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Manchester United losing out the title on goal difference; Chelsea winning the Champions League & FA Cup after finishing 6th in EPL; Arsenal showing the spirit of gunners by bouncing back from a much maligned stage at the start of the season to a much appreciated 3rd position; AVB coming back to haunt Chelsea as Spurs manager and Manchester City winning the EPL title after a stunning comeback on the final day of the League – all these events point to one & only one thing – all these teams are in contention for the EPL title. So, who’s going to win it this season?
Manchester City
After seeing Manchester City come back from 1 goal down and score the winner in late stoppage time to clinch the title, even a person with little knowledge of the victory would have been thrilled and would have jumped out of his seat on seeing the win. It only makes one more interested in watching football more and more often, since there are matches which were up-and-down in nature. The way the blue half of Manchester played last season showed the hunger & eagerness of a team which started out its campaign determined to prove that they are not spending money to bully others but to prove their worth. And City didn’t fail to impress. Aguero, who scored the winning goal, was remarkably the best signing by Mancini. He banged in 30 goals and was the player of the season after Van Persie. And the addition of Tevez after his saga was a boost for Mancini, who also had to come with Mr. Mario’s madness. So City is the team to watch again this season, as they make their way in the transfer market.
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Manchester United
After a humbling defeat at the hands of City at the Theatre of Dreams, Manchester United was left wobbling and searching for their mistakes. The last season was a shocking one for Sir Alex’ s team, as they lost matches which obviously were easy for them. The main problem was that their defense was very vulnerable. They conceded goals in matches against teams from the bottom half and lost valuable points which could have put them in the driving seat. But they were the only team to put up a challenge & pressure City, and they ensured that the title wasn’t decided until the last minute of the last day . The signing of Kagawa is a welcome prospect; Lucas Moura could be a good signing too and if they can find a leftback to replace Evra, it could be a wonderful team. They will be willing to put up a good show after a disastrous Champions league & EPL campaign.
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger was criticized and taunted for not bringing in suitable players who could replace dynamic and creative players like Fabregas and Nasri. And it really began to show as Arsenal was close to the relegation zone after seven matches. But it was the form of Robin Van Persie which lifted each and every player and the fans, and gave the belief that Arsenal is a genuine title contender. His performance against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was his best as he scored a hat-trick. His top form led Arsenal to a top-4 finish and into Champions League for the 15th consecutive season. But the saga revolving around Van persie is another questionable thing, with him being sick of the team unable to win cups. Surely, even if RVP departs, Arsene Wenger has the character & composure to build a very good team which may not be on par with the two Manchester clubs, but can pose a serious title challenge.
Chelsea
Chelsea was supposed to be the team to pose a serious title challenge to Manchester United. The early game against Manchester United opened up flaws that Chelsea had to think about. AVB was yet another manager recruited by Roman after his triumph at Porto. AVB clearly signaled the end of the veterans by relegating the likes of Lampard, Anelka and Malouda to the bench. He had the vision to have an attacking style of play, which was what Roman wanted. But the back four was always vulnerable when the opposition counter attacked. This made Chelsea vulnerable and by December, they were 10 points behind leaders Manchester City. After defeating City, they were arguably back in the title race, but lost the plot when the defense began to show gaps. AVB carried the burden, stating he had the backing of Roman, but soon was axed after Chelsea lost the Champions League away fixture against Napoli. This prompted RDM to step up, and boy did he make amends. He turned the camp around into an energetic one by lifting their spirits, and the veterans showed that they still had a lot to give by putting in THE performance against Napoli and overturning a two goal deficit. That led to Chelsea’s resurrection and they went on to win the FA Cup & UCL. Now that RDM has been made permanent manager, and with the signings of Hazard, Marin & De Bruyne and more still to come, it would be premature to count Chelsea out of the title race. And also, maybe Torres will finally step up with the departure of the legend, Didier Drogba.
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs was regarded as a serious contender for Champions League, competing with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Under Harry Redknapp, Spurs was really showing the character of a team with a fighting spirit. Harry convinced Modric to stay after the latter demanded a move to Chelsea. All was well, until the departure of Fabio Capello as England manager, which left the seat wide open. Harry was tempted by it, but as he leaned towards leaving Spurs, the team began to lose matches. After strengthening their position at 3rd, their lead over Arsenal began to crumble and soon they were playing catch up with Arsenal and fighting with Chelsea. Nonetheless, they finished in the top 4 but were pushed into Europa League after Chelsea won Champions League. AVB’s recruitment as the new manager after Harry’s departure will only put doubts whether he will be able to prove what he was brought to Chelsea just after 9 months s manager. They are definitely the team to watch.
All this only makes the fans eager for the league to start, for the classic London Derby, the Manchester derby, all the speculation of which player goes where, who are the new signings and finally the kick-off to be signaled by the referee. It all begins on the 18th of August.
