As we head to gameweek 27, the Prem gets even more interesting and unpredictable and we like it. The race to the finish line gets tighter even with the Champions league and FA Cup still on.
Title race
This appears to be two horse race, Manchester city and Liverpool. I got my fingers crossed on this one. Liverpool must not win the league no matter what. United host Liverpool on Sunday, which may prove to be a title-deciding blockbuster. A draw will be perfect for both, with United the gainers. City stay fresh this weekend as they don’t play, they focus on their two-legged duel with Schalke in the Champions league. A win or draw for Liverpool takes them to the summit of the table as we wait for gameweek 28 in midweek. A Heung-min Son inspired Spurs creep 5 points below City and Liverpool and I definitely do not want any surprises from them. With Harry Kane injured, Son is the guy to step-up definitely not the aging Llorente deputizing for Kane.
Top Four
An even tighter contest brews here. Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea fight for that elusive champions league spot. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appointment as caretaker manager for United has definitely been a tremendous move from the United hierachy. Pogba looks like a completely different player, he’s got the stats that back-up his form. His link-up with Rashford is definitely a joy to all United fans. To be honest, i like what the Norwegian is doing there; the backroom staff, fans and players love the legend. The style of play has for one impressed me, they went from a gloomy defensive set-up to a deadly counter-attacking outfit. They move the ball fast which epitomizes good football.
Arsenal on the other hand have stagnated. Ever since our 22-match unbeaten run, we have been playing unconvincing football. For me Emery takes a huge chunk of the blame. What happened to Ozil?, What happened to the Xhaka-Toreirra pivot? With Ozil, Arsenal for sure looks great offensively, just check the Leicester home game. Lacazette and Aubameyang have struggled with no service from midfield. Iwobi and Mkhitaryan have been okay but unreliable in front of goal. Not to mention poor away form and suspicious defending from the gunners. Ozil has to start if the gunners need a shot at the champions league.
Chelsea on the hand have been the banter club around. Shambolic performance after shambolic performance has been the highlight. The ‘sarriball’ earlier talked of this season is a fraud. Jorginho epitomises the failure of ‘sarriball’. A defensive midfielder who can barely defend, make over 2000 sideways passes and no assist. Even worse, a world class defensive midfielder in N’golo Kante is played out of position to accommodate Jorginho. 4-0 defeat to Bournemouth, 6-0 defeat to City are some of the huge embarrassment Chelsea have suffered of late. Mauricio Sarri has complained on his inability to motivate this group of players.
