John DeStefano
The competition for who will win The Premier League has only gotten closer and closer as the season goes on. Manchester City is currently on fire, and with a ten-point lead in goal differential they will be tough to beat. Liverpool has dropped points recently, still holding with Manchester City with only the goal differential separating them. Tottenham Hotspur, while not particularly favored to take the title this year are only a few points behind the leaders and could easily win in Liverpool and Manchester City don’t stay in excellent form. But each team has its own path to victory, and upon further investigation it’s a much closer race than the stats would lead you to believe.
First Manchester City, top of the table and looking to repeat the success of last season and win the title again. With the recent 6-0 shutout against Chelsea they have demonstrated why they’re at the top of the table. It’s not hard to see them winning the league this year but looking forward in their schedule there are still a few hurdles to overcome before they can be proclaimed champions. Manchester City still must play two of the current top four teams in the remainder of the season. And when every point count, they will need to win these games to stay on top.
For Liverpool, they have made a lot more work for themselves in order to win The Premier League. With ties against both Leicester City and West Ham, Liverpool have erased the seven point lead they had coming into the new year. While the rest of their season may be easier than that of Manchester City, there are still a few challenges in the mix. They still have to play one more game each against Chelsea, Tottenham, and Manchester United, who have been on fire since bringing in a new Manager to lead the team. However, with Liverpool dropping points to middle tier teams it could spell failure for the chance for the clubs first Premier League title.
Tottenham Hotspur may be the wildcard for the title race, but they are in a special situation where even if they don’t win, they could still impact who goes home champions. So far this season the Spurs season could be summed up into a single word, consistent. At only five points behind the leaders and both Liverpool and Manchester City on their schedule, if the Spurs can make either of these teams drop points, they can easily shake up the table and when its all over could easily end up on top.
To close out the season as champions each team has their set of hurdles to overcome. Every game that each of these teams play need to be textbook, and a single point dropped could mean a second-place finish. With the unpredictable nature of soccer, and the addition of international competitions it will be interesting to watch how each team reacts to their challenges, and more importantly who will come out on top.
