Past The Halfway Point: Who Is The Best In The Premiership?

Which club looks like champions in the English Premier League?

We have seen a surging Manchester United emerge at the top of the table in the last week, as well as a confused Chelsea side barely scrape away victory from a slumping Stoke City.

Chelsea’s Belletti headed home the equalizer in the 88th minute on Saturday. Six minutes later, Frank Lampard added the finisher when his deflected shot went by a perplexed Thomas Sorensen to secure a 2-1 score line at full-time.

What does this game mean for Chelsea? Were the two excruciatingly late goals a sign that champions find a way to win? On the other hand, might this display by the Premier League runners-up be a sign that they may be slowing down a bit?

Joe Cole joined Michael Essien on the injury report Saturday with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Essien sustained the same injury in August and has been ruled out for a majority of the season. Cole is likely out for the season, which serves as a big blow for the Blues.

Manchester United has looked like the English and European champions in recent weeks. Late contributions by Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov, and Carlos Tevez fueled the Red Devils’ to a last minute goal that narrowly defeated Bolton on Saturday.

However, one player stands out far and above the rest (including the FIFA World Player of the Year): Nemanja Vidić. Vidić has been largely responsible United’s league-record-tying 10 clean sheets in the absence of defenders Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra. He has also contributed many key goals over the last few weeks.  Manchester United’s form is great, but how they fair with the loss of Wayne Rooney remains to be seen. It is scary to imagine this squad completely healthy.

Liverpool fought hard against a good Everton side this evening, but fell short of the three points when a late Tim Cahill goal evened the line at one a piece. By dropping these two points, Manchester United is now tied at the top of the table with Liverpool with a game in hand.

Liverpool’s next four fixtures include a tough Wigan side, Chelsea, and a Manchester City team who may be fielding a newly acquired Kaka. With a tough schedule ahead, Liverpool’s descent in the table may by looming. It will be up to playmakers like Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard to keep the team playing at the elite level necessary to remain in the title chase.

Aston Villa has been surprisingly good this year. They have not lost in the Premier League since November 9th, defeating Arsenal as well as drawing both Arsenal and Manchester United in that span. Early in the campaign, this rejuvenated Villa side drew a then-top-of-the-table Liverpool. They have lost just four matches total and are currently fourth in the table.

With Ashley Young suspended for one game due to his two legged lunge on Sunderland’s Dean Whitehead, the Villains will need Gabriel Agbonlahor to return to form in order to stay three point ahead of Arsenal.

Arsenal fans have expected more this season from their Gunners. The team has had its share of difficulties, but seems to be in great form recently. Arsenal, too, is in the mist of a rather large unbeaten streak, going back to the trouncing they took at the hands of Manchester City on November 22.

Recently, there have been very few goals from a side that started the season with three three-goal performances and two four-goal outings. Many have speculated that the recent decline in goals can be attributed to the half dozen injuries that have plagued the first team. The captain, Cesc Fabregas, is out for roughly three months, causing the club to show interest in Russia sensation Andrei Arshavin. His arrival at Arsenal is anticipated to be later this week.

Arsenal has historically been prudent when it comes to signings and Arshavin is the only genuine target thus far. However, manager Arsène Wenger believes that the return of injured players “(Tomáš) Rosický, Fabregas, (Theo) Walcott, and Eduardo are like new signings.”

Given the progress and the current form of clubs in the Premier League this year, who is the best?