From the title race, to the Champions League places, to Europa League places and the relegation battles, every team in the division is involved in some way.
THE TITLE RACE
The table still suggests that the tussle to be crowned Premier League champions remains a 5-horse race, 5 teams seperated by 10 points, many of whom have a game in hand on their top 5 rivals. Despite their set-back yesterday, this is very much Manchester United's title to lose now. Boasting just one defeat this season, they have found themselves grinding out important results without always playing well, with 34 points taken from a possible 36 at Old Trafford, it's fair to say home form has made up for their some what unconvincing away form. Looking at Arsenal this season, it's fair to say many of their youngsters are starting to mature and step up to the mark.
Arsenal's problem appears to still be a lack of depth, injuries to defender Thomas Vermaelen and striker Robin Van Persie have hit them hard, with central defender Johan Djourou at times looking rather suspect. Marouane Chamakh appears to have been great business by Arsene Wenger, but Arsenal will be still delighted to welcome Van Persie back, argueably their most prolific goalscorer. Chelsea were quick out of the blocks at the start of the season, but a run of 1 win from 9 league games dating from the 14th of November to the 5th of January saw them falling away from the title chase, and in serious danger of finishing outside the top 4. Their failure to capitalise on Arsenal and Man Utd's dropped points this weekend surely now means Ancelotti has to prioritise making sure his side qualify for the Champions League, and hoping good results can thrown them back into the title mix.
Manchester City's big spending appears to be piece by piece putting together a team capable of a title assault. Key acquisitions of players such as Yaya Toure and David Silva has saw dramatic progress from their 09/10 campaign so far, with just 5 defeats in 26 fixtures, and 14 wins. A pursuit of the title is a bridge too far for them this season in my opinion, but they will remain very hopeful of securing Champions League football for next season. Harry Redknapp's Spurs started this season slowly, with 1 win from their first 4 games, but much like last season, they quickly found form and find themselves very much in the chase for the top 4 again. They will be no domestic cup success this season for Tottenham, but a superb group stage campaign finds them progressing very nicely in the Champions League, having recorded a famous win over Inter Milan in the process. Tottenham's impressive season has been helped in no small part by the incredible progression of winger Gareth Bale. To say he is the best left-sided player in the division at the moment would be a statement supported by many.
THE EUROPA LEAGUE CONTENDERS
And so we move on to the Europa League contenders, one of whom will no doubt be one of the 5 mentioned above securing 5th place, but with 6th place up for grabs, and the potential for 7th to be also, many sides floating around the mid-table mark will be setting these places are their ambition. It's fair to say any team from 6th to 14th will be hoping that Arsenal can win the Carling Cup and free up 7th place, whether they will remains to be seen. I've narrowed it down to 7 possible teams in contention for Europa League places, in truth it could be more, just 10 points seperates 15th place Blackpool from 6th place Liverpool. All the managers of the teams I have included in this category will no doubt be telling the media that they must first secure enough points to beat the drop before looking at aspirations of Europe, and that is undoubtably the correct mentality to have. A bad run of form could drag any of these sides into the danger zone, and they know this all too well. If I was a betting man, I would be backing Tottenham and Liverpool to occupy 5th and 6th place, and 7th place is extremely difficult to call if it does become available for Europa League qualification.
It is Sunderland who currently obtain 7th position, they have come on leaps and bounds this season from last-seasons campaign, and Bruce appears to have spent shrewdly in the market with what appears to be an absolute bargain of 14 million spent of Asamoah Gyan. Their away form remains rather erractic, but the Stadium of Light is certainly proving a tough place to go to take points. Taking up the other three top 10 places are Bolton Wanderers, Stoke City and Newcastle United. Bolton have made the Reebok Stadium a fortress this season, suffering just two defeats at home this season to Liverpool and Chelsea, and recording 6 wins. Bolton's poor away form of just two victories on the road is largely the reason they aren't in the top 6. They have been helped profusely this season by the long over-due good form of Johan Elmander, the club record signing has found the net 8 times in the league this season. Owen Coyle's evolving trotters are looking a much improved outfit since the departure of Gary Megson. Tony Pulis's Potters look on course to record further progression from their previous 2 seasons in the top flight. With finishes of 12th and 11th previously, Pulis will fully believe he can achieve a finish of 10th or higher this season. As has been the story of Stoke's time in the Premier League so far, their home form has been consistant, and their away form remains somewhat unconvincing. There has been improvements on the road though, with 3 wins at Newcastle, West Brom and Blackburn, but just 1 draw, and 8 defeats. Pulis is slowly adapting his teams style of play, by adding the width of Jermaine Pennant and the creativeness of Marc Wilson, something which most of the media appear reluctant to acknowledge.
Newcastle, Blackburn, Fulham, Everton and Aston Villa will all still believe a top 10 finish is achieveable. Such is the way of life in Newcastle, their campaign has been full of controversial on-goings off the field, the sale of talismanic centre-forward Andy Carroll and sacking of Manager Chris Hughton left the Geordie faithful frustrated, but solid form both at home and on the road leaves them in the mix for a top 10 finish. They will definitely need to look to add more quality up-front in the Summer though, that's for sure. Blackburn have had an eventful campaign off the field so far, with the long-term Walker ownership coming to an end, and Indian ownership in the shape of the Venky's coming in promising to spend big. Big Sam's former assistant Steve Kean was given the job on a full-time basis following a convincing job as caretaker, and he has helped to slowly move Blackburn up the table so far. Much like many teams in the division, home form has been the key for Rovers this season, having also only taken 10 points on the road this season like Stoke City.
Mark Hughes has failed to solve the mystery of Fulham's continued awful away form, with just one away one being recorded this season at Stoke City. Fortunately, Craven Cottage remains a tough place to go for points, and 20 points on home turf keeps them clear of relegation trouble for now. The suprise under-achievers this season have been Everton and Aston Villa, Villa, also under a relatively new manager have failed to record more than 9 points on the road this season, and David Moyes's Everton have also found points hard to come by. I don't believe either of these two will be in any relegation trouble this campaign though, expect them both to be loitering around the mid-table positions come May.
THE RELEGATION BATTLE
And finally we move on to the increasingly entertaining relegation battle at the foot of the table. I have left the teams from 15th to 20th to put into this category, but in all honesty I expect Birmingham to pull away and be safe with games to spare, especially with their games in hand on teams around them. McLeish's men have had a suprisingly disappointing season so far though, having recorded a 9th place finish last-season, with the financial backing of Carson Yeung, many were tipping them for a European assault. The main problem for Birmingham so far has been a lack of goals within the team. Just 25 goals this season makes them the lowest goalscorers in the division, Serbian giant Nikola Zigic has flattered to deceive far too often, and goal contributions from the likes of Cameron Jerome and James McFadden haven't come frequently enough. Birmingham have addressed this issue in the January window though with the addition of former Newcastle man Obafemi Martins on a loan deal from Rubin Kazan, the blues will be hoping he proves to be a success.
Ian Holloway's Blackpool have been an absolute breath of fresh air this season. And I say this as a fan of a team who have already proven victim to their free-flowing attacking style this season! What the tangerines are achieveing is quite remarkable. With a tiny wage budget, and transfer expenses of little more than a few million, they really have defied all odds. Any Blackpool fan will tell you keeping the services of midfielder Charlie Adam is the best biggest success in the market this season though. Strangely, Blackpool have recorded more points on the road this season than at Bloomfield Road, and whilst their " death or glory " approach has seen them ship plenty of goals, they've scored plenty too! Having found the net 38 times this season, bettered only by 5 teams in the league so far. Whether Blackpool can beat the drop remains to be seen, but with 28 points on the board, and 12 games still be played, Holloway will feel 12 more points from these fixtures will gives his team a fighting chance of doing so.
That leaves 4 teams who are very much in the thick of this dogfight. West Brom, of whom manager Roberto Di Matteo was dismissed today, Roberto Martinez's Wigan, Mick McCarthy's Wolves and Avram Grant's West Ham.
I must say I find the sacking of Roberto Di Matteo absolutely ludicrous at this stage of the season. Surely coming into this season their sole aim was to beat the drop, and despite being on a bad run of form, with 12 games to go they're doing just that. Past history suggests that stability within a club rewards success, and further changes in the backroom staff at The Hawthorns surely can't help matters. What sort of football to expect from the baggies for the remainder of the campaign will depend largely on Di Matteo's successor, but in the current 26 games they have continued to play the free-flowing attacking football they produced in the championship. Many are sceptical of this approach, many are in full support of it's entertainment value. To me Premier League survival is about managing your resources and getting results in whatever means possible, even if it that is through less attractive tough, disciplined football. I think it would be fair to say Di Matteo has had a little more common sense with his approach to top flight football than Tony Mowbray, but goals are still being shipped by the Baggies, with no clean sheets in 23 games. They have produced one of the signings of the season though, Peter Odemwingie's prolific finishing has helped them to many value points this season. At this stage of the season, I am tipping West Brom for the drop.
Martinez's Wigan are a side who continue to be a bookies tip for relegation each season, but continue to scrape clear of relegation, and keeping hold of key players such as Charles N'Zogbia and Hugo Rodallega in the January window gives them a fighting chance of doing so again. Am I backing Martinez's Wigan to do beat the drop and finish 16th or 17th. McCarthy's Wolves have been simply awful on the road this season, 4 points from 12 fixtures means their other 20 points have come at Molineux. Home wins against Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City have left many scratching their heads at how this team are struggling quite so much, and this is largely down to a lack of goals. 26 goals this season means that they are on par with Wigan in having scored the second least goals in the division. Whilst Kevin Doyle's' commitment to the cause can't be in question, his goal contribution has dried up considerably from the previously campaign, and Sylvain Ebanks-blake has continued to struggle to keep fit. One player who has been a relevation for Wolves this season though is winger Matt Jarvis. A selection of fine assists saw him rewarded with a place within Fabio Capello's provisional England squad for a friendly with France at Wembley. Despite a fantastic result at the weekend, I am tipping Wolves for relegation this season.
And finally that leaves Avram Grant's West Ham, a side who have also had much on-goings off the field this season. Former Birmingham City owners David Gold and David Sullivan bought their boyhood club for 105 million. They appear to have eased West Ham's debt concerns, and have made money available to boss Avram Grant. Their best piece of business this season appears to have been the loan addition of Winger/Striker Victor Obinna however. The Nigerian has contributed 10 vital goals this season, and looks in favour of a permanent move in the summer. The Hammers have just been shipping too many goals, 45 goals conceded this season, concedeing the 3rd most goals at home this season out of any team. Whether West Ham can beat the drop this season is going to depend largely on whether their January additions can hit the ground running. Robbie Keane, Demba Ba and Wayne Bridge have joined the ranks, and the Hammers will be hoping they can produce the goods and keep them in the Premier League.
The next 4 months are going to be very interesting in the best division in the world, many more twists and turns are to be expected, one thing is for sure, it's looking like it's going to the wire before we can start reaching any sort of conclusions.
