English Premier League: How The Top Six Teams Fare Ahead Of The Final Push
As the end of the season draws closer, the top six teams in the Premier League are now entering the final part of a very crucial season. It's the end of February and as March comes nearer, the final push begins.
27 match-days have been played so far. 11 more weeks are all that remain. 18 points separate the top six teams in the league. It's the end of February. That can only mean that something crucial is about to begin.
Something absolutely important to the history and tradition of each and every one of the top six clubs in the league. Something that could pretty well determine their state and position at the end of the season. It's the final push. The final spirit as six teams battle it out for glory and fame. The action begins.
Manchester United: 1st in the league with 57 points
|
Soccer Team
|
Matches | Win | Draw | Lose | Score | Goals Scored Per Match | Goals Allowed Per Match |
| Manchester United |
26
|
16
|
9
|
1
|
57:25
|
2.19
|
0.96
|
But, a big part of that unbeaten run ended up in draws. In their 24
match unbeaten run, they won only 15 times and drew 9 games. Despite
that, they have managed to grind out results with late victories against
Wolves at home and Blackpool away justifying it.
| Manchester United Goal Scorers | Total Goals |
| Dimitar Berbatov | 19 Goals |
| Luis Carlos Nani | 9 Goals |
| Javier Hernández | 7 Goals |
| Wayne Rooney | 5 Goals |
| Park Ji-Sung | 4 Goals |
| Nemanja Vidic | 4 Goals |
| Ryan Giggs | 2 Goals |
| Darren Fletcher | 2 Goals |
| Patrice Evra | 1 Goals |
| Federico Macheda | 1 Goals |
| Michael Owen | 1 Goals |
| Paul Scholes | 1 Goals |
Manchester United have scored a total of 57 goals this season with Dimitar Berbatov contributing a huge part with 19 goals. The Bulgarian has been a revelation this season and looks to have finally answered his critics with some magnificent displays this season.
Final Word
As the season gets tighter, Manchester United have some tough fixtures ahead of them. They will still have to face Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool with all of them being away games. This run of games could be very important for The Red Devils as they seek for their 19th Premier League crown.
Arsenal: 2nd in the league with 56 points
|
Soccer Team
|
Matches | Win | Draw | Lose | Score | Goals Scored Per Match | Goals Allowed Per Match |
| Arsenal |
27
|
17
|
5
|
5
|
57:27
|
2.11
|
1.00
|
As the season progressed, Arsenal started to become inconsistent in
the league. They lost 0-1 to Everton and then witnessed a superb
comeback by Spurs when they beat Arsenal 3-2 in November. However,
Arsenal welcomed back Robin Van Persie to full fitness and the Dutch
striker has been a major part of Arsenal's progress in all four
competition this season. They beat Chelsea and despite squandering a
four goal lead against Newcastle, they have bounced back with important
victories over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Stoke City recently.
| Arsenal Goal Scorers | Total Goals |
| Robin Van Persie | 10 Goals |
| Samir Nasri | 9 Goals |
| Theo Walcott | 7 Goals |
| Marouane Chamakh | 7 Goals |
| Andrei Arshavin | 5 Goals |
| Alexandre Song | 3 Goals |
| Francesc Fabregas | 3 Goals |
| Laurent Koscielny | 2 Goals |
| Nicklas Bendtner | 2 Goals |
| Jack Wilshire | 1 Goals |
| Vassiriki Diaby | 1 Goals |
| Alexandre S. Billong | 1 Goals |
| Bagary Sagna | 1 Goals |
| Johan Djourou | 1 Goals |
| Sébastien Squillaci | 1 Goals |
| Carlos Vela | 1 Goals |
Arsenal have had to thank Robin Van Persie and Samir Nasri who have scored 19 goals in the league between them. Even the resurgence of Theo Walcott has paid dividends with the winger having 7 goals under his belt already this season.
Final Word
Arsenal will be a very tough team to beat as they have boosted their confidence with a win over Barcelona in the Champions League. With a league cup final coming up next, a win would end Arsenal's long trophy drought and hunger for success would only become worse. However, they do have some tough fixtures with away game against Stoke and home games against Manchester United and Liverpool on the list
Manchester City: 3rd in the league with 49 points
|
Soccer Team
|
Matches | Win | Draw | Lose | Score | Goals Scored Per Match | Goals Allowed Per Match |
| Manchester City |
27
|
14
|
7
|
6
|
43:24
|
1.59
|
0.89
|
Manchester
City's story this season has very much circled around Carlos Tevez's
influence for the team. With City spending massive amount of money on
players last summer, expectations were high on those player to perform
for City.
However, there were no signs of it in their opening game as they struggled for a draw against Spurs. Slowly, they grew collectively as a team and notched up some important victories over Newcastle and Blackpool. However, they suffered a morale dropping defeat to Arsenal in which they conceded 3 goals. Slowly, they bounced back and have looked a threat with big wins over Fulham and Aston Villa. In January, they signed Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg and while he has yet to make any big impact on the team, City have looked more dangerous with him on the side.
They did lose to Manchester United, but they have since bounced back with important wins in the FA Cup and the Europa League. City have consistently insisted that their major aim would be to qualify for the Champions league this season and with the position that they are in now, it is certainly possible.
| Manchester City Goal Scorers | Total Goals |
| Carlos Tevez | 18 Goals |
| Mario Balotelli | 5 Goals |
| Yaya Touré | 4 Goals |
| Adam Johnson | 3 Goals |
| Gareth Barry | 2 Goals |
| David Silva | 2 Goals |
| Kolo Toure | 1 Goals |
| Pablo Javier Zabaleta | 1 Goals |
| Patrick Vieira | 1 Goals |
| Joleon Lescott | 1 Goals |
| Aleksandar Kolarov | 1 Goals |
| Micah Richards | 1 Goals |
| Emmanuel Adebayor | 1 Goals |
As mentioned before, Carlos Tevez has been absolutely out standing this season. He was elected as a new captain at the start of the season and has carried out his role to perfection by inspiring many of the important victories City enjoyed on their way to 3rd spot so far.
Final Word
While City will have to face Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham in the weeks to come, they have repeatedly proved this season that they do have the squad and players to win big games. With Carlos Tevez being in the best goal-scoring form of his life, it could be a season to remember at Eastlands.
Tottenham Hotspur: 4th in the league with 47 points
|
Soccer Team
|
Matches | Win | Draw | Lose | Score | Goals Scored Per Match | Goals Allowed Per Match |
| Tottenham Hotspur |
27
|
13
|
8
|
6
|
38:31
|
1.41
|
1.15
|
As the season progressed, Spurs kept on progressing as well with good
wins over Blackburn, Arsenal and Liverpool. Despite maintaining their
good momentum for a long period, they suffered defeat against Everton
and drew at home to Manchester United. After that, they went on a good
winning streak until a recent defeat to Blackpool brought them back to
the ground.
| Tottenham Goal Scorers | Total Goals |
| Rafael Van der Vaart | 10 Goals |
| Gareth Bale | 7 Goals |
| Roman Pavlyuchenko | 6 Goals |
| Aaron Lennon | 3 Goals |
| Niko Kranjcar | 2 Goals |
| Alan Hutton | 2 Goals |
| Peter Crouch | 2 Goals |
| Michael Dawson | 1 Goals |
| Tom Huddlestone | 1 Goals |
| Younes Kaboul | 1 Goals |
| Luka Modriè | 1 Goals |
| Sébastien Bassong | 1 Goals |
Spurs have scored a total of 38 goals in the league so far and Van Der Vaart has been a huge contributor with 10 goals. The Dutchman was brought in on the last day of last summer's transfer window and has been hugely influential in Tottenham's season so far. he has scored 10 goals in the league and has provided quite a number of assists as well.
Final Word
Although Spurs do have to face Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in the next few weeks, Harry Redknapp definitely has the players in his squad to cause a massive upset by winning them all. Considering that they have already tasted Champions League football this season, they would really want to do well to make sure they get another year of Champions League football next season.
Chelsea: 5th in the league with 45 points
|
Soccer Team
|
Matches | Win | Draw | Lose | Score | Goals Scored Per Match | Goals Allowed Per Match |
| Chelsea |
26
|
13
|
6
|
7
|
46:22
|
1.77
|
0.85
|
Chelsea
have had an inconsistent season so far. They started the season well
with huge victories over West Brom and Wigan that lead Carlo Ancelotti
to describe their form as PlayStation football. However, they suffered a
slump of form that started with the 0-3 defeat to Sunderland at home
and slowly they lost their way in the title race. They have had some
terrible results with the defeat to Arsenal and Liverpool causing a
drop in their confidence level as well.
However, Chelsea brought in Fernando Torres and David Luiz in the January transfer window in order to improvise their form and luck. Despite losing to Liverpool and drawing with Fulham, they have looked very much better since those two arrived and sooner or later, Chelsea will be back to their best.
| Chelsea Goal Scorers | Total Goals |
| Didier Drogba | 10 Goals |
| Florent Malouda | 9 Goals |
| Salomon Kalou | 7 Goals |
| Nicolas Anelka | 4 Goals |
| Frank Lampard | 3 Goals |
| Branislav Ivanovic | 3 Goals |
| Michael Essien | 3 Goals |
| John Terry | 2 Goals |
| Nicola A. Bilal | 2 Goals |
| Ramires | 1 Goals |
| Yossi Benayoun | 1 Goals |
| Alex | 1 Goals |
Despite not being in the best of his forms, Didier Drogba has scored 10 league goals for Chelsea this season and will be needed to score more if Chelsea are to fight for a Champions League spot. Florent Malouda has also scored 9 goals despite being not so impressive this season.
Final Word:
Chelsea will be a tougher nut to crack with Torres and Luiz in the side. While Chelsea do have Anelka and Drogba, the crucial aspect will be Torres's form for his club. The faster he gets back into form, the better for Chelsea's season as they look to battle Spurs and Manchester City for a place in the top four.
Liverpool: 6th in the league with 39 points
|
Soccer Team
|
Matches | Win | Draw | Lose | Score | Goals Scored Per Match | Goals Allowed Per Match |
| Liverpool |
27
|
11
|
6
|
10
|
35:32
|
1.30
|
1.19
|
Hodgson was sacked and Kenny Dalglish was brought back as a manger at
Liverpool. He made an instant impact for them with some good
improvements in their performances and confidence. While a place in the
top four looked unlikely at first, victories over Fulham, Stoke and
Chelsea have increased the hopes at Anfield. With King Kenny weaving his
inspirational spirit over Liverpool, smiles are back and they look
confident ahead of what looks like a tough schedule with Manchester
United, Arsenal and Manchester City all in the list.
| Liverpool Goal Scorers | Total Goals |
| El Nino | 8 Goals |
| Raul Meireles | 5 Goals |
| Steve Gerrard | 4 Goals |
| Dirk Kuijt | 4 Goals |
| Maxi Rodríguez | 3 Goals |
| David Ngog | 2 Goals |
| Sotiris Kyrgiakos | 2 Goals |
| Martin √Ö krtel | 1 Goals |
| Joe Cole | 1 Goals |
| Glen Johnson | 1 Goals |
| Luis Suárez | 1 Goals |
| Ryan Babel | 1 Goals |
That's right. Fernando 'El Nino' Torres has been Liverpool's top scorer this season with 8 goals in the league. However, times have changed with as Torres has left for Chelsea with Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll arriving at Liverpool. Suarez has already scored one goal for Liverpool and looks to be a good signing. Carroll has yet to make his debut for the Reds and only time will tell whether he will be a success at Anfield.
Final Word
As said, Liverpool are now hopeful over a Champions League spot after some good wins on the road. However, they do have to face United, City and Arsenal and they know that only victories will allow them to go further in their bid for a place in the Champions League next season.
Conclusion
After looking at all these analysis, one can only imagine the excitement that awaits in the final sprint towards the end of another brilliant Premier League season. Massive games are coming up with Manchester United set to host Chelsea and Liverpool next week. Tune in to Live Soccer TV for all the latest updates and previews as we begin the English Premier League FINAL PUSH!
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