What we know about the Premier League so far...

Twelve matches completed have told the tales of different clubs up and down the table. New challengers who climbed through the Championship league have turned heads across England. What makes this season unique from previous seasons are top clubs who have failed to get results. As the clique says, “get results.” Without further ado, let’s begin.

The (Unstoppable) Favorites

Liverpool’s Champions League final win proved haters of Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp this team is a top European club. The formula for success is simple, get the attacking trio of Mane, Firmino, and Salah to score on any given chance. Between the three, they account for sixteen of the twenty-six scored. It’s important to note Firmino’s personality throughout last season and this season.

Roberto Firmino could easily be a starting nine anywhere in the world. His desire to feed Mane or Salah for better-positioned shots, or looking for an extra pass, Firmino has matured within Klopp’s system. During the 2018-19 campaign, he ended with six assists. This season, he’s already proved three assists. He’s inside the prime of his career playing with world-class talent on either side of the ball. Which draws back to Liverpool’s strength, defending.

The splurging spree of bringing in Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson has paid itself off. Alisson’s early injury clouded Liverpool’s chances, as Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet transferred out during the summer window. Adrian from West Ham had to fill the void of the second-highest transfer at the goalkeeper position. Remember Virgil Van Dijk? His partnership alongside any center back makes for an easy job for Adrian. It’s also important to note, Liverpool’s fullbacks are world-class talents. Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are the gears that keep this squad running.

Between the full-backs, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold have started all 12 matches, played all 1080 minutes, scored two goals total, and have seven assists. Robertson has also been very disciplined, with no yellow cards during the 12 matches. Alexander-Arnold on the opposite flank has been booked three times, he is the second-highest booked player on Liverpool besides, Fabinho. The attacking trio feeds off of the production Robertson and Alexander-Arnold bring to the pitch. Thus, bringing the lingering question that is started to be raised.

Is this the year Liverpool does it? 29 years since the last time Liverpool raised a league title. The endless slander Liverpool fans have endured could finally come to an end this season. After winning, in my opinion, the greatest trophy in all sports, the Premier League title means absolutely everything. After a historic performance last season. Can Liverpool finally beat their demons and be crowned champions of English football again?

The biggest surprise

Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City respectably writes their name into the surprising category. The up and down of the entirety of the club deserves to be a screenplay. The history is quite astonishing for what a small tier club has achieved.

• 2014 Premier League promotion finished 14th

• 2015 Premier League Champions

• 2016 Champions League Quarter Final appearance

• 2016 Community Shield Runner's Up

• 2018 Helicopter Accident kills owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha

• 2019 Brendan Rodgers appointed manager, the team sits second trailing by eight points

Incredible five-year run of achieving the biggest upset in all of betting history. Winning the league in 2015, to losing the owner in an unfortunate accident. Through it all, Leicester City has fought their way into the conversation to finish inside the top four, with hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. How did Leicester get into this position? I targeted two aspects that make their run conceivable.

Jamie Vardy has rehashed his previous form of the 2015 title run. Scoring goals is what Vardy has done, and continues to do during this season. Currently, he leads all goal-scorers with 11 which is 0.91 goals per game (almost one goal a game). Even with the departures of Mahrez and Kante, Vardy has carried the goal-scoring load for Leicester. Vardy is supported by all accounts, the Premier League's most improved player Wilfried Ndidi.

Wilfried Ndidi caught my eye last year. Playing in all matches in the Premier League, only being subbed off for one match. I watched a midfielder who is built like a winger but possesses the strength of a center-back. What I didn’t see coming is the pace and touch he plays with when moving from side to side. His pace allows for chasing down wingers that advance down the wing. Currently, Ndidi is leading not only Leicester City, but leading the Premier League in tackles and interceptions too. But is it enough for Leicester to stay in the top four? As the winter transfer slowly creeps up, top clubs will begin throwing money at anyone who can bring results. Brendan Rodgers hopes of staying top four hinges on getting goals from Vardy and stopping attackers from getting through Ndidi.

The biggest let down

Can this title be divided among two clubs that haven’t produced anything related to good football? Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs’ season has seen the lowest of the lows. Starting with Tottenham fresh off sacking Mauricio Pochettino and replacing him with, two-time Champions League winner Jose Mourinho. An interesting choice for Mourinho, a team that isn’t defensively sound and has more stars up front than in the back. With the likes of, Kane, Son, Eriksen, and Ali, goal production isn’t a concerning area. The key defenders of Alderweireld and Vertonghen sloping off their primes is an alarming sign for Spurs. Wages of current players and the building of the new stadium, the Spurs will have to wait for the summer window to transfer plays in and out to shake up the squad. Mourinho’s era begins with a fixture in the Premier League against West Ham. A team that is fighting above the regulation zone. This match shapes the future of Spurs football under Mourinho, and hopefully, the start of changing the culture of what the Spurs future will be with Mourinho in charge.

Manchester United last year's season seemed to saved through Ole Solskjaer. United finished 6th in the table, qualified for the Europa League, and produced a quarterfinals appearance vs Barcelona in the Champions League. Ole began the season with a group of players who are average. There are maybe three to five guys on United who are worth a damn. The biggest issue that Ole can’t control is the number of injuries that have been picked up during the start of the season.

Eric Bailly: Knee, 28 games missed

Paul Pogba: Ankle, 9 games missed

Luke Shaw: Muscle, 7 games missed

Nemanja Matic: Disclosed, 7 games missed

Diogo Dalot: Groin, 7 games missed

Axel Tuanzebe: Hip, 7 games missed

Timothy Fosu-Mensa: Cruciate Ligament (ACL) hasn't played a game since 3/19/2019

(Injures provided by transfermarkt (click me for link to webpage))

Pogba and Matic play a vital role in the middle of the park for United. Pogba is arguably the best player United has outside of De Gea, and if he isn’t playing then Ole has to look to other players such as Mata, Lingard, Daniel Jones, and McTominary. Players who aren’t superstar talents with due respect. But this leads to the theoretical point about Manchester United. Is Manchester a big-time club anymore?

Sir Alex Ferguson’s shadow has been cast over the managerial role at United. The expectations are far too high for a manager to come in, reinvent the culture, reinvent the style, reinvent the tactics that are the new coats of paint. Instead, managers are driven out of time within two to three years. Is it possible that this is what Manchester United is past Sir Alex? An average club that has a handful of class players and eventually bottoms to an average to below-average squad. For United to start over, a potential gutting of everyone from the board and down to the managerial staff could be a beginning step towards writing a new chapter in history.

-TH