Premier League Insights: Liverpool’s Lead Over Struggling Manchester City
By Our Resident Football Expert
The Premier League 2024-25 season has reached its halfway mark, with Liverpool leading the table while Manchester City struggles to find form.
The teams seem to be firing on all cylinders despite playing non-stop football.
Whatever the results, the teams come back stronger for the next match.
This is a specialty of the 2024-25 season.
Newly Promoted Teams Find It Tough
New inclusions Ipswich Town, Leicester City, and Southampton have played insipid games and settled down at the bottom of the table.
Manchester City’s Unexpected Collapse
The season started with a positive outlook for Manchester City, the reigning champions and winners of the previous four Premier League titles.
Victories against Chelsea, Ipswich Town and West Ham United gave Manchester City early momentum.
However, they soon lost steam.
A 12-match winless streak followed, including defeats against Liverpool, Bournemouth, Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting CP and Juventus in the UEFA Champions League. A series of unnecessary draws also played a role.
Consequently, Manchester City slipped to seventh place, effectively falling out of the title race.
Manager Pep Guardiola’s remarks about “wanting to hurt himself” also generated controversy.
Manchester City supporters could face further uncertainty as the club prepares to answer the 115 Premier League charges, which could potentially result in points deductions or other sanctions.
Liverpool Continue Their Title Charge
Liverpool started the season with a familiar squad supported by homegrown graduates.
An early defeat against Nottingham Forest, courtesy of a brilliant long-range strike by Callum Hudson-Odoi, served as an important wake-up call.
Since then, manager Arne Slot has guided Liverpool to the top of the Premier League table.
Having developed a distinctive style at Feyenoord, Slot has ensured Liverpool have remained league leaders since late October.
Mixed Fortunes for the Traditional Giants
Manchester United have continued their disappointing form from last season despite the arrivals of Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, and new manager Ruben Amorim.
Tottenham Hotspur remain inconsistent in the lower half of the table.
Heung-Min Son continues to lead the attack following Harry Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, Arsenal continue to alternate between second and third place while trying to keep pace with Liverpool.
Chelsea and Nottingham Forest Impress
Chelsea have shown significant improvement from last season, largely driven by the emergence of Cole Palmer.
The 22-year-old had scored 14 Premier League goals as of 18 January 2025, becoming central to Chelsea’s resurgence after last season’s sixth-place finish.
Chelsea and Nottingham Forest continue to breathe down Liverpool’s neck.
Nottingham Forest sit in third place, with manager Nuno Espírito Santo overseeing one of the biggest surprises of the season.
Newcastle Continue Their Rise
Newcastle United have also improved following the arrival of their new ownership.
Meanwhile, Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Fulham, Crystal Palace, and Everton occupy mid-table positions with European qualification becoming increasingly difficult.
Wolverhampton Wanderers continue to hover near the relegation zone.
Our Take
This Premier League season has produced a more structured style of football across almost every club.
The campaign has showcased greater emphasis on box-to-box football together with improved control and balance.
New arrivals including Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino, Federico Chiesa, Savinho, Matthijs de Ligt, and Joshua Zirkzee have largely justified expectations.
Liverpool may yet face difficult months ahead.
Contracts for Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold are due to expire at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Matches Worth Watching
Some of the season’s biggest thrillers include:
- Liverpool vs Brighton
- Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur
- Chelsea vs Wolves
- Bournemouth vs Newcastle United
Shining Stars of the Premier League
Mohamed Salah leads both the goalscoring and assist charts with 18 goals and 13 assists (as of 18 January 2025).
Alexander Isak continues to impress, while Erling Haaland maintains his remarkable scoring record.
Ollie Watkins has enjoyed another excellent campaign alongside the underrated Bryan Mbeumo.
Luis Díaz, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli have all produced impressive performances.
Among those struggling for form are Antony, Bruno Fernandes, and Kai Havertz.
Goals and Goalkeepers
This season has produced several memorable goals, including:
- Cole Palmer’s free-kick against Brighton
- John Durán’s spectacular strike against Everton
- Alexander Isak’s goal against Liverpool
Premier League goalkeepers deserve special appreciation.
They continually put their bodies on the line in what is arguably football’s most demanding position.
Emiliano Martínez won the Premier League Save of the Month award against Newcastle in December.
Final Word
Kopites will hope Liverpool can secure a 20th Premier League title this season.
Standings as of 18 January 2025.
