We’re already nearly halfway through the Premier League this season, and while Manchester City look good for the title again, there’s still plenty of surprises around the corner. In fact, it’s starting to take shape nicely now with the usual top 6 or so getting ready for a busy Christmas period, but we all know Christmas is far from the end.
Here’s our verdict for the top 5 come May 2018.
1. Manchester City
With half of the season left to play and with multiple upsets guaranteed to happen, the title is far from wrapped up, according to this betting website. However, how Manchester City are playing at the moment, and the fact they are going through their worst spell of the season (but are still grinding out wins), it’s hard to overlook them for first spot.
If the blue half of Manchester can stay injury free, Pep and his men will have the title wrapped up sooner rather than later.
2. Chelsea
At the start of the season it looked like Chelsea were going to have problems, especially when they lost Diego Costa.
However, the champions have got the ball rolling in recent weeks and now only find themselves a few points behind the Red Devils. It’s tradition that the champions have a harder time keeping hold of the title the season after, but Chelsea look like they can compete between now and the end of the season if they can keep up their good form.
If Hazard can start producing and Morata can continue his good form, there’s no reason why Chelsea won’t be up there.
3. Manchester United
United have missed Pogba in recent months in terms of assists and creativity but that hasn’t stopped them winning games. If Manchester City weren’t so superior this season, it would be hard to look past United as serious title contenders. Their defence looks solid and they don’t mind going forward to have a pop at teams like they once did under Sir Alex Ferguson. The only problem United have at the moment is that they’re unreliable and could end up losing to anyone on the day. United usually do well for the second half of the season so if they can get a few points on the board before Christmas, they’ll have a real shot at finishing in the top 2 or 3.
4. Liverpool
If you’re a Liverpool fan you have to be pleased with the way Klopp has setup the team since he’s been there. They’re very attack minded and can beat anyone on their day, what’s not to love? Granted, they’ve got a few problems at the back, and Klopp still hasn’t decided on how to play when defending set pieces, but they’ve definitely got something about them going forward. It’s hard to see how Liverpool can topple the likes of City this year because they’re a fair few points behind, but they should have a top 4 finish firmly in their grasp.
5. Arsenal
We can’t really dissect Arsenal these days. They seem to go through a really bad spell and then all of a sudden they’re world beaters again. If you’re an Arsenal fan you’d be very frustrated with Wenger and the players, but if they can keep doing what they’re doing and avoid another bad patch, they’ll be around the top 5, which isn’t bad for a team that hasn’t been doing enough spending in the transfer windows (which is, again, very frustrating).
Arsenal need a couple of world-class additions before they can start competing for the title again, and they’ll also need Wenger to quit his stubbornness.
It’s hard to not include Tottenham in this list after the cracking season they had last year, but it’s looking like their move to Wembley stadium has been the main culprit as far as their consistent form is concerned. When you look at who’ll finish in the top 5 at the start of the season, though, you’ll usually include the above in your picks.
Manchester City look like they’ll go on to win the league this year with some of the quality they’ve shown, so it’s looking like the rest of the spots will be filled by the others.