We all know, and have known for some time now, that the Premiership
title race has become a two-horse race due to the two Manchester clubs running
away from the chasing pack, Tottenham have been the closest to the runaway two
but after the last couple of results it looks set to be between Man United and
Man City who are separated by just two points and 2nd place Man United are 11
points ahead of 3rd place Tottenham who's last couple of results have seen them
slip from outside contenders to just 4 points ahead of 4th place Arsenal.
So who is favourite to win the title? At the moment the upper hand goes
to Man City due to them being two points ahead of their local rivals and
boasting the best squad in the Premiership and the considerable backing of
owner Sheikh Mansour (£800 million spent in three years). This backing from the
owner has seen them attract some of the world's brightest players such as
Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and David Silva to name but a few, not only with the
club's considerable bank balance and wage budget in mind but the club's
ambition to succeed. Last season, Man City won their first trophy since the
1976 league cup by beating Stoke City 1 - 0 in the F.A. cup final and this
signaled the start of a catapult in fortunes for Man City on the pitch. Fast
forward to the current time and Man City have seen themselves indulge in
Champions League football, which they are sure to replicate next year and they
also went on an early rampage in the Premiership. Over the winter period their
form slipped but there was hardly any doubting that with the quality in their
squad that they would bounce back and try to resume control of the league. One
of the two major blips on Man City's season was their 3rd round F.A cup loss to
Man United which happened in very controversial circumstances (Vincent
Kompany's sending off was not only a huge turning point in the game but a huge
talking point in the English football) and also their semi-final knockout to
Liverpool in the league cup. In the league Man City have performed very well
and with a lot of their doubted players such as Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott
and Edin Dzeko stepping up this year, it has helped Man City become a squad of
stars, not a squad with a few stars. Roberto Mancini is another reason for
City's upturn in fortunes, the Italian manager has been given time to mould the
squad and make it his own after taking over from Mark Hughes in December 2009
and has brought the best out of many of the current stars of the first-team,
the team has had time to gel together and they have been able to play for a
manager who's future has not been in doubt. Many of City's players have also
performed outstandingly and consistently throughout the season, players who are
sure-fire picks like Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Micah Richards, Yaya Toure,
David Silva and Sergio Aguero have formed a sturdy base on which Mancini can
build and while these players have been consistently brilliant, Mancini has had
back-up players like Mario Balotelli, Pablo Zabaleta and Samir Nasri who have
all had good spells of form.
Man United are City's closest rivals, not just in terms of
geographically but in terms of the title race too. Sir Alex has built a squad
of international's that consistently play well and will work hard until the
dying moment of any game (like the recent 3 - 3 draw away to Chelsea shows
where they were 3 - 0 down). But therein lies two of Man United's biggest
threats, the first being Sir Alex himself. Sir Alex has been in the top flight
for over 20 years and in recent years his record is astounding, his
man-management skills (as seen with the likes of Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney)
led him to being not only being respected for his managing on the pitch, but
management off the pitch too. He also has the upper hand on Mancini in knowing
how to win a Premiership title, many times Sir Alex's side seem to have been
down and out or second favourite in a title race and have clawed themselves
back to win it, which is why they've seen non-stop success for many years. Man
United's second biggest threat is their team spirit, they have a never say die
attitude which resonates right from Sir Alex himself to every fringe player in
the squad and every player is happy in his role. Sir Alex's transfer policy
this year has also been nothing short of remarkable, with the retiring Edwin
Van Der Sar needing to be replaced he shelled out £18 million on the
much-maligned David De Gea, but recently the Spaniard has repaid his price-tag
with a series of point-saving stops. With Ryan Giggs nearing retirement, Fergie
knew it was time to replace him and get some back-up on the wings, so he signed
Ashley Young who has consistently produced good performances since his move
from Aston Villa last summer. With Man United's ageing back four, Sir Alex need
to buy long-term replacements that he knew the club's future would be in good
hands with, so he bought Chris Smalling and Phil Jones who have both had
stellar first seasons in Man United's back line, probably better than even Sir
Alex himself could have predicted. To bring back Paul Scholes after his
retirement just last summer was a master-stroke too, Sir Alex probably couldn't
have picked a better short-term midfield cover just until the end of the season
to help keep Man United's title hopes alive. Man United's remaining fixtures
see them have the upper-hand on Man City:
United's remaining fixtures:
- West Brom (H)
- Wolves (A)
- Fulham (H)
- Blackburn (A)
- QPR (H)
- Wigan Athletic (A)
- Aston Villa (H)
- Everton (H)
- Manchester City (A)
- Swansea City (H)
- Sunderland (A)
City's remaining fixtures:
- Swansea (A)
- Chelsea (H)
- Stoke (A)
- Sunderland (H)
- Arsenal (A)
- West Brom (H)
- Norwich (A)
- Wolves (A)
- Manchester United (H)
- Newcastle (A)
- QPR (H)
With the
remaining fixtures you can see Man City have the trickier ties, having to face
Chelsea, Arsenal and Man United but both clubs will be looking for victories in
all their remaining games. It might all boil down to the Manchester derby on
April 30th and if it does, what a game that will be to see who has the
upper-hand by then going into the game and also, coming out of it.
Who do
you think will win the Premiership?
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