While Manchester United’s claim for the Premier League title this year is unlikely at this point, they’re still making a considerable run to keep their Champions League dreams alive.
Manchester United and Ten Hag have gone through a rollercoaster ride during the first half of the season, dealing with a whirlwind of triumphs and defeats on and off the pitch.
After an abysmal start to the 2023–24 campaign, Ten Hag and his troops are starting to rally with a handful of favourable Premier League 2024 results. The Red Devils have been one of the hottest teams in the top flight since the start of the new year, currently riding on a three-game winning streak.
They catapulted up the league standings in the past few weeks and have successfully set themselves apart from the tight midfield. After their statement win against Aston Villa yesterday, the Red Devils now have a total of 41 points, enough to place them as the sixth-seed.
Now, they are within striking distance of overtaking Aston Villa in the fifth spot, who are currently five points clear of the striving Red Devils. But with how Manchester United have been ramping up in recent weeks, it could only be a matter of time until Ten Hag and his men are once again in European contention.
Pep Poised to polish Haaland
After missing some time due to injury, Manchester City’s No. 9 returned to the field and looked like he hadn’t lost a step.
Even after missing a stretch of games, Haaland remains the leader in the Premier League Golden Boot race with 16 goals, two goals ahead of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
Their most recent triumph over lowly Everton stretches their winning streak to six games, and they remain the Premier League 2024 betting odds favourites to win the league once the season is done and dusted.
Haaland scored both goals for Manchester City in their 2-0 victory against Everton, and with this, he has now become the player with the most goals in his first 50 starts in the Premier League with 51, six goals ahead of the former record holder Alan Shearer of the Blackburn Rovers.
It seems like Haaland is doing everything perfectly out on the pitch, but Pep saw something the normal eye couldn’t.
Guardiola stated that Haaland’s body language during the first half of their match against Everton was “not good” after failing to score in the entire half.
“He has to learn that if he doesn’t score he has to have the right body language. He has to have this mood where he’s positive and he’s saying: ‘OK it will come, it will come.’” Guardiola stated.
The football world isn’t ready for a polished Haaland. No one is.
Arsenal remain undefeated in 2024
After a rough end to the 2023 calendar year, Arteta and his Gunners are once again on a stellar run that started after the new year.
The Gunners have won all four of their Premier League matches since Matchweek 21, where they obliterated the Eagles with a 5-0 clean sheet. They then managed to edge out the Tricky Trees 1-2, triumphed over Liverpool 3-1, and then thrashed the Hammers 0-6. That’s a total of 15 goals in four games for Arsenal.
The main catalyst for their impressive run to start the year has been Bukayo Saka. The 22-year-old winger managed to find the back of the net a total of four times in their bouts against Forest, Liverpool, and West Ham United. Thanks to this stretch, Bukayo has now scored 13 goals and claimed 12 assists overall.
Arteta and his men are currently tied with the Sky Blues with 52 points, but the Gunners have a good chance of overtaking Pep’s City with an upcoming match against struggling Burnley, who are currently stuck in the relegation zone.
Liverpool, Manchester United, and Arsenal are pulling away in the title race, with fourth-placed Tottenham still five points behind. Although Spurs may have a good stretch of football coming their way as they’re Talisman, Son Heung-min, returns to Premier League action after a promising run with the Taeguk Warriors in the AFC Asian Cup.
Liverpool are making ends meet without Salah
The Reds are still the top dogs in the English league and have been successful in bagging wins without their leader, Mohamed Salah.
Salah had gone to the AFCON to represent Egypt but was immediately sent back to Liverpool after suffering a noteworthy injury during their match against Ghana in the group stages. He still remains on the sidelines as he watches the rest of the Reds fend off every adversary that tries to knock them off their throne.
Liverpool have won four of their last five top flight matches, and their current form makes them the best adversary to compete against Manchester City, as per the Premier League odds at SBOTOP. And if they continue to make strides and hold down the fort in the absence of their star, Mo Salah, the title race could be closer than most expected.
Thanks to their win against Burnley, Liverpool are still two points clear at the summit of the league standings, and they’re given good opportunities to widen their lead as they face off against struggling Brentford and Luton Town in their next Premier League ties.
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