No season in the history of English top-flight football has proven the values of peaking at the right time - and the pitfalls of spiking early - more than the 2022/23 campaign.
Arsenal ended 248 days of the season in first place yet were sat second by the final weekend - no team has ever led the league for as long without winning the title.
Manchester City have the chance to start the new season top of the pile when they face Burnley on the first Friday of the campaign and know better than most how to get results in April and May.
Manchester United briefly flirted with a title tilt after victory over City in January but were out of the race by spring. Liverpool were vying with United for Champions League qualification towards the backend of last season after a late surge yet spent three of the previous four years as City's closest title contenders.
Here are the all-important run-ins for the potential title challengers in the 2023/24 season.
Arsenal 2023/24 Premier League run-in
At the midway point of last season, Arsenal were on course to record 100 points. Yet, the Gunners won just three of their final nine league games, collecting fewer points than more than half the division in this period.
Wolves were one of the 11 teams to outdo Arsenal at the end of last season and will have the chance to thrust a spoke in their wheel down the stretch of another home straight. Mikel Arteta's side also face the daunting prospect of a north London derby and a trip to Old Trafford in the club's final four games.
Liverpool 2023/24 Premier League run-in
Liverpool's last defeat of the 2022/23 Premier League season was on April Fool's Day. The 4-1 drubbing City dished out was no joke but the Reds rallied admirably thereafter to finish fifth.
If Jurgen Klopp's side can avoid another stuttering start to the campaign, Liverpool have a reasonably kind fixture list to conclude the 2023/24 season. Seventh-placed Aston Villa are the highest-ranked club Liverpool will meet in their final five league games, with the visit of Tottenham (eighth last term) another fixture to look out for.
Man City 2023/24 Premier League run-in
Manchester City's fifth Premier League title under Pep Guardiola owed everything to the imperious form the team carried into the sharp end of the season. However, it may not be an exact carbon copy come the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
City are set to be without their talismanic figure each May after the departure of Ilkay Gundogan - the German outscored Erling Haaland in the final month of the campaign. Furthermore, Guardiola's side begin the end of the season against chief bogey team Spurs - City are yet to score a single goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in five visits.
However, there is every chance that the title will already be wrapped up by April.
Man Utd 2023/24 Premier League run-in
Manchester United arguably have the toughest run-in of the potential Premier League title challengers. Erik ten Hag's side face three of last season's top six across their final five matches.
Newcastle (third) and Arsenal (second) travel to Old Trafford before United end the campaign away to Brighton. The Red Devils have conceded five goals without reply across their previous two trips to the AMEX Stadium.
LISTEN NOW
On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Toby Cudworth is joined by Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss the latest transfer news. On the agenda is Arsenal's approach for Jurrien Timber, Kai Havertz and Declan Rice, the exodus of Chelsea players to Saudi Arabia, Moises Caicedo, Kyle Walker, Man Utd's goalkeeper plans & more!.
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!
This article was originally published on 90min as 2023/24 Premier League title challenger run-ins compared.
