With nine games left to go, the season is reaching a period of crunch-time for championship contenders, as well as teams fighting to stay up. Twenty-nine games have been played as of this moment, and I feel the need to reflect upon the great season that is about to come to an epic finale.
First, let's talk about my revised prediction for the top 4. In my blog before the season started, I predicted that Liverpool would finish 4th, behind 3rd place Chelsea, 2nd place Manchester City, and Champions of England, Manchester United.
Well, I'm not too far off.
Currently, Manchester City sits first with 70 points, with Liverpool right on their heels with 69 points. Behind the Reds sits Chelsea with 59 points, and in 4th place sits cross-town rivals Arsenal, who I guess I underestimated at the start of the season, seeing as I placed them 7th.
Let's talk about the biggest disappointment thus far, which, to no one's surprise, is Manchester United.
Boy, these guys are bad.
Sitting behind Tottenham in 6th place, Manchester United has lost 7 games and drawn 8. Their biggest weakness is their defense. Harry Maguire is absolutely shambolic in the back and has cost them so many games. Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, and Eric Bailly try and make up for Maguire's errors, but can't seem to resolve the lack of leadership that Maguire is supposed to fill.
Still, this team has so much potential, and I predicted that they would finish 1st, even before they signed Cristiano Ronaldo!
I see no possibility that United finish top 4, as Tottenham is actually fairly decent and Arsenal seem to have found new life without Aubameyang.
Let's go on to the biggest surprise team, which has to be Arsenal.
Arsenal lost their first game to Brentford, Chelsea the week after then got absolutely blown out by Manchester City in match week 3. I thought there was no coming back from that, but Arsenal found something after those defeats, going on to win 6 out of their next 8 games.
With the fine addition of Aaron Ramsdale in goal, Arsenal has cemented themselves as a well-rounded team. Youngsters Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe are leading a fine attacking team that has found Alexandre Lacazette some newfound creative ability.
We'll move on to the biggest flop this year. With notable signings in both transfer windows, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Jack Grealish in the summer, Philippe Coutinho, and Luis Diaz in the winter, some recently signed players just haven't lived up to the hype.
The biggest flop has to be Romelu Lukaku for Chelsea.
Purchased from Inter Milan for 97 Million Euros, Lukaku has become the most expensive player ever, with 285 Million Euros being spent on him by various clubs, those being Chelsea, Manchester United, and Inter Milan.
Lukaku had a phenomenal season with Inter last season, finishing the year with 24 goals and 11 assists. Now with Chelsea, big Rom hasn't lived up to his hype, and controversy has surrounded him after he spoke to Sky Italia, claiming that he wasn't happy at Chelsea, and wished to return to Inter in the near future.
Lukaku has scored 5 goals in 19 appearances for the Blues and seems to have lost his place.
I debated putting Jack Grealish here, but because of his chances created and accurate passing, he has narrowly missed my opinion on the biggest flop.
Next, we move on to the best transfer, which, with no doubt in my mind, has to be Luis Diaz.
This guy is special.
Moving from Porto in the winter for 45 Million Euros, Diaz has shown that he is worth every cent Liverpool paid for him. This kid is quick, technically creative on the ball, and has the shooting prowess to convert chances that come his way.
Now with Liverpool's added depth in attack, I see no one stopping them from marching toward the title.
Finally, I'll discuss who'll win the league.
This will be as close as it was in the 2019/20 season, with City narrowly beating out Liverpool by one point. But, Liverpool has all the momentum right now, and I see the Reds overtaking City in the near future.
This all depends on who wins the epic clash between City and Liverpool in April. Whoever wins that game will be crowned champions of England. We will have to see whether or not Pep or Klopp focuses more on the Champions League, or the Premier League. Personally, Pep needs the Champions League far more than Klopp does, but he will still put his heart and soul into defending their title from last year.
Again, this is entirely subjective, and if you all have any disagreements, feel free to leave them in the comments.
This should be an epic finish to an astounding season, and I cannot wait to see who will be crowned champions in May!
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