For the last few years, the eventual Premier League winners have run away at the top without any close challengers. Liverpool won by 18 points in 2019-20, and there was then another major gulf of 15 points between second-placed Manchester City and third-placed Manchester United. Last time out, City stormed the league with a 12-point safety cushion on United in second.
As we know, football is occasionally thought of as a type of business, fed by sponsorships and fans. Yet fans have almost forgotten what it looks like to watch a fiercely contested title race, but they may be in store for the hottest one ever this term. Chelsea, Liverpool, and City are all gunning for top honours, and it is hard to predict which one will lift the title in May.
Manchester City
With Pep Guardiola’s City having won the title in three of the last four seasons, it’s hard to look past the free-flowing Sky Blues to do it again. The Spanish mastermind always finds a way to continue the evolution of his vibrant team, and his tactical alterations in attack this season have kept teams guessing. According to the bookies, City are the favourites to go all the way. As of the 24th of October, they can be backed at 5/2 to retain the title. They certainly haven’t let up after winning last term and seem hungry to do it again.
In typical Guardiola fashion, the Catalan has given his team a makeover in the 2021-22 season. After losing Sergio Aguero in the summer, City failed to sign a world class striker as a replacement. Instead, they acquired Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for £100 million. This has allowed Guardiola to repurpose some of his other midfielders in the false nine role. Phil Foden has shone here, and the young Englishman has been causing defences all sorts of problems. As usual, City have the tightest defence in the division, meaning that it will be difficult for any other team to overthrow them this term as well as making this season an extremely entertaining watch.
Chelsea
Chelsea’s transformation under Thomas Tuchel has been miraculous, with the German taking the Blues to a sumptuous victory in the Champions League last season. The former Paris Saint-Germain tactician is now plotting a way to get the London side to the top of the domestic game. Signing Romelu Lukaku in the summer was a statement of intent from Chelsea, as they were missing a prolific spearhead to their attack in the 2020-21 campaign. The Belgian will bring goals, but the great thing about this side is that they don’t rely solely on the hitman up top.
Indeed, Tuchel’s side have been a joy to watch this season because they can create chances and score goals from several different tactics thanks to Tuchel’s changes to the team. In the 3-4-3 system, Tuchel’s wingbacks have been particularly impressive. Having the option to rotate two high class attacking wingbacks on the left flank in Alonso and Chilwell has given Chelsea an edge that other teams are finding hard to rival. This is, without a doubt, the Stamford Bridge outfit’s best chance at winning the league since the departure of Antonio Conte.
Liverpool
After blazing to the title in the 2019-20 campaign, Liverpool seemed to plateau. They’d just won the Champions League and the domestic division in the last two seasons respectively, and perhaps the players lost some of their hunger. This was highlighted by a major dip in form from Jurgen Klopp’s front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah. The Reds only managed to notch 73 goals in total last term, while the year before they banged in 102.
Of course, it didn’t help that that Klopp was without his first-choice defenders Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip for a large portion of the campaign. Indeed, the two managed just over 1000 minutes of pitch time between them. With everyone back in action and in top form as far as health is concerned, this season and the attacking trident in stunning form, the Anfield outfit are a force to be reckoned with once again. It will be hard for anyone to put a stop to Klopp’s juggernaut.
With these three giants seemingly in unstoppable form, this title race is bound to come right down to the wire. It would be foolish to back against any of them, but picking a winner is a hard task.
