Premier League Title Race: Manchester City’s to lose – Liverpool’s to chase
By Varun Aithal
The Premier League is at its peak with games happening thick and fast. Some teams like Liverpool are struggling to string together a good run of games while others like Manchester City are towering through their fixtures.
There has been a lot of changes in the points table with Liverpool dropping to fourth whereas Manchester City have consolidated their position at the top in both the title race and points table.
They still have a game-in-hand over United and Liverpool, who are placed second in the standings. At the moment, it looks like Pep Guardiola is heading towards his third Premier League title. After initial setbacks in the opening stages of the EPL, the Cityzens have made their way up to the summit with consistent performances.
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In the absence of veteran striker Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres have filled in seamlessly.
Injury to Kevin de Bruyne hasn’t affected the club as much as it was expected to. Thanks to the presence of Illkay Gundogan.
The defense has remained rock solid with Ruben Dias and John Stones putting up a stellar partnership together, making it hard for the opposition to get past them.
The champions of England have struggled to defend their title against others
On the other hand, the champions of last season have struggled to leave an impact this term. In the absence of Virgil van Dijk, the team has failed to win games consistently.
Moreover, the injury crisis to first-team players has made it worse for Jurgen Klopp in the title race. The victories against West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur tells a different tale to the defeats against the Seagulls and the Clarets.
The defeat against Brighton can be considered as a blip in their defending campaign. Despite the defeat, Liverpool still has time to claw their way back up the table.
Jurgen Klopp signed two central defenders on the final day of the transfer window to announce their return to the title race. The club will get a chance to redeem themselves on Sunday when they face Manchester City at Anfield.
There have been several clubs who’ve sat in first place this season
Previously, multiple clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have remained at the top for a week or two. Eventually, the lack of consistent performances cost them the position and have fallen down the ladder.
We have seen Man City players putting shifts in, week in and week out to ensure their dominance in England. Also, the quality on the bench and what they have as rotation players make a strong case for the current leaders.
Manchester United are a different case. Nobody guessed that the Red Devils will be in a title race after the thrashing by Tottenham Hotspur. Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford have kept the team in the race despite enduring some negative results.
Moreover, the Red Devils’ record 9-0 victory against Southampton might be a cause of concern for the league leaders, Manchester City. With the arrival of new center-backs and Mo Salah finding his goalscoring form, Jurgen Klopp will be relieved despite the second straight home defeat.
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Apart from the Champions League, Liverpool are out of both domestic cup competitions which can help them focus on their title retention. It will be interesting to see where Liverpool will finish at the end of the season.