A 5-star league

First and foremost, Happy New Year from myself at The Beautiful Game Weekly. Here is hoping 2011 is a great one for everyone.

Back to the matter at hand, a couple of days ago, I noticed a story on Sky Sports News about Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, describing this seasons title race as the tightest he has ever seen during his illustrious career as Manchester United manager. In light of the Scotsman comments, my following piece will focus on the five teams in the hunt for the title following the Christmas period that has seen the top five teams begin to pull away from the chasing pack.

Manchester United - 1st

The first team on my list is that of the current league leaders, Manchester United. The clear cut favourites in my opinion and victory over West Brom on Saturday saw them sit at the summit of the Premiership following the close of play in 2011. Looking to become England's most successful team, Ferguson's United outfit already know it takes to win the trophy having done so on eleven separate occasions. With the likes of Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Paul Scholes all playing their part in United's title charge, I fully expect the Red Devils to be crowned Premier League champions come May.

Manchester City - 2nd

Shifting my attention to the blue half of Manchester sees United's rivals Manchester City sitting in second place levels on points with Manchester United (albeit, having played two games more). Pressure is high on Roberto Mancini's men to succeed having spent hundreds of millions on re-vamping a Manchester City squad from European contenders to title challengers. Like United, City's squad is filled to the brim with talent with the likes of Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and David Silva all first names on the team sheet. However, unlike United, City don't know what it takes to win the title. In my opinion, 2011 will not be the year that Manchester City win the title but the sky is the limit for the Citizens and with Sheikh Mansour heavily backing City, financially, 2012 may be the season a new name is engraved onto the Premier League trophy.

Arsenal - 3rd

Moving down south and into the boroughs of North London sees Arsenal sitting in third place as 2011 begins to set in. A comprehensive 3-0 victory over struggling Birmingham saw Arsene Wenger's Arsenal move two points behind the Manchester outfits having played twenty games so far. A team that plays football of the highest quality yet hasn't lifted the Premiership since their invincible season of 2003/04. Despite Arsenal's attacking ability and previous success, every season sees the North London outfit fall at the final hurdle, languishing in third place wondering what could have been had things been different. Like the Manchester rivals, Arsenal are another team full of talent with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Andrey Arshavin available at Wenger's disposal. The question remains, however, will 2011 see success bought back to The Emirates? Like Manchester City, I think not. Arsenal may be getting stronger with each passing season but I still don't think they have enough to oust Manchester United at the top.

Tottenham Hotspur - 4th

Moving across North London sees my attention switch to Arsenal's rivals - Tottenham Hotspur. Since Harry Redknapp took over from Juande Ramos in 2008, Tottenham have gone from strength to strength. A 4th place finish has seen Redknapp's Spurs has made clubs sit up and take notice of what is happening at White Hart Lane whilst a strong start to their debut Champions League campaign will only aid their cause. Yet, despite all the talk of Tottenham being title contenders, I can't see it happening. Like all teams, the talent is certainly there through Rafael Van der Vaart, Gareth Bale and Luke Modric but I feel, like Manchester City, Tottenham don't have the knowhow on winning titles that Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea all possess. Nonetheless, Tottenham are a team on the up and I would expect them to, at least, finish 4th again this season before pushing on in years to come.

Chelsea - 5th

Finally, the fifth title contender and current holders - Chelsea. A poor run of form (one win since November) has seen Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea side drop down the table and out of the top 4. This is made all the worse after a fantastic start to the season saw them instilled at the bookies' favourites prior to their recent blip. The problem here lies within the squad itself as a distinct lack of strength in depth has shown the cracks in a Chelsea squad that was small to begin with. Injuries to key players has also coincided with points being dropped by the defending champions. Chelsea may only be six points off the top (nine should Manchester United win their game in hand) but with the halfway point already passed in the 2010/11 season, it may be a bit late for Chelsea to propel their way back to the summit. The key game now is the re-arranged game away to Manchester United on the 1st of March but, by then, it may be too late. The likes of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and John Terry provide the core of the Chelsea starting XI and it is these players that need to step it up if Chelsea are to provide competition at the top once again this season.

So, there are my takes on the five title contenders. I am certain Manchester United will finish the season as champions, as for the other four teams, I am unsure where their final position will be. Manchester City have the resources, Arsenal and Chelsea the know how in this position and Tottenham have the depth for all four to provide competition but with only three spots available and four teams competing for them, the final Champions League places will surely go to the wire.

Anyway, I have to play some Assassin's Creed so I hope you enjoy the read. I will write again before the week is out.

Laters,

Macca