After an exciting weekend of Premier League action, we got to witness some breathtaking football on display; with Arsenal inching ahead of Leicester at the Emirates; Liverpool falling victim to a late Britos goal to share the spoils at Watford; Huddersfield Town getting a thumping 3-0 win at Crystal Palace to pile pressure on new Boss de Boer. Dramas aplenty!
The Premier League might not have the technical nuances of La Liga, nor the crazy passion exuberated by Bundesliga fans, but it’s box-office entertainment. It glues you to your TV sets and switches you off from the rest of the world. Such spell-bounding craze is supernatural, but that’s just the way it is.
If the last two seasons are testament; we are in for yet another topsy-turvy year of ‘edge-of-the-seat’ football.
Read: Arsenal players’ ratings vs the Foxes.
The last two seasons were very much different to each other, but they did have one thing in common; they each saw a Champion fall from grace. Chelsea were in freefall in 2015/16 after triumphing comprehensively in the season before. Leicester, champions in 2015/16 endured a horrible 2016/17. Chelsea, the 2016/17 Champions fell to Burnley, relegation candidates for this season by 3 goals to 2. Though they did stage a comeback with 9 men, could this season be following a similar trend? Another point to support that is Chelsea’s alarming lack of strength in depth. Given their involvement in Europe this season, can their squad cope up with the packed schedule? Same applies to Liverpool; with the acquisition of Salah, Robertson and Solanke, they are poised to losing Coutinho to Barcelona. Out of Europe last season, they have a chance to enter the Champions League through playoffs. Almost all of the top 7 clubs this time around are busy with European duties; can we see another Leicester come up this season? Could we see a resurgence of old, sleeping giants in the form of Arsenal, Manchester United or Liverpool?
Can Chelsea defy all odds and retain the title come May 2018?
Can Newcastle and Rafa Benitez silence the critics and actually have a realistic crack at the top 6 this season?
There are plenty of questions. Questions breed uncertainty, and uncertainty tends to unpredictability. So, sit back, call a few friends over, open some chilled beers and be prepared to be hooked on to some nail-biting finishes and block-buster entertainment from the league we love.
Oh, Premier League. You were dearly missed.
