The Premier League, England’s top-tier in football, has been known for its intense competition over the years. Unlike the Spanish top-tier which, of late, has predominantly been a 3-horse race, and other leagues which do not have more than 2 teams in contention for a title, the Premier League has as many as six powerful teams with the capability of producing a title-winning run. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, last season’s runaway title winners, have displayed brilliance and courage in the last 7-8 years, while Manchester United, which does have history on their side, are finding their feet again under Jose Mourinho after a few lukewarm, underwhelming seasons when David Moyes and Louis van Gaal were at the helm. Liverpool, under Jurgen Klopp, looked solid in the closing stages of the 2017-18 seasons, with an attacking triumvirate of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, and Roberto Firmino scoring goals at ease and taking them through.
The purchase of Alisson Becker from AS Roma should finally solve Klopp’s goal-keeping headache, with both Simon Mignolet and Loris Karius making poor errors in crucial games. Tottenham Hotspur has, time and again, come up with inspired performances to down the top teams, but somehow lose their way during the end of the first half of the season and by the time they huff and puff to the final few matches, all hopes of a title vanish. Mauricio Pochettino has transformed and moulded the side into a title contender, but their inconsistency in performances affects the side repeatedly.
The remaining two are Arsenal and Chelsea, both of which will have new-look teams, strategies, and managers as well. While Unai Emery has been given the task of bringing this Arsenal side back to its glory days, Maurizio Sarri has been brought in to steady the Chelsea ship.
Much of Arsenal’s hope will rest on the shoulders of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette upfront and Skhrodan Mustafi and summer signing, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, in defence. The midfield, led by Aaron Ramsey and new signing, Lucas Torreira, will also have to step up for Emery to have any success with the Gunners. Chelsea, on the other hand, will look up to Sarri to bring them back to the Champions League slots, having dropped to the Europa League last season. The Men in Blue, no doubt, have immense talent in their ranks and much will depend on Sarri’s use of players such as Alvaro Morata, Willian, new signing Jorginho and if he chooses to stay, Eden Hazard.
As it stands, title holders, Manchester City, will start as favourites but they cannot ignore the fact that all five of their competitors will be raring to go and ready to topple them off their perch. Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool certainly seem to be dangerous sides and will be propelled further by the inclusion of their summer signings, while Spurs and Chelsea, though dormant in the transfer window, can never be signed off as the most competitive league in Europe is all set to get underway in a few weeks.
