What’s Going On With The Premier League?
Right now, the Premier League is in a state in which nobody can predict what will happen. With the top five teams being Liverpool, Man City, Tottenham, Chelsea and Arsenal, any team has the chance to win.
Most people, who are not supporters of anyone in the title race, believe that Liverpool will slip up, Tottenham will go up into first place but in the end, Manchester City will be victorious. This theory does indeed make perfect sense, Liverpool are only 4 points ahead, Tottenham, no matter how good their team is, will not win the league and so it leaves Man City to be likely victors of the Premier League.
But, we can’t disregard Manchester United, though they were in bad shape under Mourinho, have gone on a winning streak under Ole Gunnar Solskjær and managed to beat the unfortunate Tottenham in their last game. They are certainly on the up and up. Man U could be creeping up and soon, we may be looking at a 8-9 year drought being broken. They narrowly lost the race for the title in the 2011-2012 season to Man City who beat QPR in the last minute to win on goal difference. An epic moment for City, but a tragic loss for United. But are the odds of breaking the streak likely? Right now, we can’t tell but Man U is certainly worth keeping a close eye on. Will Fellaini’s alleged soon-to-be departure affect the squad? Maybe not as he isn’t a first team player, but he is definitely an effective sub in the late periods, however, with their new form, he may not be needed.
Liverpool are definitely in with a chance of winning the League, especially considering their recent form (with exception to the loss against Man City). They have been a force to reckon with and so long as they don’t let their previous loss affect them too much, they could end up going through to win it. Salah, Mané, and Firmino have been in brilliant
form, Salah has scored an outstanding 14 goals in 22 appearances, as well as 8 assists. Mané has score 8 goals in 20 appearances with 1 assist and Firmino with 8 goals and 4 assists, as well as Virgil Van Dijk, believed by many to perhaps the best defender in the world right now. Also, Alisson, Brazil’s star keeper, who has kept the most clean sheets in the season so far, 13 to be exact.
Manchester City. Well, top of the League for much of the early part of the season, but slipped up and lost their place. Still, that’s not to say they are failures. Sergio Kün Aguero has been in good form, especially considering his groin injury which had him miss 6 games. His fabulous finish against Liverpool had a huge impact and essentially won the game for them as it would have been a draw. His stats are impressive too, 10 goals as well as 4 assists in 18 games. Leroy Sané also made perhaps the most significant change in the game which turned out to be the game winning goal. Sané has scored 7 goals and 9 assists in 20 games. Raheem Sterling, the rapid winger. In 19 appearances, he has scored 9 goals and 7 assists. The City front three with their solid midfield, De Bruyne, David Silva, and Fernandinho. They are a formidable team and certainly capable of overthrowing Liverpool for the top spot.
Tottenham, though they most likely won’t win the League, are still dangerous and could help either Man City or Liverpool to reach the top. Harry Kane, what many people thought would simply be a one-season-wonder but has proved otherwise. This season he has scored 14 goals and 4 assists in 22 games, impressive. He also scored the goal which allowed England to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. His teammates, Christian Eriksen, Heung Min Son and Dele Alli, are all fantastic players. Eriksen has scored 4 goals with 7 assists in 19 games. Son, who has recently been called up for international duty for the Asian Cup has also had a good season. After managing to put up a brilliant enough performance to narrowly escape being drafted for the military, he has proved himself to be amongst one of the best wingers in League. In 17 appearances, he has scored 8 goals and 6 assists. Dele Alli, 16 appearances, 4 goals and 1 assist, not bad for a centre-midfielder.
So, three major contenders, four if you count Man United, which we know is a threat to the current title race participants. The title could go anywhere as of now and the next half of the season will be vital. The January transfer window may also be critical to the result at the end of the season.
Will Manchester City pull through to win it or will Liverpool maintain their form? Will Tottenham, who are not considered a major threat, actually surprise everyone? And will Manchester United make a shocking comeback and break their unfortunate streak?