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Is the title race over?

Published by Ian John on February 19, 2009

Last night’s comfortable 3-0 victory over Fulham leaves Manchester United five points clear at the top of the English Premiership and manager Sir Alex Ferguson has already stated that while he is “keeping an eye” on Aston Villa’s good form, that he feels the title race is now just between his team and their fierce rivals Liverpool. Is this the case? Let’s take a look at the possible contenders:

Arsenal : Currently lying fifth but a staggering 15 points behind United. Arsenal still could cause one or two upset results for the teams above them as we enter the final third of the season, but it is almost impossible for Arsene Wenger’s men to push themselves into title contention. Wenger will no doubt seek solace in the FA Cup and Champions League for his side and with less onus on the league this season as opposed to years past, they may find themselves in a better position to challenge on both fronts. Especially when Theo Walcott and Francesco Fabregas join Eduardo in returning from injury. Wenger will be hoping for a champions league spot and at best third place, but Arsenal’s focus will be on the cups for the remainder of the year.

Chelsea : Chelsea’s season this year has been strangely similar to Liverpool’s. They have dropped too many important points at home against lesser sides. However whereas Liverpool can point to three wins and two draws so far against their top five opponents, Chelsea can only muster one win, a draw and three defeats. Scolari paid the price for that seeming failure with his job and it remains to be seen whether Hiddink can come in and steady the ship over the last third of the season. While the title may be beyond them, as they now stand ten points behind Manchester United, Hiddink and Abramovic will be expecting to secure a comfortable qualification for next seasons Champions League and indeed this seasons Champions League and FA Cup may be the clubs best chance of silverware. It will be interesting to see if Hiddink stays on at the end of the season and if he does, just how much rebuilding he is going to have to do in what is somewhat of an ageing and expensive team.

Aston Villa : Martin O’Neill’s side are the surprise package of the season and sit in a well deserved third place. Critics will point out that Villa’s lack of experience at this level may count against them, as does will a busy campaign of domestic and European games, including last nights 1-1 draw with CSKA Moscow. O’Neill has proven himself a shrewd manager in the past and while it is hard to see them clawing back the eight point deficit on Manchester United, they should have enough quality in the team to hold off a challenge from Arsenal for a Champions League spot next season. With the additional money that would bring in, and a squad that is still very young, it would give Aston Villa a fine platform upon which to build for an even stronger challenge next season.

Liverpool : It’s very difficult to categorise Rafa Benitez men. For certain they have dropped too many points at home against weaker opposition and as Liverpool fans see United with a five point lead at the top of the table, the realisation of home draws with the likes of Stoke, Hull, Fulham and West Ham must be hard to take. Their form has been patchy of late but they do seem to have a knack of pulling the results out when it really matters, as emphasised by their 3-2 victory over Portsmouth in their previous league game. Two things will decide if Liverpool are to finally end their long wait for the title, whether they can go the rest of the season unbeaten and most importantly, whether they can go to Old Trafford in March and win.

Manchester United : A five point lead, a defence that is not conceding any goals and Wayne Rooney about to return from injury. Already confirmed as World Champions, in the final of the Carling Cup and still in the FA Cup and the Champions League. It could not be much better for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side at the moment. Could this be the season when they do the unthinkable and win it all? On current form it is a possibility and with the squad they have it becomes a stronger possibility. However they have some tough games to negotiate and someone will eventually breach that defence. How they react to that will have a bearing on what they achieve. It has already been a good season for United, it has the potential to become legendary. Perhaps at the moment, only Tottenham, Swansea or Fulham, Inter Milan and Liverpool can really alter that for the worse.

Photo Credit : **The Red Pill** on Flickr

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