Premier League Ponderings: How's the Premiership gonna end?
There are five games remaining
to play in this year's Premier
League (seven if you're
Manchester City), but only one
more column remaining this year,
that means that there's only time
left for one thing, rampant speculation
about how the season will end!
This year has been a joy for fans of the game, with drama being constantly served up at both ends of the table and the gap between the title rivals even closer than it was when I devoted an entire column to it. With such uncertainty and unexpected results becoming commonplace this year, all of these predictions are subject to change, or to be made irrelevant after just a couple more rounds, but based on current form, this paints a fairly accurate picture of how the table will look come May 11.
At the top end of the table, there are three clubs who can still realistically take home the title and the end of the season, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City, who at the time of writing, are within a mere four points of each other. While all three look certain to qualify for next season's Champion's League, particularly significant for Liverpool who have been absent from the competition for five years, the answer to which part of the country the title is going to wind up in is far more difficult to answer.
Starting with the current leaders, Liverpool are on a nine game winning streak, and if they manage to win the remaining matches this season, they will be champions, and with both their title rivals to come to their home at Anfield, many pundits are tipping them to be champions for the first time since the Premier League began. Their home clash with Manchester City this Sunday has the look of a “winner take all” title decider, and a victory here will be a huge statement of intent for the Reds.
Speaking of Manchester City, many expected the Dubai-owned club to run away with the title this season, what with their countless billions and the most expensively assembled squad in the country, but their recent draw against free falling Arsenal has made that task a little more difficult. While they still hold two games in hand over their rivals, the visit to Liverpool represents a potentially daunting task, as does a trip to top four hopeful Everton, and the remaining matches are against clubs in the mid table mire, they're safe, but have nothing to play for, and the lack of enthusiasm that seems to impact these teams at this time of year may work to their advantage. The supremely talented (and expensive) team is certainly capable of rolling over these mid table clubs, and like Liverpool, if they can manage a victory in all of their remaining matches, they will be this year's champions.
Chelsea are in a bit of a strange position this year, the return of manager Jose Mourinho was supposed to bring instant success back to the club, and for a while, they were leading the league and their fans were settling into their entitled, arrogant ways, but in the last couple of months, cracks have been beginning to show. Inconsistency has been the downfall of the Blues in this time period, as comprehensive victories against London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal were both followed by struggling sides Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, a match lost to an own goal by the Chelsea captain.
However, a relatively easy run in to the end of the season, barring the trip to Anfield, could see the London club cruise through the end of the season, putting them in a place to nab a surprise victory if the two above are to suffer a major collapse in form.
This year has been a joy for fans of the game, with drama being constantly served up at both ends of the table and the gap between the title rivals even closer than it was when I devoted an entire column to it. With such uncertainty and unexpected results becoming commonplace this year, all of these predictions are subject to change, or to be made irrelevant after just a couple more rounds, but based on current form, this paints a fairly accurate picture of how the table will look come May 11.
At the top end of the table, there are three clubs who can still realistically take home the title and the end of the season, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City, who at the time of writing, are within a mere four points of each other. While all three look certain to qualify for next season's Champion's League, particularly significant for Liverpool who have been absent from the competition for five years, the answer to which part of the country the title is going to wind up in is far more difficult to answer.
Starting with the current leaders, Liverpool are on a nine game winning streak, and if they manage to win the remaining matches this season, they will be champions, and with both their title rivals to come to their home at Anfield, many pundits are tipping them to be champions for the first time since the Premier League began. Their home clash with Manchester City this Sunday has the look of a “winner take all” title decider, and a victory here will be a huge statement of intent for the Reds.
Speaking of Manchester City, many expected the Dubai-owned club to run away with the title this season, what with their countless billions and the most expensively assembled squad in the country, but their recent draw against free falling Arsenal has made that task a little more difficult. While they still hold two games in hand over their rivals, the visit to Liverpool represents a potentially daunting task, as does a trip to top four hopeful Everton, and the remaining matches are against clubs in the mid table mire, they're safe, but have nothing to play for, and the lack of enthusiasm that seems to impact these teams at this time of year may work to their advantage. The supremely talented (and expensive) team is certainly capable of rolling over these mid table clubs, and like Liverpool, if they can manage a victory in all of their remaining matches, they will be this year's champions.
Chelsea are in a bit of a strange position this year, the return of manager Jose Mourinho was supposed to bring instant success back to the club, and for a while, they were leading the league and their fans were settling into their entitled, arrogant ways, but in the last couple of months, cracks have been beginning to show. Inconsistency has been the downfall of the Blues in this time period, as comprehensive victories against London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal were both followed by struggling sides Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, a match lost to an own goal by the Chelsea captain.
However, a relatively easy run in to the end of the season, barring the trip to Anfield, could see the London club cruise through the end of the season, putting them in a place to nab a surprise victory if the two above are to suffer a major collapse in form.
