Ranking remaining Premier League schedules of Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City as Gunners crush Chelsea

Arsenal kept ahold of top spot in the Premier League on Tuesday, doing what they can to keep pace with a Manchester City team with two games in hand.

The Gunners beat Chelsea 5-0, giving them a three-point lead in the Premier League title race. Liverpool and City are yet to play midweek, though, while the reigning champions' two Games in hand mean they have the possibility of overcoming the four-point gap that currently keeps them in third place. The results mean the Premier League title race is as comPetitive as ever, assigning particular importance on the remaining fixtures on the schedule.

With not long to go, here's a ranking of each team's remaining schedule by easiest to hardest.

Premier League standings

3. Manchester City, 73 points

Remaining schedule
All times Eastern/U.S.

• April 3: Manchester City 4, Aston Villa 1
• April 6: Crystal Palace 2, Manchester City 4
• April 13: Manchester City 5, Luton Town 1
• April 25, 3 p.m.: Brighton and Hove Albion (away)
• April 28, 11:30 a.m.: Nottingham Forest (away)
• May 4, 10 a.m.: Wolverhampton Wanderers (home)
• May 11, 10 a.m.: Fulham (away)
• May 14, 3 p.m.: Tottenham Hotspur (away)
• May 19, 11 a.m.: West Ham (home)

Five of City's six matches are against teams ranked eighth or lower, most of them solidly midtable and poised to offer little trouble to the defending champions as they make easy work of such games in this final stretch of the season. There are two matches worth keeping an eye on, though -- this month's encounter against Nottingham Forest, who will feel in desperate need of the points to stave off relegation, and their penultimate game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur. The North Londoners could still be in the midst of their battle for a Champions League berth and have a surprising ability to keep City at bay, even if it feels unwise to bet against City at this time of year.

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2. Arsenal, 77 points

Remaining schedule
All times Eastern/U.S.

• April 3: Arsenal 2, Luton Town 0
• April 6: Brighton and Hove Albion 0, Arsenal 3
• April 13: Arsenal 0, Aston Villa 2
• April 20: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0, Arsenal 2
• April 23: Arsenal 5, Chelsea 0
• April 28, 9 a.m.: Tottenham Hotspur (away)
• May 4, 10 a.m.: Bournemouth (home)
• May 11, 10 a.m.: Manchester United (away)
• May 19, 11 a.m.: Everton (home)

Arsenal might started April with a harder schedule than Liverpool, but it's not just the Reds' form that bumps them in this list. Their high-stakes North London derby against Tottenham -- who are no longer the favorites to finish fourth and therefore need the points -- and a final day matchup against relegation-threatened Everton could be the trickiest Games they have left. That said, Arsenal seem to have recovered from the setback of their loss to Aston Villa with coMMAnding victories against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea and head into the hard Games as the heavy favorites. They also are poised to pick up big wins over a Bournemouth team that's comPetitive but has little to play for, and especially against a Manchester United side that cannot get out of their own way.

1. Liverpool, 74 points

Remaining schedule
All times Eastern/U.S.

• April 4: Liverpool 3, Sheffield United 1
• April 7: Manchester United 2, Liverpool 2
• April 14: Liverpool 0, Crystal Palace 1
• April 21: Fulham 1, Liverpool 3
• April 24, 3 p.m.: Everton (away)
• April 27, 7:30 a.m.: West Ham (away)
• May 4, 10 a.m.: Tottenham Hotspur (home)
• May 11, 10 a.m.: Aston Villa (away)
• May 19, 11 a.m.: Wolverhampton Wanderers (Home)

Liverpool rebounded from a terrible week with a win over Fulham, but their remaining schedule could test their abilities to close out the season on a high.. They have the two hardest teams not in the title race -- Aston Villa and Tottenham -- left on the calendar, even if the rest of the teams they face are ranked eighth through 16th. Like Arsenal, they have a vital clash with Everton coming up that could cause trouble, but considering Sunday's defeat to Crystal Palace, there's a big question about how much gas Liverpool have left in the tank against anyone, not just the teams most in need of points.