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By Mike Collett
LONDON COLNEY, England, March 21 (Reuters) - The Premier League title will be decided by the remaining matches the top teams have to play against each other, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday.
With 30 matches played and only eight to go, champions Manchester United lead the standings with 70 points followed by Arsenal (67), Chelsea (65) and outsiders Liverpool (59).
On Sunday Manchester United meet Liverpool at Old Trafford while Chelsea face Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
Wenger said the outcome of Sunday's matches will have a huge bearing on who wins the title.
"I believe we are in a situation where the direct confrontations with the top three teams will have a direct influence on the championship," Wenger told a news conference at Arsenal's training ground.
"It's who can beat the direct opponents that will win it. That's what we want to achieve on Sunday."
After playing Chelsea, Arsenal also have a home match with Liverpool on April 5 and have to play United at Old Trafford eight days later. United have to play at Chelsea on April 26.
Arsenal and Liverpool also face each other over two legs in the Champions League quarter-finals while the winners of that tie could face Chelsea in the semi-finals, with a possible all-English final against Manchester United in Moscow on May 21.
"By Sunday night you will have a good indication of what will happen until the end of the season," added Wenger.
"There can still be twists and turns until the end because all the teams are involved in the Champions League. That can still have an impact.
"But Liverpool looks to be on the way up so they can get a good result in Manchester.
"There are question marks about Chelsea and Arsenal at the moment but I am sure we will be at our best."
Wenger also believes his team has recovered from the trauma of Eduardo da Silva's horrific broken leg injury at Birmingham a month ago and are fully prepared for the next decisive few weeks.
"To progress now we are in the final sprint. That is the moment where the tactical observation is gone and you just try to win the game. It's true we had a mental blow after Birmingham. It takes some time to recover but I feel the team are over that and we need to move on."
Arsenal have surrendered first place to United after drawing their last four league matches.
DROPPED POINTS
Chelsea manager Avram Grant echoed Wenger's views and although his side dropped two points in Wednesday's remarkable 4-4 draw at Tottenham Hotspur, the Israeli is convinced that Chelsea can win the title for the third time in four seasons.
"Every week from now on is a big week, especially when you play against teams who are more or less in the same position as yourself," he told reporters at Chelsea's training ground in Cobham, south of London.
"I am very happy with my team's form. We have played very good football in the last few games and scored a lot of goals.
"I think every manager who gets to this stage has pressure because you can win the title. It is a good pressure but no more or less than before."
Chelsea have played 77 league matches unbeaten at home since losing 2-1 to Arsenal in February 2004, while Arsenal were also the last team to beat Chelsea in the league this season in mid-December.
