. Crystal Palace's route through in the Conference League means that their trip to City will have to come in the final two weeks of the season, with a potential final coming three days after the last league game.

Palace coach Oliver Glasner, another who will be leaving this summer, let his players out to party in Florence after their quarter-final win and it is hard to imagine they will be fully focused on the league if they have a European final to prepare for. On the final day of the season, in Glasner's last game at Selhurst Park, they host Arsenal.

At that time, City will be hosting an Aston Villa side who may have just played in the Europa League final in Istanbul a few days earlier. Villa play Forest over two legs in the semi-finals and know that winning the competition will see them in next season's Champions League, although there is a reasonable chance they will have already qualified through their league position by then.

There is also referees to consider, with any big decision made over the next six games likely to be more under the microscope than usual as the games tick down. Guardiola has spoken of how the influence of referees shoots up in Champions League knockout games where the margins are so small, and with the title race potentially being decided on goal difference it will only add to the tension with each passing week.

All City can do is go one game at a time and hope that the opportunities open up for them - or do it the hard way.