By Rant On Contributor, Dusty Knickrehm
9/24/21
Like futbol? Or soccer? Well whatever you call it, our contributor and lover of the sport, Dusty takes a look at the current state of the EPL.
Enter the EPL
“with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer driving the ship, it just seems like they’re destined to disappoint.”
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The English Premier League is the most watched league in the world, and for good reason. It’s highly competitive, physical, and filled with some of the most passionate fan bases on the earth. We’re five weeks into this season and already the fight for the top of the table is proving to be a good one. The current top 6 consists of Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester City and Everton, in that order.
Liverpool are returning an incredibly strong team and have improved their defense after adding center back Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig over the summer. With Virgil van Dijk’s return from injury, Liverpool’s defense is in safe hands again. Mo Salah and Sadio Mane will look to torment opposing teams once again this season with a hope that they’ll help bring Liverpool their second trophy over the past three seasons. So far Liverpool have looked fantastic and they will be a match no team looks forward to.
Chelsea look to be the team to beat in my opinion. Thomas Tuchel took over what looked like a stumbling side this past January, and then led them on a storming rampage through the Champions League, toppling Manchester City in the final in Portugal. Then over the summer they brought back Romelu Lukaku from Inter, who is one of the finest goal scorers in the game right now. Chelsea have a multitude of attacking stars and a veteran defense, all anchored by the fantastic N'Golo Kante in the center of the pitch. Look for Chelsea to continue their winning ways, they won’t be stopped any time soon.
Manchester United start every campaign in rip roaring shape. The biggest question hanging over United is: can they sustain it? After having brought back Cristiano Ronaldo, the striker has been in incredible form, scoring 3 goals in 2 matches played. Paul Pogba seems to have finally bought in and is playing like the player United thought they were getting when they bought him from Juventus before the 2016/17 campaign. Bruno Fernandes is a certified star in the making. All of this sounds incredible, but with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer driving the ship, it just seems like they’re destined to disappoint. United just stumbled out of the Carabao Cup, which will have their team and fans looking to turn things around this weekend. United will finish in the top 4, but they won’t win a trophy this year.
Brighton have been a pleasant surprise so far this season, with impressive wins over Brentford, Watford and Leicester City. Coach Graham Potter has his team playing confidently and they’ve got a talented young core to build around, with former Chelsea player Tariq Lamptey and the new addition of former Barcelona player Marc Cucurella proving integral parts of Brighton’s defense. Brighton finished last season 16th in the table, and Potter is surely fighting for a top 10 finish this season. Currently sitting in 4th, this is the start Potter and his team were hoping for.
Manchester City failed to land their biggest need this summer after not securing a deal for Harry Kane. City have one recognized senior level striker and can occasionally struggle to score. With that being said, they’ve managed 11 goals in 5 games, with 10 of those goals coming in 2 games. City had an injury boost earlier this week as both Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden played the full 90 minutes against Wycombe in the Carabao Cup. Pep Guardiola will be hoping both of those players are fit and ready for the tough week ahead, with games at Chelsea, PSG and Liverpool. If City can get the rest of their squad healthy, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with. Manchester City will be Liverpool and Chelsea’s biggest competition to sit top of the table come the end of the season.
Everton will be happy to find themselves in 6th. Carlo Ancelotti seemed to be building something at Everton, but jumped ship to return to Real Madrid for this season. Everton were able to bring in Rafa Benitez to take over as their manager and he’s got his team playing fairly well. Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin make up a very exciting attack when healthy, and Rafa will be hoping he gets both back from injury sooner than later. Everton have lost their last two fixtures but face last place Norwich City this Saturday. Rafa and Everton will hope to end their two game skid there.
The season is still in the early stages and there are a significant number of fixtures to be played. Don’t expect this top 6 to be the same closer to the end of the campaign. The likes of Tottenham, West Ham and Leicester City will all be fighting for European places. Keep an eye out for newly promoted Brentford to push for a top 10 finish. There’s a lot of time and a lot to play for, let’s see what the weekend's fixtures bring us.
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