It feels like an age since the Premier League bore witness to a genuine three-horse title race – but just how long do you have to rewind to find one?
Liverpool, Manchester City or Arsenal – Who Will be Crowned Premier League Champions?
Just five points separate third-place Arsenal and current table toppers Liverpool – who have played a game more – while Manchester City are sandwiched in-between.
Not long after gameweek 25 of the 2022/23 season did Manchester United endure a steep drop-off, allowing Arsenal and City to storm ahead in a two-horse race.
This has been a common theme in recent editions of the Premier League, with the top two spots largely dominated by Pep Guardiola and soon-to-be-ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
13 games remain between now and the season’s climax, and with it a sizeable amount of points that will undoubtedly change the complexion of the table many times over before then.
All three of the current frontrunners have experienced their own fair share of blips at times this season, but are expected to remain consistent enough to be battling it out come the early summer months.
Premier League betting sites still have City as short as EVENS to become the first ever side to win three league titles in a row.
Will it be the serial-winning juggernaut that is Manchester City? A fairytale ending in Jurgen Klopp’s curtain call? Or perhaps a first Premier League title in over two decades for a resurgent Arsenal?
Only time will tell.
The premier league title race ELITES. pic.twitter.com/qN4ASeDUIX
— WelBeast (@WelBeast) February 20, 2024
When Was the Last Time the Premier League Had a Three-Horse Title Race?
A three-horse title in the Premier League feels like a novelty given the monopoly both Liverpool and Manchester City have enjoyed in recent editions.
There is still plenty of the campaign remaining and no guarantee that all three teams will still be in the running, just as we witnessed last year with United falling by the wayside.
For now their claims appear strong – much stronger than the rest of the league – and each of them are showing little signs of letting up.
It could, therefore, be the first genuine three-horse title race in the Premier League since the 2013/14 season, where just four points ended up separating third-placed Chelsea and eventual champions Manchester City.
Every Premier League Three-Horse Title Race
1996/97
Manchester United won their fourth title as the newly-formed Premier League entered its fifth year, but not as comfortably as they would have hoped.
Newcastle United pushed them all the way for a second consecutive year, while a rapidly improving Arsenal side – who would win their first Premier League title a year later – eventually finishing seven points adrift after battling near the summit.
Final Standings
- Manchester United – 75
- Newcastle – 68
- Arsenal – 68
1998/99
The closest three-horse title race since the Premier League’s inception in 1992 saw third-placed Liverpool finish just four points off champions Manchester United.
Reigning champions at the time, Arsenal, would be pipped to a successful title defence by a single point, and in doing so would be condemned to the runners-up spot behind Alex Ferguson’s men for the next three years in a row.
Final Standings
- Manchester United – 79
- Arsenal – 78
- Liverpool – 75
2007/08
Much has been made of the ‘Barclays era’ of the Premier League in the mid-to-late naughties, which now fills those of a certain age with nostalgia.
Indeed, for a select few years it felt as if as many as four teams could be in with a shout of winning the league in any given season, and the 2007/08 was the first of two consecutive years of a three-horse title race.
Both titles were clinched by, you guessed it, Manchester United, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s 31 goals leading the charge to finish just two points above Chelsea.
Final Standings
- Manchester United – 87
- Chelsea – 85
- Arsenal – 83
2008/09
As Sheikh Mansour‘s Abu Dhabi Group secured the acquisition of Manchester City and changed the complexion of English football indefinitely, their serial-winning neighbours were still adding Premier League titles to their cabinet.
Manchester United managed to hit 90 points for the third time in the Premier League era, although they were pushed all the way by a Fernando Torres-inspired Liverpool.
Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea benefited from the goalscoring exploits of Nicola Anelka’s personal-best season, but they would eventually finish seven points back. The Blues would only have to wait a year to win their third Premier League title after Carlo Ancelotti took the reins.
Final Standings
- Manchester United – 90
- Liverpool – 86
- Chelsea – 83
2013/14
Manchester City’s status as the new superpower in English football was consolidated as they stormed towards their second title in three years.
The first season in the post-Ferguson era saw Manchester United register the joint-worst title defence in Premier League history, which famously saw an ‘SAS’ (Suarez and Sturridge) inspired Liverpool finish runners-up despite leading for much of the season.
Final Standings
- Manchester City – 86
- Liverpool – 84
- Chelsea – 82
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