Hysteria, uproar and the sound of ‘Allez! Allez! Allez!’ filled the air in Anfield as the crowd erupted in the glee of getting one over their bitter rivals Manchester United this past weekend. Manchester City’s return to the top of the table was short lived and one thing was made clear – it’s not going to be another title victory with a 19-point lead for the Citizens.
There are clearly no single favourites for the title after 17 games — unlike the last two seasons — and despite what Premier League title odds suggest, the race to become 2018/19 Premier League champions is going to go right to the wire.
With several teams experiencing good starts to the campaign, it could come down to who remains most injury-free and who can avoid unnecessary suspensions to decide this season’s champions. Here, we take a closer look at those sides battling for the title.
Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp has transformed this Liverpool side from a team on the periphery of European football to one which is now a serious contender for the Premier League title. Currently sitting at the top of the league, the Reds remain the only unbeaten side in England’s top flight and are unbeaten in their last four meetings with Pep’s City side, with three of those being victories.
Liverpool have yet to win a Premier League title to add to their 18 top division titles, but with Klopp seemingly finding the team’s mojo, this season might just be it. He has slowly added the right players to the squad, as players like Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Alisson have all come in and added much needed quality to their respective positions.
Their only issue might be strength in depth. Injuries to any of their key players could see their title bid stutter and with an away trip to Manchester City still to come, they’ll want their whole squad fully fit if they are to hold on to their one point advantage over the defending champions.
Manchester City
Despite sitting in second place behind a strong Liverpool side, Manchester City remain the bookies’ favourite to win the Premier League. The defending champions have already suffered from a number of injuries, most notably those to Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero. The fact that in terms of results, they’ve remained relatively unscathed suggests that this is a squad with huge strength in depth.
Even without their main chance creator and best goal scorer, City are the top scorers with 48, 11 goals ahead of Liverpool. Assuming both De Bruyne and Aguero return to full fitness ahead of their clash with Liverpool on 3rd January, then Liverpool will need to be on their guard. De Bruyne returned to the City squad in their penalty shootout win against Leicester City in the Carabao Cup, opening the scoring early in the first half before Marc Albrighton levelled late on.
Should City manage to defeat Liverpool in their upcoming Premier League match, it will certainly give City the advantage again, but with so much of the season still to be played, anything could yet happen.
Spurs
While City and Liverpool will remain the favourites to continue on in the fight for English football supremacy, let us not forget the team who currently sits in third place – Tottenham Hotspur. The Lilywhites are continuing to impress under Argentinian manager Mauricio Pochettino, who has been linked with the Manchester United vacancy.
Much like Liverpool, strength in depth in their biggest problem as we head into the second half of the season. Spurs are heavily reliant on Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen in the attacking phase of the game and will be keen to avoid injuries to these three if they are to keep pace at the top.
Five points behind City and six points behind Liverpool means both clubs are certainly catchable, but as the season progresses, it could be a case that the club with the greatest strength in depth wins, and Manchester City are well equipped to deal with a long season.
A dip into the transfer market would be ideal in January, but with the club building a new stadium, it is unlikely that Pochettino will get much, if anything, to strengthen the squad at his disposal.
Chelsea
Although they sit two points behind Spurs, Chelsea are not a team to be underestimated, particularly with players like Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante in the side. They inflicted a first league defeat on the season onto Manchester City, thanks to goals from Kante and David Luiz.
While Alvaro Morata was devoid of confidence under previous manager Antonio Conte, new manager Maurizio Sarri has helped to boost his confidence, and the £60 million striker has netted five times in 14 Premier League appearances so far.
Even with Hazard, who is currently their top scorer in the league, they have shown signs of goal scoring impotency. They’ve fired blanks against both Everton and West Ham United this season and Hazard featured on both occasions.
They do have a strong squad though and with their victory over City, other teams will be wary of their potential.
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