The nail biting Premier League season continues

I will sound like a broken record if I say that this is the most exciting Premier League season in recent memory. But that is exactly what it is – a memorable season! I hope the remaining 10 games go the same way the season has up to now and that we go into the last week with 2 or maybe 3 teams with a chance to nick it. After the bad show by English teams in Europe, Roy Keane recently rubbished the claim of EPL being the best league in the world. I cannot think of any other top league having a high quality top 6 like the EPL has.

Yesterday was a big big day in the EPL. Chelsea after a lethargic first half, had a decent second half and got a good win against Fulham. Arsenal again came undone against Stoke! I can’t remember the last time Arsenal got a win at the Brittania Stadium. Arsenal are again losing it as we come to the business end of the season and most Arsenal fans must be getting the ‘oh so familiar’ feeling. Liverpool took on Southampton later beat them to go second in the standings!

What a season Liverpool are having. While Arsenal lose ground and Liverpool gain ground, the Chelsea result leaves Manchester City with a lot of catching up to do. They have the postponed game (bad weather) against Sunderland in the league and now have the Manchester derby that has been postponed (league cup final) and have next week’s game against Aston Villa also postponed (FA cup fixture). So, by the end of next week, Chelsea could be 9 points clear of Man City, who have the quality to make up this ground and to me still remain favorites to win the league. But we all know that points on the board means points that won’t be lost, and in such a closely contested league it really matters.

Keeping Man City and Chelsea as the favourites at this point to take the league, let’s compare their tough fixtures in the last few games of the season. Chelsea have to play Spurs at the Bridge, Arsenal at the Bridge and Liverpool at Anfield. On the other hand, Man City have Man United at Old Trafford, Arsenal at the Emirates, Liverpool at Anfield and Everton at Goodison Park. As you can see, Chelsea clearly have better fixtures in their run in and the tough ones they have are more at home than away.

The story with Man City is quite the contrary and not to mention the piled up games from the postponements. On top of that, they have the FA cup to worry about and in all likelihood will go all the way in that competition too. The Champions League commitments are the same and that is the only place Man City could get a break as they are likely to lose to Barcelona at Nou Camp and have one less competition to worry about. They may quite like to continue having the Champions League worry, but this may be a blessing in disguise. A lot has been said and written about the squad depth of Manchester City and it sure will be tested over the next 8-10 weeks.

All in all, as every week rolls on, we see the league dynamics at play and things continue to be as tight as they have ever been this season. And my suggestion to Roy Keane; wake up and smell the coffee!