Going into the national team break, Liverpool is five points ahead of Manchester City and at least nine points ahead of everyone else.
11.11. 18:13•Updated 11.11. 18:16
After the weekend, the European football leagues went on a two-week international break. At this point, it’s good to stop and see how the settings look.
In the English Premier League, 11 rounds have been played in a total of 38 rounds. The beginning of the season has been a celebration for Liverpool. Arne Slotin Liverpool, who have moved into coaching, have surprised with their strong start, while Manchester City and Arsenal, who were predicted to be favourites, have faltered.
Liverpool have won nine games, drawn with Arsenal and lost to Nottingham. Its lead over second-placed Manchester City is five points and over all others by at least nine points.
Manchester City, suffering from injuries, has struggled especially in recent weeks. Considering all competitions, it has lost no less than four matches in a row. Pep Guardiola’s this has only happened once before in my coaching career at Bayern Munich. Then one of the losses came in a penalty shootout.
Even in the Premier League, City’s last two matches have ended in defeat. Chosen as the best player in the world Rodri is on the sidelines for the entire rest of the season and there have been many other injuries. Despite the injuries, City’s material should be enough to fight for the championship.
In addition to injuries, Arsenal has also suffered from sending offs, which came as many as three times in the first half of the season. The nine point gap to Liverpool already feels big.
The surprise of the beginning of the season has been Nottingham. On Sunday, Nottingham’s position weakened slightly when it suffered only its second league defeat of the season against Newcastle. However, it remains level on points with third-placed Chelsea and Arsenal and Brighton. Nottingham have some tough matches coming up, so it is believed that they will lose positions.
Bournemouth has also made surprises, beating both City and Arsenal.
The statistics favor Liverpool’s championship
The signs strongly point in the direction that the championship would go to Liverpool in the spring. This is the sixth time that a team in the Premier League has been in the lead by five points after 11 rounds. On all five previous occasions, that team has won the championship.
The well-known statistics service Opta currently gives Liverpool a 60 percent chance of winning the championship. For City, who won the previous four championships, the percentage was 82 before the start of the season, now it is 34. For Arsenal, Opta gives a five percent chance, for Chelsea the reading is 0.3 and for the others it is a round zero.
– Before the start of the season I wouldn’t have said we were title contenders, but now it looks like we are, Liverpool midfielder Alexis McAllister said after Saturday’s win over Aston Villa.
BBC expert Theo Walcott believes in Liverpool’s scoring power.
– They seem to have the ability to score endless goals. Their goal difference is superior compared to others. “It doesn’t matter if they start conceding goals because they can do more themselves,” Walcott said.
– Liverpool will have injuries or start to feel the match rush, so this is just the beginning, but the ability to score will work in their favor.
It speaks for Manchester City that the team is used to winning championships and also that City is traditionally strong at the end of the season. In all four consecutive championships, City have been at least six points off the top at some point in the season.
On December 1, the match between Liverpool and Manchester City will be played. City must not lose that match.
Arsenal have given City a hard time in the title race in the last two seasons, and the expectations for this season were high. Now the situation seems difficult in terms of the championship. The fact that their schedule has been tough brings a little light to Arsenal. Arsenal have already faced most of the top teams and almost all of them away from home.
An even series behind the tip
It is very even behind the top two in the series. From third-placed Chelsea to 13th-placed Manchester United, the teams are within four points. There is still fierce competition for places in Europe.
After the international break By Ruben Amorim Manchester United, which is moving into coaching, is therefore in a modest position, but only four points away from third place.
In Häntänpää, the relegation places are currently Southampton, Wolves and Crystal Palace. Ipswich, who took their first victory in the Premier League in 22 years on Sunday, rose above the line with that victory.