1/3 of all games played and it seems Arsenal, Man. City and Liverpool are very close not only on where they are at the table, but also regarding performances throughout the 13 games.
Do you think this will be a tight race all the way to May?
If not which team do you expect to fall out of the title race and why?
(fair to say Villa and Spurs are also up there but IMO both lack squad depth and cannot see them as title challengers come May)
It’s all about Injuries. City have great depth and don’t tend to run out of steam. I feel Arteta is trying to limit injuries by playing less of an intense play style and Klopp just has his players at 120% at all times which may cause injuries later down the line.
Smart Money is always on City but I’m happy that the top of the league is so tight.
We don’t even do a high press anymore we’re more possession based and play a mid block now in games. Haven’t played heavy metal football in ages. Way more controlled we have technically good players now who can control games.
They lost one key player for three games and lost all three games. Their depth seems impressive but might be a bit of an illusion.
However, they do tend to start worse than they end a season so if Arsenal or Liverpool aren’t several points clear by February I think it’ll be going to City.
As a Liverpool fan that 97 point season was heartbreaking. City just went ahead and won their last 14 games.
Liverpool this year reminds me a lot of Arsenal last year. That’s a compliment don’t get me wrong. Arsenal got every point they could early on but in the end had too many injuries and fell apart. I don’t know if that will happen with Liverpool but they certainly do not have the depth of City. And I agree that Arsenal has been sort of playing a slower pace. But we did just get two of our key players back this week. It feels pretty great to somehow be top of the table right now having missed out on Jesus than odegaard. Not to mention that we should get timber back for the end of the season.
Liverpool barely give 100% now, they play a much slower game than they did 5 years ago when they were a counterpressing machine.
Glad someone sees it. At this level, with these incredibly regimented and meticulously planned systems, being used with the most elite, world class, one-of-a-kind players, injuries define everything. The margins are so fine and everything is so controlled, but injuries (and, increasingly, VAR) are the big thing you can’t control. It’s out of your hands and can ruin everything in an instant
When a team performs below expectations these days it can nearly always be attributed to injuries. They’re an absolute blight on the sport