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Race for the Premier League title: Managers analysed

Image: Who wins the battle of the top four managers?

The Premier League's top four go head-to-head on Sky Sports on Sunday, with leaders Leicester travelling to Arsenal and Manchester City hosting Tottenham.

Just six points separate the teams in the table and this weekend offers the perfect opportunity for them to make a statement of intent in the title race.

To build up to the big showdowns, all this week Sky Sports will be analysing the teams.

On Monday we looked at their goalkeepers and Tuesday was an assesment of their defences. Wednesday saw midfielders under the spotlight while Thursday analysed their strikeforces.

Now, it's time to check on the men that run the show - the managers. Here's what the stats say…

Manuel Pellegrini and Mauricio Pochettino walk out onto the pitch
Image: Manuel Pellegrini's Man City host Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham live on Super Sunday.

PREMIER LEAGUE HISTORY

Overall Premier League record

Manager No. of games Won Drawn Lost No. of trophies Win %
Wenger 739 428 182 129 15 57.9
Ranieri 171 91 45 35 0 53.2
Pellegrini 101 65 17 19 2 64.4
Pochettino 117 51 34 32 0 43.6

Arsene Wenger (749 games) has managed over four times as many games as his nearest competitor Claudio Ranieri (171), however, he is in second place in terms of win percentage, behind Manuel Pellegrini. The Man City boss has managed the fewest Premier League games of the quartet (117) but his win rate of 64.4 per cent betters Wenger's 57.9 per cent.  

Also See:

Alexis Sanchez celebrates winning the FA Cup with Arsenal
Image: Wenger has won 15 titles with Arsenal, including the FA Cup in the last two seasons.

Wenger has a haul of 15 trophies in 15-and-a-half years at Arsenal - including six FA Cups and three Premier League titles. Pellegrini is the only other manager to have picked up silverware out of the four - he won the Premier League and League Cup with City in 2013/14, his first season in charge. 

Ranieri has won an impressive number of games in his two top flight spells - 91 out 171 - while Pochettino has a 43.6 per cent win rate.

Club by club

Premier League record by club

Manager & team Arrived Departed No. of games Won Drawn Lost Win percentage
Wenger - Arsenal 30 Sept 1996 Current 739 428 182 129 57.9
Ranieri - Chelsea 18 Sept 2000 31 May 2004 146 76 37 33 52.1
Ranieri - Leicester 13 July 2015 Current 25 15 8 2 60.0
Pellegrini - Man City 14 June 2015 Current 101 65 17 19 64.4
Pochettino - So'ton 18 Jan 2013 27 May 2014 54 19 18 17 35.2
Pochettino - Spurs 27 May 2014 Current 63 32 16 15 50.8

Ranieri has only lost two Premier League games with Leicester this season. The Foxes have won 15 of their 25 Premier League fixtures, and are five points clear at the top of the table.

The Italian's win percentage at Chelsea between 2000 and 2004 was 52.1 per cent. 

Pochettino won 19 out of 54 games during his time with Southampton but that ratio has stepped up to 32 out of 63 at Spurs.

Pellegrini and Wenger have been one-club men in their Premier League careers so far, with the Man City boss' win percentage leading the pack, winning 65 of his 101 games in charge at the Etihad.

Claudio Ranieri congratulates Arsene Wenger after Leicester's 5-2 defeat to Arsenal
Image: Leicester have lost just two Premier League games under Ranieri - one a 5-2 defeat to Arsenal

HEAD TO HEAD

Ahead of this weekend's top-of-the-table clashes, Arsenal v Leicester and Man City v Tottenham, how have the managers fared when they have met in the Premier League with their respective clubs? 

Wenger v Ranieri

Head to Head: Wenger v Ranieri

Date Game Result
13 Jan 2001 Arsenal v Chelsea 1-1
8 Sept 2001 Chelsea v Arsenal 1-1
26 Dec 2001 Arsenal v Chelsea 2-1
1 Sept 2002 Chelsea v Arsenal 1-1
1 Jan 2003 Arsenal v Chelsea 3-2
18 Oct 2003 Arsenal v Chelsea 2-1
21 Feb 2004 Chelsea v Arsenal 1-2
26 Sept 2015 Leicester v Arsenal 2-5

Ranieri has never beaten Wenger in their Premier League meetings. The Arsenal boss has won five of their eight games, and has savoured victory in each of the last four encounters.

Indeed, the Italian's heaviest defeat to Wenger was the 5-2 loss at the King Power Stadium earlier this season, when a hat-trick from Alexis Sanchez helped Arsenal hand Leicester their only home defeat of the season so far.

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However, the Gunners have never managed to keep a clean sheet against a Ranieri side.

Over the eight meetings, 17 goals have been scored by Arsenal with 10 in reply from Ranieri's charges at Chelsea and Leicester.

Pellegrini v Pochettino

Head to Head: Pellegrini v Pochettino

Date Game Result
7 Dec 2013 So'ton v Man City 1-1
5 April 2014 Man City v So'ton 4-1
18 Oct 2014 Man City v Spurs 4-1
3 May 2015 Spurs v Man City 0-1
26 Sept 2015 Spurs v Man City 4-1

The five Premier League meetings between these two South American managers have hardly been a defensive demonstration, with three games ending 4-1. 

Tottenham beat City by that scoreline in October at White Hart Lane - Pochettino's first win against Man City with either Spurs or Southampton.  

Kevin De Bruyne  opens the scoring for Manchester City after a fast counter attack.
Image: Premier League contests between Pellegrini and Pochettino have often ended in a 4-1 scoreline.

Pellegrini was unbeaten against his counterpart before then - winning three in a row - with their first meeting in December 2013 the only draw thus far.

Out of all the games in both fixtures, the Chilean's Man City side are the only ones to have kept a clean sheet when they beat Tottenham 1-0 in May 2015.

Watch Arsenal v Leicester City from 11.30am and Man City v Tottenham from 4pm live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Sunday.  Or watch all day for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV

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