Three different leaders in the space of a few weeks; Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United have all topped the table and they are all going to face each other in the near future. Of course, Arsenal play United this weekend.
Good time to assess the big three. Yes, the big three. We are leaving Spurs out. They are all separated by two points and the current leaders Chelsea have a game in hand. Now, Tottenham have improved a lot but just not in the same league yet. Whereas everything has gone down the drain for Liverpool.
It is astonishing how Arsenal have pulled themselves back into the race because two or three months ago, they seemed to have thrown it all away. At the moment, Chelsea have got to be the favorites due to the fact that they are a point clear with a game in hand.
Arsenal are having a few problems in the striking department with Robin van Persie’s injury and Carlos Vela, Nicklas Bendtner and Eduardo not sticking up to the mark. Although the Gunners have had no real problems with finding the net but you got to wonder what will happen when the goals from midfield or the crosses from the wings dry up. They should get a veteran Premier League striker before the end of the window.
The pressure is on United though. Lets face it, they have been eerily unconvincing yet they are in the finals of the Carling Cup, second on the table and through in the Champions League but they have been strange this season. If Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Edwin van der Sar could get back together and play well (that’s an if), that is going to be a massive boost for the them because that was the heartbeat of the defense that won them the title last season.
Heading back to London, Chelsea has the most complete squad out of the big three and everybody is chipping in at the moment. They have got a very good defense but then you look at the quality of their reserves; Juliano Belletti, Branislav Ivanovic, Alex and Paulo Ferreira are all hard working and quality players and they are not even guaranteed starters. Their midfield has players like Deco, Frank Lampard, Florent Malouda and Michael Essien and we don’t even have to talk about Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.
For more on the topic, listen to the Episode 38 of the Soccerlens Podcast. You can also subscribe via iTunes or subscribe to Soccerlens Podcast feed.
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