This has been one of the most fascinating Barclays English Premier League season. The race for the Champion has been a close fight between 3 clubs. ( Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea)
The race for the fourth spot has also been a keen battle between a number of clubs ( Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Tottenham)
For this season, the top clubs seem to be dropping many more points than normal. Wonder is it due to the quality of the overall league is getting better or the top teams are getting weaker.
For Arsenal performance, they have been inconsistent throughout the season. They have dropped points against their nearest rivals as well as some unexpected teams. One reason could be due to the many injuries suffer by their various departments over the season. Another weakness is also due to the keeper inconsistency as he has made a couple of howlers in the season which does not inspire confidence in the backline.
For Manchester United, although it pains me to say it but really Manu have become over reliant on the use of star players for the offensive side of their game. Ronaldo has been carrying Manu offense for the last two seasons. This year Rooney has done very well to take over the mandate. However this also lies the problem, when Rooney is injured, there is a significant loss in cutting edge.
Even though Valencia has been a solid signing but the loss of Ronaldo as well as Tevez has been quite significant. In addition, the existing midfielders has not really managed to up their offensive game. A major downside has been the influence of Carrick. He was supposed to be the main creative force in the centre of midfield but his performance has been quite bad. Park and Fletcher has been playing well but their main role is to strengthen the centre of midfield from a defensive point of view. There is not much creativity in the centre of the park. This caused Manu to attack by the flank most of the time which makes it predictable for opposition.
For Chelsea, it can be said that out of the 3 teams, it is the most experienced as well as the strongest in depth as their bench is full of experience international. They also have suffered from players who suffered major injuries such as the loss of Essien and Ashley Cole. They have recovered well from a blip in the second half of the season.
Chelsea has just beaten Manu and are 2 points ahead with 5 games left. Based on the fixture list, their toughest assignment will be going to Anfield and not get beaten as they have a superior goal difference than Manu.
Manu have some tough games coming up which are away such as the Manchester Derby as well as Tottenham away.
Arsenal has relatively easiest run in to the end of the season. However they will need both Manu and Chelsea to drop a few points. It maybe possible for one of the two to drop a couple of points but not likely to have both teams dropping enough points for Arsenal to overtake them.
Chelsea is in a very strong position for the title. However based on this unpredictable season, both sets of Manchester United and Arsenal fans must be hoping for a last minute twist for the race for the title.
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