With nearly a third of the season over, Liverpool are on top of the league. The Reds are leading the Premier League title race with thirty-one points after twelve games. Before the first kick of the ball this season, Manchester City and Arsenal were the favorites to win the league. Things haven’t gone according to plan for either club. City are currently sitting in second place and are eight points behind the leaders. Arsenal are fourth and just a point behind City.
The difference between their points isn’t much, but their fixture difficulty ratings are very different. Arsenal have great fixtures going ahead, having played a big chunk of the tougher games early into the season. If they gather some momentum, I can easily see them going on a great run. Manchester City on the other hand have had easier fixtures to start the season compared to Arsenal. Conversely, their fixtures going ahead are considerably tougher than their rivals. FDR combined with City’s recent slump is the biggest reason behind people writing them off. Is everyone getting too ahead of themselves by betting against one of, if not the greatest manager ever? Let’s see how the three teams are positioned in the Premier League title race.
Liverpool up ahead by 8 points
Life under new manager Arne Slot has started off very well for Liverpool, more than what a fan would’ve asked for. The have won ten of the first twelve games and have conceded just eight goals in the process. Defensively they look a much more controlled side. Scoring goals is never problem for a team that has Mo Salah in it. They have a hundred percent record in the UCL and sit atop the table in Europe too.
Liverpool will face Manchester City at Anfield this weekend. A win against Pep Guardiola during such a historically bad month-long winless streak is achievable. Pep’s team lost a three-goal lead in the final sixteen minutes of regulation to Arne’s ex-team, Feyenoord FC in the Champions League. If Liverpool win at home, the gap between the two teams will get to double digits. Getting back from such is position is tough but not impossible for Pep Guardiola. Liverpool’s fixtures do get tough during the end of the season when they face Spurs, Chelsea, and Arsenal back to back. The team that benefits from the fixture difficulty rating is Arsenal, who are positioned in the Premier League title race much better than City after a few big wins.
Arsenal’s position in the Premier League title race
Arsenal are back to winning ways. After Martin Odegaard’s return, they have looked excellent. Scoring eight goals in the last two games and conceding just once will surely bring the lost confidence back. In the win against Nottm Forest, both Odegaard and Saka were firing on all cylinders which was proof of how good Arteta’s team can be. If they can sustain anywhere close to this type of production for the next few game weeks, they can slowly climb up the table.
The top-of-the-table clash this weekend can further help them cut the gap between either if not both the teams. A draw is what Arsenal fans will hope for. The Gunners have one of the easiest schedules ahead and are getting back in form at the right time.
Can Pep work his magic?
Pep Guardiola is one of the best ever at what he does, he has achieved everything, everywhere he has gone. With Manchester City, he has won the league six out of the last seven years, winning four out of the last four.
However, this season they haven’t looked like the City of old. Their record with and without Rodri is enough to explain why he won the Balon d’Or. Phil Foden is not playing at last year’s level, Kevin De Bruyne has been in and out with injury, Haaland is missing a ton of big chances, Kyle Walker isn’t the same, and Kovacic and Gundogan have been average at best, all this has resulted into a six-game winless streak for the defending champions.
City are in a tricky position, the only reason to believe in Pep and City right now is because of their past experience of coming back from behind and winning the league. City tends to go on a few runs during the season when they look unplayable. But a streak of bad games like this is new for them. The game at Anfield will change the narrative around City’s Premier League title race position if they manage to get a win.
Pep and City are wounded, will they make a comeback, or will things go downhill from here? Liverpool are solid but can sustain this level of production? and the question for Arsenal is can they deliver consistently over the rest of the season?
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