Derbies bring truth to EPL table

Opinion

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This article was published 13/01/2023 (1000 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We’re about to learn a lot about the Premier League title race.

Thanks to a high-profile derby weekend in the English top flight, a number of questions with end-of-season ramifications could well be answered in quick succession.

“Are Manchester United actually involved in the chase?” “Is this a blip at Manchester City, or the start of the champions’ decline?” “Tottenham Hotspur can’t really contend, right?” “Are leaders Arsenal the real deal?”

To the latter query, it really does seem unlikely.

Too many things are going surprisingly, spectacularly well for the Gunners, and you get the feeling they’re one or two poor results away from the wheels coming off. Martin Odegaard, for example, might be the division’s best midfielder at present, and while he’s long been touted as a potentially elite playmaker (he made his Norway debut at 15) it’s only recently that his performances have lived up to the hype.

And what of that forward line? Each of Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli scored against West Ham and Brighton last month, but it’s not exactly a trio the opposing defence will think they can’t contain.

And yet, Arsenal have been top of the table since August. Counterpoint, they’ve yet to receive the benefit of the doubt — because it’s Arsenal.

Eleven points behind their local rivals, whom they’ll host in Sunday’s North London Derby (10:30 a.m., Fubo TV) Tottenham will be looking to generate some, any, momentum after recent triumphs over Crystal Palace and Portsmouth.

They haven’t won back-to-back in the league since October, following a 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture at Emirates Stadium, and the five-game form table has them 11th. Still, because of a solid start to the season, and thanks in part to abysmal showings from Chelsea and Liverpool, Spurs can perhaps regain a top-four spot going into next week.

Inevitably, they’ll need another dynamic display from Harry Kane to get the three points, or even one. Thankfully for his club, dynamic displays from Harry Kane are among the most reliable phenomena in world football.

No one not named Erling Haaland has scored more than the England captain’s 15 Premier League goals this term, and given the extent to which he has to carry his team, it’s arguable his play has been even more impressive than the Norwegian’s. And that’s saying something.

Haaland, who may have the European Golden Shoe wrapped up by March, has tallied 27 times in 23 matches across all competitions for Manchester City, who will visit Old Trafford for Saturday’s Manchester Derby (6:30 a.m., Fubo TV).

Back in October, the 22-year-old bagged a hat trick against United as City romped to a 6-3 win at the Etihad. They were still unbeaten at the time — 10 matches between the Premier League and Champions League — and only a point back of Arsenal, while their neighbours were seventh and already eight points in arears.

Since then, however, United have picked up one point more than last year’s winners and could narrow the gap in the standings to the same by claiming all three from this latest head-to-head.

Now, it’s not as though City are suddenly tanking, but after two wins from four in the league and Wednesday’s defeat to Southampton in the Carabao Cup, they do look suddenly vulnerable.

Manager Pep Guardiola, whose press conferences have bordered on the bizarre in recent weeks, will also be without his first-choice defensive pairing for the derby. Both John Stones and Ruban Dias are injured, which means Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake will play from the start, and Rico Lewis might even come in for the struggling Kyle Walker at right-back.

It’s not often Guardiola’s teams experience adversity, so the manner in which they approach this match will be intriguing to say the least. Serving as a bigger backdrop is the fact they ran a massive transfer surplus in the summer.

Manchester United, finally, are more upbeat than at any time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, and it’s hardly a coincidence that the rediscovered confidence has arrived at the same time as Erik ten Hag — a manager who appears to have finally filled Fergie’s shoes.

Marcus Rashford, with goals in every match since the World Cup, hasn’t played this well in years, if ever, and the addition of Casemiro has completely transformed the midfield. Ten Hag has also had the guts to bench underperforming captain Harry Maguire. The Dutchman has established himself as the most important figure at the club, and for an institution of United’s size and legacy such a personality is absolutely vital.

What City will find from the opening whistle is that they’re facing a local rival that looks nothing like the one they walloped in the autumn. United will actually believe they can win Saturday, and that hasn’t been the case in about a decade.

And if they do it, yes, they will absolutely be part of the title race.

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