Manchester City went top of the Premier League on January 27 after demolishing relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion 5-0 away at The Hawthorns and city rivals Manchester United slipping up against bottom side Sheffield United at Old Trafford.
Pep Guardiola’s men find themselves perched at the top of the table with a one-point advantage over Manchester United who has played one game more. No wonder the bookmakers at Online Sports Betting have installed City as odds on favourites for Premier League glory this season.
City has only lost twice in the Premier League this season. A shock 5-2 loss at home to Leicester City in the second game of the campaign caught everyone by surprise. They also lost 2-0 away at Tottenham Hotspur in a game they controlled but lacked a spark up front.
Twelve Games Without tasting Defeat
That last defeat was 12 games ago. Since then, Guardiola has guided the blue half of Manchester to ten wins and two draws, with seven of those victories coming in consecutive games. They have won 11 games on the spin if you include FA Cup fixtures. City are back to their brilliant best.
There’s no doubting City will miss their talismanic midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne who hobbled off on the hour mark of City’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on January 20. The Belgian is expected to be on the sidelines for between four and six weeks.
Sergio Aguero is still crooked with no return date in sight, but no fewer than 16 different players have found the back of the net for City in the league this season. Ilkay Gundogan seems to have found a new lease of life and has seven goals in 12 starts, making him this season’s top goal scorer at the club.
Chasing Pack Are Too Inconsistent
One of the other reasons City is firm favourites for their first Premier League title since the 2018-19 season is the chasing pack are far too inconsistent to be considered serious title challengers.
Arch-rivals Manchester United have looked better in recent weeks but there are still massive question marks about them. They are completely reliant on the amazing Bruno Fernandes who, at £47 million, looks like one of the bargains of the century. Fernandes has 11 goals in 19 starts this season and tops United’s charts and without him, United looks relatively toothless.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to sort out his team’s defensive frailties too. United has only kept seven cleans sheets in this Premier League season and has conceded at least twice on eight occasions.
You are hard-pressed to suggest any other team currently in the top six for the Premier League title. Injury-ravaged Liverpool may have smashed Crystal Palace 7-0 on December 13 but that’s the last time they got their hands on three points. Jurgen Klopp’s faltering stars have lost three and drawn three of their six games since that spanking of the Eagles, a run which includes being held by West Brom, Newcastle, and losses to Southampton and Burnley.
Leicester and Tottenham Look Lively
Leicester City and Spurs look the most likely to push City in the race for the league title. There is no way on this planet West Ham will be challenged come the end of the season, but both Spurs and The Foxes look solid outfits.
Spurs have Jose Mourinho in charge so anything is possible. They also have two games in hand so could move within two points of City if they manage to win both those games.
Leicester have a run of very winnable games over the next few weeks. They play Leeds, Fulham, and Wolves in their next three fixtures before taking on Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Brighton, Sheffield United, and Burnley.
All this said, it looks like this is City’s title to lose. They’re brushing aside teams despite a few key injuries and have ridiculous strength in depth. The chasing pack lacks the same quality outside their starting eleven.
