Approaching the final third of the 2016 Prem season

By | February 15, 2016

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It has been an unpredictable season. Hardly anyone predicted Leicester City to emerge as the top club, nor did fans expect Chelsea to struggle as much as they did in the first half of the season (see below for Chelsea’s improving form). The other three of the big four (Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal) are at their usual places on the table, and Tottenham has risen to great ranks thanks to three spectacular summer signings (Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld, Heung-Min Son) and the leadership of Pochettino. West Ham and Southampton are having wonderful seasons as well, the latter in particular improving every year since their return to the Premier League in 2012.

With a third of the season left- or in other terms 36 points left to claim- any one of these teams can potentially lift the trophy. We can expect clubs to be in full pursuit of Leicester City, displaying their very best competition at each game.

Yesterday, February 14th, saw two such incredible matches: Arsenal vs Leicester City and Tottenham vs. Manchester City. Both games ended in brilliant 2-1 fashions that brought the top of the table even closer. Amidst some fan protest against rising ticket prices, these are the games and moments fans die for and continue to come back to stands to watch. Below is one of those moments by substitute Lamela on his game-winning assist for Tottenham (Vine by David Grimsey on https://vine.co/v/inVvlbLg2VP).

It would be a much too bold statement to attempt to predict the title winner. By the way things are going this season, we may even get our hopes up for an ending as phenomenally unpredictable as the one in 2012 with Manchester City.

Category: Premier League

About Andrew Cho

Hello, I am a sophomore at Duke University studying Statistics and Computer Science. I am from Baltimore, MD, but I have also lived in Seoul, South Korea and Frankfurt, Germany. I've been fortunate to experience the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Euro 2008 Final in Vienna. If anyone from EA is on this blog, please bring back S.Korea on Fifa 17.

3 thoughts on “Approaching the final third of the 2016 Prem season

  1. Carrie Mittl

    I believe that Tottenham will end up on top at the end of the season. Like you mentioned in your post, those key signings gave the Spurs more talented “feet” for the team to hold the weight of success. If they finish the season healthy, I like we will have quite the contenders down in White Hart Lane.

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  2. Andrew Cho Post author

    Thanks Stephen for providing some numbers in this context! The comparison to Chelsea is really an interesting one. For many years fans- and clubs- believed extravagant capital expenditure was the best thing you could do to improve your team. While it still may be true (see Man City, Real Madrid, etc), I think a lot of fans do appreciate and are rooting for Leicester. Great to see a team using clever tactic and hard work to the best of their abilities given their financial constraint.

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  3. Stephen Kirchner

    It really has been a topsy-turvy season. Up until the Arsenal win over Leicester City yesterday, it really looked like the Foxes were in the drivers seat. Now though? Its an incredibly wide open race to the finish. ESPN published an article, though, detailing just how extraordinary this run by Leicester City has been. Arash Markazi pointed out that most UK sports books had Leicester City at 5,000 to 1 odds to win the Premiership this year. That was better odds given than Elvis still being found alive. For context, Chelsea, last year’s champion, started the season 11/8 odds, over 3,600 better than Leicester, and yet Chelsea sits in 12th. Chelsea has the highest payroll in the league by far, at 215 million pounds. Leicester City has the 17th highest in the EPL, at 48.2 million. There really is no financial rhyme or reason to their success, and that has made this year one of the most interesting Premiership seasons in years.

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