As we approach the business end of the season, it’s shaping up to be one of the tightest finishes in years, at both ends of the table. Here we take a look at how the top 5 will finish up, come the end of May.
1. Manchester City
Despite their first home defeat of the season against Chelsea on Monday, City have still got to be the frontrunners in the title race. They have been far and away the best team in the league this season and the players brought in over the summer have slotted into the squad superbly, Negredo and Fernandino in particular.
Negredo has already netted 23 times this season, including 2 hat-tricks. Until Monday, no team has even gotten close to challenging City, and although Chelsea were superb in their victory at the Ethiad, their away form this season is sure to cost them the title.
2. Chelsea
Jose Mourinho’s side have been the experts at winning ugly this season. They have been far from their fluent best for the most part, but have done just enough to ground out results. They didn’t need to hit their best to comfortably beat Manchester United last month, a result which more or less ended the Red Devil’s faint league title hopes.
Chelsea were excellent in beating Manchester City on Monday, however, giving a perfect example of how to beat the best team in the league. But their inconsistency away from home will probably see them finish behind City.
3. Arsenal
Arsenal currently sit top of the pile, the first time they have been at the summit at this stage of the season for many years. Arsene Wenger finally spent big in the summer by acquiring Mesut Ozil’s signature for £40 million, and it has proved dividends. Arsenal have proved a solid team all season so far, and Ozil has been very much party to that solidarity.
However, it was widely agreed that Wenger needed to purchase another striker in the January transfer window, with only Bendtner and Giroud options up front, after Walcott was ruled out for the rest of the season. But he failed to add to his forward line, leaving Arsenal short of options as they attempt to make inroads into the Champions League latter stages as well as keeping up their assault on the league title.
4. Liverpool
With Luis Suarez having come back in finer form than ever from his 8 match ban at the beginning of the season and Liverpool having already made an excellent start to the campaign, they were tipped for title glory. Although that challenge seems to have petered out somewhat, they are in poll position to grab the last remaining Champions League birth, lying a point above Merseyside rivals Everton, and 3 above Spurs.
It would be the first time since 2010 that they have qualified for the competition, and would be a major achievement for Brendan Rogers. With Suarez and Sturridge scoring frequently, and the rest of the team playing with great confidence, they look the best bet to finish 4th, if they can keep their strike force fit.
5. Machester United
Even 5th place is looking a long way off for the shocked United faithful at the moment. They trail Everton by 5 points, and Spurs by 4. United have been so inconstant this season it’s hard to believe, but having managed to persuade Juan Mata to join from Chelsea in January, they have made their play to try and force their way into the top 4. With a 2-0 home victory over Swansea on Mata’s debut, in which he was conducive, the Red Devils looked to have finally turned a corner, and with the return of Van Persie and Rooney to the first team to link up with Mata, things were finally looking up.
However, in their first start together, United were awful in a 2-1 away defeat at Stoke, who were 3rd from bottom prior to the match. It is this inconsistency that Mata, or indeed David Moyes, can’t be expected to fix on their own, and although the addition of Mata to the team should secure Europa League football for next season (definitely not an achievement) they look set to miss out on the biggest stage, in what would be a very steep learning curve.