1. Liverpool’s defence still their achilles heel
LOOKING BACK TO the season before last, when they came achingly close to winning the league, many people tend to think of Steven Gerrard’s unfortunate slip as the moment that epitomised Liverpool’s eventual title collapse.
Yet that side’s defensive issues were far more significant in the context of the season, perhaps most notably when they blew a 3-0 lead late on against Crystal Palace, and these mistakes ultimately cost them the title, despite their attack breaking some records for goals scored.
Two seasons on and the back four still looks immensely vulnerable, as evidenced by their 3-0 loss to Watford today. Number two goalkeeper Adam Bogdan clearly had a howler in dropping the ball for the first goal, while Martin Skrtel allowed Odion Ighalo to score far too easily for the second.
Liverpool have now failed to keep a clean sheet in six of their last seven away matches and despite all the changes at Anfield over the past two seasons, it is clear their defence still cannot be relied upon.
2. West Ham badly missing Payet and Lanzini
West Ham remain in the respectable position of eighth after this afternoon’s dull 0-0 draw with Swansea, while the Welsh side are in the relegation zone, having failed to win their last seven games.
Slaven Bilic’s side have impressed at times this season, and count Arsenal and Man City among their victims.
Yet inconsistency is the reason for their current mid-table standing, while the absence today of Andy Carroll. Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini, Diafra Sakho and Winston Reid didn’t help matters.
Long-term absentees Payet and Lanzini have been big losses in particular. Today was West Ham’s third-consecutive 0-0 draw in the league, while they had just 27% possession in this underwhelming encounter. The injured pair are expected back soon, and their respective returns will be a relief to Bilic, as their creativity and footballing ability is desperately needed on today’s evidence.
3. Has this been the best Premier League season ever?
Usually, it would be premature to describe a season as potentially the ‘best ever’ with more than half the campaign to play.
Yet the 2015-16 edition of the Premier League has been so unpredictable and exciting at times that it’s difficult to recall any other year that’s worthy of comparison, in terms of the sheer number of stunning results it has produced.
It’s getting to the point where ‘shock results’ no longer seem particularly shocking, and this weekend has been no exception, with Norwich travelling to Old Trafford and winning, and Watford outclassing Jurgen Klopp’s expensively assembled Liverpool team.
Leicester, meanwhile, put in a commanding display at Goodison Park to end Everton’s six-game unbeaten streak and top the league at Christmas, despite their rivals dwarfing the Foxes’ resources, after having left reigning champions Chelsea just a point above the relegation zone after last week’s win at the King Power Stadium.
And of course, the best is arguably yet to come, with the two favourites for the title (Arsenal and Man City) facing off on Monday night.
