Seven games into the 2014/2015 Premier League season and a lot of teams are having a mixed start to the season, which means the race for the top four is already shaping up to be quite close and intense. With it looking like six or even seven teams could be in the running, the run up to Christmas could be incredibly important to all the teams looking to claim the coveted Champions League places.
Chelsea
Chelsea have made an unbelievable start to this season, with many making them favourites to win the title. Jose Mourinho has seemingly moved on from his ‘park the bus’ tactic, employing a much more powerful style of football, spearheaded by new signing and new Chelsea hero Diego Costa. Netting nine goals in his first seven premiership games for Chelsea so far this season he is looking like an astute piece of business by the London club. Arguably as impressive has been the capture of Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona, whose link up with Diego Costa has seen Chelsea rocket to the top of the table, boasting a goal tally of twenty-one and a goal difference of fourteen; double the next highest (Manchester City with a goal difference of seven. Combined with the solid performances by Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill, The Blues look like a formidable force who will be difficult to contain.
Predicted finish: 1st
Manchester City
Manchester City have also made a very strong start to their season, however they seem to be lacking that cutting edge which won them the title last year. Unfortunate injuries to key players Samir Nasri and Fernandinho, who were both very impressive last season in Pellegrini’s style of football, has cost them dear. Although Manchester City have had some good results in the Premiership, for example beating Liverpool 3-1, they have conceded sloppy goals to teams they really should be holding firmer against. Although they knocked four past Hull City, they also conceded twice from two defensive errors on behalf of Eliaquim Mangala. Couple this with their 1-0 loss to Stoke at home early in the season; a game where they only had two out of sixteen shots on target, it’s safe to say Manchester City are having a few problems early on. However, they have an immensely talented squad which has still managed fourteen points in seven games, placing them in second and are often very good at picking up consistent wins and this season is likely to be no different.
Predicted finish: 2nd
Arsenal
Arsenal always have a knack of either starting or ending their season in spectacular fashion which ultimately leads them to finish in 4th. However, this year they are looking much more like a gelled side going forward. Admittedly, record signing Mesut Özil has still been slightly lacklustre but the introduction of Chilean attacker Alexis Sanchez is likely to shift some of the responsibility from his shoulders this season and has already looked like a very smart signing by Arsene Wenger. Also with the recent performances of Welbeck and Ramsey, Arsenal fans have a lot to look forward to. On the other hand, Arsenal have still shown signs of being poor defensively, a trait they still haven’t managed to shake from last season and against the big teams this could prove to be very costly in their season yet again, especially if they continue to rack up the number of injuries that plagued their season last year.
Predicted finish: 4th
Liverpool
Last season’s runners up Liverpool have had a rather mediocre start to the Premier League season this year after what many think was a fairly unsuccessful transfer window. Similar to Tottenham’s scenario last year, very few of their new signings have hit the ground running, but there is no doubt they have bought some high class talent to Anfield and, more importantly, really began to build for the future with a lot of young players such as Markovic and Alberto Moreno. Individual mistakes have damaged their start to the season—a prime example being the game against Manchester City—but they haven’t looked as impressive as they did last season. A significant reason for this is likely to be the absence of star striker Daniel Sturridge through injury and also the rather disappointing string of performances by new signing Mario Balotelli. However, once paired together Liverpool fans will be hoping they can become a formidable partnership and combined with the electric Raheem Sterling they should be netting goals galore.
Predicted finish: 5th
Manchester United
A lot of people had written off Manchester United after their last season and poor start to the current one, but recently they have begun to look a lot more impressive; Angel Di Maria has been in sensational form as of late and Falcao has started hitting the back of the net. Their midfield looks very well balanced with the inclusion of Dutch international Daley Blind and Louis Van Gaal seems to finally have his tactics implemented properly to get the best out of the plethora of attacking talent at his disposal. Defensive injuries however have been rocking the club significantly recently, with Phil Jones, Johnny Evans, Luke Shaw, Paddy McNair, Chris Smalling and even Michael Carrick out injured who could possibly play in Manchester United’s back line. If they can solidify their defence and get a consistent run of games with the same players, this could be their chance to redeem their poor season under David Moyes.
Predicted finish: 3rd
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have always craved that top four position and to revisit the Champions League once more but the reality is they never seem to have what it takes to overhaul one of the higher teams. They had a rare opportunity last season when Manchester United dropped out but it was Liverpool who stepped up to claim their place. This season they have had a rollercoaster of a start to the season, with promising results against QPR and away at Arsenal but slips against teams like West Brom and Sunderland are what is stopping Spurs from really pushing for their target. A lack of a confident, prolific centre-forward again seems to be the holding back this Tottenham side, with realistically only Harry Kane seemingly finding the net fairly consistently. Their attack has been too narrow and too slow at times but against QPR Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen showed what they are capable of when all goes right. Unfortunately, similar to last season, Spurs’ defence has been a bit shaky, with Younes Kaboul and Vlad Chiriches the two main culprits when they have played. If Spurs can get a nice run of form going, they might be able to squeeze into the top fur but it’s going to take a lot of work from Mauricio Pochettino.
Predicted finish: 6th
