It’s the start of a new year, so what will 2024 have in store for the rest of the Premier League campaign? At just over the halfway point, we’re starting to get a good idea of who’s in the title race and which teams are fighting to stay up.
Back in August, when the sun was still shining and we were going to games full of optimism, who would have thought that Aston Villa would be spoken of as being in the title race at Christmas?
Fast-forward to hat and gloves weather, Unai Emery’s team have been this season’s surprise package and their challenge for the top prize has been even more impressive, coping with a busy schedule competing in the Europa Conference League.
Statement wins against Manchester City and Arsenal in December cemented them as top-four challengers at the least, even if it proves beyond them to ‘do a Leicester’.
In the first half of the campaign, though, City looked as vulnerable as they’ve been for a while. It was always going to be a huge ask to repeat last season’s achievements, but they weren’t as consistent or convincing in killing games off. Having said that, the fact they haven’t hit their peak yet is a worry for other clubs. Kevin De Bruyne pledged to return from injury as ‘the best player in the world’, sparking fear into any opponent.
There’s still an expectation that they will go on another of their incredible unbeaten runs and become the first team in English football history to win four successive league titles, but Liverpool and Arsenal will have taken confidence from their pre-Christmas blip and will look to push Pep Guardiola’s team all the way. You can almost sense that this one will go right down to the wire.
After a dream start for Tottenham, they stumbled when injuries hit them hard, but under Ange Postecoglou and his entertaining football, you’d expect them to be up there. European football should be back on their fixture list next season.
Newcastle’s valiant Champions League exit was deflating, but after being slapped with injuries, Eddie Howe will hope that the worst is out the way and their focus will now be on battling for the top four.
Just like Howe, Erik ten Hag has also had to deal with a long injury list and an early exit from the Champions League. His Manchester United side have struggled to convince many that they’ll finish in the top four for a second year in a row. They need an upturn in form, and fast, but their second half of the season could be shaped by how things develop off the field with Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Chelsea have often struggled to display enough consistency to suggest that they’ll improve much on last season. Mauricio Pochettino said himself that their reality is mid-table – he’s asked for more players, so despite already spending over £1 billion in three windows, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Todd Boehly splash the cash yet again.
At the bottom, after all three promoted teams managed to stay up last season, it doesn’t seem like we’ll see a repeat of that this time around. Sadly for Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton, it’s looking like a tough second half of the campaign. Before Steve Cooper’s exit, however, Nottingham Forest didn’t get as many home victories as they did last season, which posed a few problems and kept them close to the drop zone.
Everton’s 10-point deduction gave the sides at the bottom a couple of weeks of hope, but Sean Dyche galvanised his side through the storm – had it not been for the Premier League’s punishment, they would have been one of the sides pushing for a European place by Christmas.
After winning their Europa League groups, West Ham and Brighton will be delighted not to have to worry about the competition until the round of 16 in March – they both have enough quality to challenge for a European place in the table once again.
It’s set up to be an exciting few months, but as we all know, things can change very quickly. It should be a mouthwatering finale.
Read more from Jules Breach:
Europa League gives Brighton fans the chance to dream big
Mauricio Pochettino needs time and trust and he'll be a success at Chelsea
