As if football fans needed any more drama this week, Liverpool and Manchester City will battle it out for Premier League glory on Sunday. It will be the ninth time the title has been decided on the season’s final day since the Premier League’s inception in 1992-93. City were involved in the closest finish to date in 2012, claiming their first title after two stoppage-time goals meant they pipped Manchester United on goal difference. United’s 89 points, would have been enough to secure the title in 14 other seasons.

Further history will be made on Sunday: never before has a team recorded 90 points or more in the Premier League and not been crowned champions. It’s more common elsewhere in Europe – Barcelona and Real Madrid have finished second in La Liga with at least 90 points a combined seven times since 1993, and Napoli finished behind Juventus last season despite reaching 91 points.

Liverpool and City have been embroiled in a thrilling race for most of the season, one that will remind fans on Merseyside of the last time they came this close to winning the title. With just three games left in the 2013-14 season, Liverpool held a five-point lead at the top of the table. But a Steven Gerrard slip against Chelsea and then a three-goal collapse against Crystal Palace allowed City to beat them at the last.

Liverpool were reeled in this season during a six-game stretch between January and March, in which Jürgen Klopp’s side dropped eight points. That came after a 2-1 defeat by City in the first game of the new year, Liverpool’s only loss of the season. A win would have given them a 10-point lead at the top.

Liverpool’s sensational comeback against Barcelona in the Champions League this week showed how strong they have been at Anfield this season. A win against Wolves will extend their home unbeaten streak in the league to 40 games. Only Chelsea have a longer streak – 86 games between 2004 and 2008. City, though, have been even better. They will finish this season with the most points at home.

This has been Liverpool’s most successful Premier League campaign, but it could easily not have been. According to expected points — a metric that estimates how many points a team should have earned from each game — Jürgen Klopp’s men have collected 12.6 more points than was expected from them, more than any other team this season.