City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are all battling for the Premier League crown
What some labelled as a seven horse race has now petered down to just the four. Manchester United have blown their chance of the top 4, let alone the retaining their title. Everton and Spurs have both fallen off the pace and there is now a size able gap between the top four and the rest.
Let us first have a look at the table as it stands now:
What I plan to do is look at the remaining fixtures for the top four teams, predict a result for each of them and see what Premier League table we are left with at the end. Obviously this does not factor in any injuries that could affect the teams and any further cup progression from Arsenal or Chelsea that may affect team selection.
These are the predictions that I have made for the remaining fixtures. There are key matches between the competing teams that will probably end up deciding the fate of the title.
I have gone with City to beat United in the derby (as much as it hurts to admit) simply because they are a much better side at this point of the season. Along with this City will pick up valuable draws away from home against fellow contenders Arsenal and Liverpool. Their home form will be vital and they should easily roll over the majority of teams that visit the Etihad in the coming weeks. I have predicted a couple of slip ups on the way including dropping points at a well organised Crystal Palace side and following that up with a defeat at Goodison Park.
Chelsea are currently top but have played more games than the sides around them. Defensively they are the most solid of the contenders and they will need to continue this to be in with a shout. I have gone for Chelsea to overcome the Gunners at the Emirates. Mourinho will see that as a vital game that they cannot lose and I think they have the quality to beat them on the day. However I think they could slip up against Liverpool at Anfield. The pace of Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling are likely to cause Ivanovic, Terry and Cahill problems.
Arsenal are in the middle of a tough run of fixtures. I don't think they will win a single game against City, Everton and Chelsea. This will ultimately leave them short come the end of the season. They should easily roll over most of the other teams that they face coming up to May.
I hate to see Liverpool up there as I am a United fan but they are playing some impressive football as of late including humiliating us at Old Trafford. They are unbeaten in the league in 2014 so far and I can see them extending that unbeaten run til the end of the season. They still have to play Man City, Chelsea and Spurs but these are all at Anfield and they have already smashed goals past Arsenal and Everton previously.
What does the final table look like then?
Wow. Not a pretty sight for a United fan. The fire power of Liverpool in Suarez and Sturridge looks set to win them a 19th league title on goal difference over Mourinho's Chelsea. What is plain to see is that it is VERY tight. From my predictions, only 5 points separate the top four sides. The big games against each other will decide it in my opinion and the home advantage that Liverpool have against them gives them a massive advantage.
This is horrible to say but I think LIVERPOOL will win the league title this year. Yuck.
