Half-Season Premier League Review

Karan Ahgun

ā€” 3 min read
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Half-Season Premier League Review

As we pass the halfway mark in this Premier League season, let's see if there are any changes in how I'd predict then season goes.

Prior to the start of this season, I predicted that Arsenal and Liverpool would be competing against each other again for the title. Well, I was half right. Arsenal are, and have been the standout team this season, but are facing competition from Manchester City and maybe even Aston Villa in the title race as of right now. The Gunners' lead at the top is slender though, and they have had some dips in their attacking performances lately. Big summer signings, Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze have been struggling to find form and click within the team and Mikel Arteta will be pushing them to find an extra level to help bring the team over the line for their first Premier League title win in over 20 years. As for Liverpool, not many would have foreseen the fall off they experienced recently. At one point, they were on a run of 9 losses in 12 games and there was mounting pressure on Arne Slot to turn things around. Amidst this terrible run of form, Liverpool two big money signings, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, flattered to deceive performance-wise and we also saw the Mo Salah incident, which threatened to send Liverpool's season further down a spiral. For Liverpool now, being firmly in the Champions League places will be their main objective as well as looking at good cup runs in the FA Cup and Champions League.

The fight for the European places is looking set to be similar to how it has been for the past couple of seasons. The points gap between 4th place and 14th place is only 7 points (at time of writing), meaning there's still a lot to play for. Towards the end of the season, you'd expect a few teams to fall away as squad size begins to be tested and players start looking towards the World Cup in the summer. Perhaps the biggest surprise of this season has been Sunderland's form which has them right in the running for European football at the moment. The Black Cats' summer recruitment strategy has so far paid dividends for them, and the signing of Granit Xhaka has been one of the signings of the season. Alongside Sunderland, Brentford have also exceeded expectations. When it was announced that Keith Andrews would be taking over from Thomas Frank, the popular opinion was that the Bees would struggle and be in a fight for relegation. But this has not been the case, and it is mainly due to Brentford's spectacular home form, with 6 out of their 8 wins so far coming at the GTech Stadium.

As for the relegation battle, some of the teams I predicted to be down at the bottom of the table are and there is the added surprise of Nottingham Forest currently finding themselves in 17th place. Forest have already had 3 managers this season, with the baffling decision to sack Nuno being followed by an equally confusing decision to hire Ange Postecoglou who lasted just 39 days in the job and didn't win any of the 8 games he took charge of. Since then, Forest hired Sean Dyche, who has them playing better but still not picking up points at the same rate as they did last season. As for West Ham United, they really are struggling to pick up any sort of form. They will need to invest in January to kickstart a run to get them out of the relegation zone but some of their fans are already resigned to the drop this season. And at the foot of the table are Wolves. They have had one of the worst Premier League seasons so far, and are yet to win their first game. The summer transfer window really had a disastrous effect on their chances of survival and it seems like just a matter of time until their fate is sealed.

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