The English Premier League not only remains the world’s most prestigious and popular football league in the world, but it’s currently the most competitive. English football’s top tier has seen no fewer than five different teams crowned champions in the last decade. What are the chances of seeing a new champion this time round?
Current form can turn on a knife edge
It’s a pattern we’re currently seeing across many of the major European leagues this season. Teams are dropping points left, right and centre with sides managing to claim a solid stretch of unbroken, positive form.
A wide range of betting sites in Kenya are currently posting record odds across the board for this very reason.
Manchester City are currently the only side in the league to boast five consecutive victories in a row at present.
Guardiola wants his golden crown back
It’s no wonder then that many are beginning to turn their sights towards the blue half of Manchester.
Guardiola’s troops have weathered a difficult period well over the winter months. Injuries to key players like Sergio Agüero and a coronavirus outbreak in camp left them without an out-and-out striker, as well as key first team players in defence.
With adjustments made accordingly, City are without a doubt flying high. Tactically they’ve seen off everyone placed in front of them with aplomb. City have a squad packed to the rafters with many aforementioned missing players set to make a return.
The Sky Blues currently see themselves two points off the pace in second behind rivals Manchester United with a game in hand against Aston Villa. Should they navigate the Midlands outfit successfully they’ll go top.
Old rivals reach stalemate
Two teams that have helped pave the way for City’s resurgence last weekend were Liverpool and Manchester United, who both dropped points in an aggressively fought stalemate 0-0 draw at Anfield.
Arguably England’s most heated rivalry, the tension between Manchester United and Liverpool has given way to serial success between City and Liverpool in recent years.
Both sides had serious chances in front of goal and endured tough tussles in the centre of the pitch, proving why they’re both in the mix for the Premier League trophy this season.
Klopp’s seasoned squad of winners has been delicately crafted over recent years and are proven competitors but have suffered debilitating injuries in defence. They’re also currently on a goal drought.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær has proven he can compete with the big boys in one-off battles. The Norwegian has got the better of Guardiola, Tuchel et al. on a number of occasions, but consistency in the league will be what defines their season with tricky bouts in the Europa League on the horizon.
Serious contenders or also rans?
Looking at the Premier League table a three-way title race could seriously be on the cards but at present the informed football fan simply cannot ignore the tactical nous of either Jose Mourinho or Brendan Rodgers.
Both Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur are keeping themselves in the mix as we hurtle towards the end of January.
Rodgers and the Foxes are currently unbeaten in five and boast one of the best runs of form since their Premier League winning season back in 2015-16. Indeed there are still survivors such as Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel in full force who continue to be mainstays of a sturdy and flourishing Leicester side.
On the opposite side of the coin are Spurs. Manager Jose Mourinho has been trying to craft a more ferocious machine with mixed results so far as witnessed in a notorious documentary last season. The London side have key players such as Harry Kane and Son Heung-min who tend to perform at a consistently high level while others seem to drag behind.
Results have been somewhat erratic. Mourinho’s men can indeed produce the goods. Memory casts back to a 1-6 smashing of Manchester United away from home, or a spate of clean sheet victories.
However, the jury is most definitely out on Tottenham as it is across the board. We could be in store for a Premier League title race with many twists and turns before its grand finale in the spring.
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