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No clear favourite at present; multiple contenders promise a thrilling Premier League second half
It can't get better than this. At the halfway stage of the Premier League, there is no real indication as to who will lift the trophy this season.
Fans will appreciate this after Manchester City's dominance in the last three seasons. Just six points separate the first five teams, and with the kind of results that we have seen so far, there is no clear favourite at present. Not even City who look to become the first team to win the fourth successive Premier League season.
Before Saturday's round of matches, Liverpool (on 42 points) lead Arsenal by two points, followed by Aston Villa (three points behind the leaders), City (five adrift), and Spurs (six adrift). It may be noted that City have played one game fewer on account of their match against Brentford getting postponed earlier this month due to their FIFA Club World Cup commitments.
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In the Premier League, it doesn’t happen often. In fact, only twice in its history, there has been a gap of less points between the table-toppers and the fifth-placed team as of December 28.
The last two seasons have been a two-way battle. City won the title last season with Arsenal being the only team that posed some kind of challenge, eventually falling short by five points at 84. The season before… Liverpool had a great campaign, and it went down to the last day but City eventually prevailed.
The way things have turned out so far, it's not going to be a two-way fight. There are five teams in the fray at present. From October, there have been four different table-toppers, starting from Spurs to City to Arsenal to Liverpool now.
Aston Villa and West Ham United, both have managed to punch above their weight as of now, opening up the competition not a little. While they are unlikely to win the league, they can certainly ensure things go down to the wire among the usual suspects. This month itself, West Ham have toppled big teams like Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United (not title contenders but a big team nonetheless) and Arsenal. Villa too have picked up two massive back-to-back results this month against City and Arsenal.
Despite not being up to the mark so far, many believe City will get back on its feet eventually and win but that's because of the way they have played in the last 10 years, particularly in the last three seasons. Liverpool too have a lot of backers for a similar reason -- in a manner of speaking. Before City began their dream run in 2020-21, the Reds had won the league the season before. Then they have Jurgen Klopp as their manager who can match Pep Guardiola in the tactics department.
Liverpool so far has also been the most balanced team. They have been good in the final third but have been even better at the back. At the moment, they have conceded the least number of goals among all 20 teams, that is 16, while Arsenal take the second spot at 18.
Manchester City, meanwhile, have shown the maximum firepower in the final third with 43 goals. Villa surprisingly take the second spot with 40 goals. Agreed that Tottenham and Villa have weak title credentials but extraordinary things happen like the 2015-16 season when Leicester City made history out of nowhere. Be that as it may, City, Liverpool and Arsenal (yes, we can include them) appear the main contenders because they have won the “Premier League” before. City have won five times in the last six editions, all under Guardiola.
It's looking so tight at present that experts are refraining from making any predictions. The legendary Thierry Henry, who won two Premier League titles with Arsenal in the early noughties, has chosen to sit on the fence. "I won’t answer. Call me whatever you want. I always give my answer after the festive period," the Frenchman told Amazon Prime.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, Champions League winner in 2005, is quite pleased with the way the season has panned out so far and hopes it continues that way for the remainder. "Is the quality of the Premier League better for teams taking points off each other, or having a couple teams who are a level above the others? I think this season has been a brilliant watch so far & long may the points dropped continue!" he posted on X.
When all is said and done, everything points to a brilliant finish. Fasten your seat belts, you all! It’s going to be a hell of a ride.
