How have the Premier League big boys started the new season?
Posted on | September 4, 2015 | No Comments
The new Premier League season is now well under way and we’re beginning to get an idea as to how the campaign could develop. While there is little doubt the current table will look a lot different in May then it does now, the first few weeks of the new campaign have shown that a lot of those pre-season predictions as to which teams could be challenging for the title might not necessarily come to fruition. The likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and even Manchester United started the season being tipped by many to be in the mix come the final few weeks of the season, but the first few games of the campaign will have cast some doubt on whether that will be the case.
So, let’s take an early look at how those early season favourites have fared during the opening weeks of this season.
Chelsea
The defending champions were rightly expected to be one of the strongest squads again this season, but things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Jose Mourinho’s men so far. Their opening day 2-2 draw with Swansea was followed by a humbling 3-0 loss at the hands of title rivals Manchester City, before the Blues finally picked up their first win of the season away to West Brom. If Chelsea fans thought that victory would be the catalyst to their campaign, a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in the following game was a painful reminder that this might not be the season they thought it was going to be. Priced as far out at 6/1 at the time of writing with 32Red and 10Bet to win the title, Mourinho’s side look to be facing an uphill battle to get back into this season.
Manchester City
The only Premier League club with a 100% record so far, it’s fair to say Manchester City have put themselves in the driving seat. Following last season’s disappointments, City were particularly active in the summer, signing Fabian Delph, Raheem Sterling and, most recently, Kevin De Bruyne. While we all know there is no guarantee that spending sizeable sums of money will result in winning the title, the players City have signed have proven they can succeed in the Premier League. It remains to be seen whether City can maintain their stunning start to the campaign, but the signs are certainly pretty promising and it’s no surprise many believe this is their title to win.
Manchester United
For a season that started with a fair bit of promise, the opening few weeks of the new campaign have done little to convince that Louis van Gaal is going to guide United to the title in his second season in charge. As well as the ongoing David de Gea saga, the club still look extremely short in terms of goals following the departures of Robin van Persie, Javier Hernandez and Radamel Falcao this summer, and there still appear to be the same issues in both defence and the midfield that held United back in 2014/15. While the club have managed to secure their place in the Champions League group stages having beaten Club Brugge over two legs, a 2-1 defeat to Swansea showed just how much work is left to do for United to do if they want to be classed as genuine title contenders.
Arsenal
As seems to be the case every season, Arsenal started this season with a real belief that they could finally end their long wait to win the Premier League title. Despite a relatively quiet summer in terms of recruitment, with the only signing of any real note being goalkeeper Petr Cech, it was felt that the Gunners had a squad capable of challenging the likes of Chelsea and City. An opening day loss to West Ham didn’t help ensure that good feeling remained, and it’s been a mixed few weeks since then for Arsene Wenger’s side. While the club have picked up wins over Crystal Palace and Newcastle, a 0-0 draw with Liverpool hasn’t convinced gamblers betting with the likes of 32Red that this is really going to be the season Arsenal fans so desperately want and it could be another term of frustration for the north London club.
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