Who are this season’s Premier League dark horses?

With just thirteen games to go in the 2016/2017 Premier League season, it promises to be

one of the closest finishes in recent history as the battle at both ends of the table looks set to

go down to the wire. Six teams are still in with a realistic chance of battling it out for the title,

while up to ten teams, including defending champions Leicester, are facing the real possibility

of being embroiled in a relegation dogfight.

Every point could change the entire complex of the league table, and with so much to play

for, it is extremely difficult to predict how it will all pan out come the end of May. Leicester’s

plight at the wrong end of the table is perhaps the most surprising given how their title

success in 2016 was listed amongst the most unlikely footballbets.tips, but the

emergence of a number of dark horses at the top have added extra spice to a title race which

is set to keep fans on the edge of their seats.

Chelsea

There can be no question that the 2015/2016 season was one to forget for Chelsea, with

numerous problems on and off the pitch resulting in a hugely disappointing campaign which

saw the defending champions finish as low as tenth. Jose Mourinho’s acrimonious departure,

combined with a series of poor performances from star names that played well within

themselves, contributed to Chelsea’s downfall, and with Roman Abramovich turning to

Antonio Conte in the summer, there were doubts as to whether the former Juventus and Italy

national team manager would be able to adapt to the Premier League.

Their transformation this season has been remarkable; Conte has injected fresh energy,

hunger and impetus into a team that have played some superb football this season, with

Chelsea looking formidable at both ends of the pitch under a manager who has come across

a winning formula. Losing just one of their last nineteen league fixtures – a run which has

included sixteen wins – illustrates just how good Chelsea have been, with Conte’s men

currently eight points clear at the Premier League summit. Diego Costa and Eden Hazard

have been integral in their rise to prominence, while summer signing N’Golo Kante has once

again excelled as one of the best midfield enforcers in the world and could be about to win

back-to-back titles after swapping Leicester for Stamford Bridge. It will take something

special to stop Chelsea in their tracks, and although the title race is far from over, there is a

growing feeling that it is Chelsea’s to lose.

Manchester United

It is fair to say that things have not been the same at Manchester United since Sir Alex

Ferguson announced his retirement in 2013, with David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal both

failing to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest football managers of all time. One top

four finish in the last three seasons is certainly below the standards set by the most

successful club in Premier League history, but the arrival of Jose Mourinho as manager in the

summer was heralded at a new dawn. A number of high-profile signings, most notably Paul

Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, injected more quality into a squad that were capable of

mounting a title challenge, and although it took Mourinho time to find his feet at Old Trafford,

they have certainly found their groove now. A run of sixteen games unbeaten have put

Manchester United in a strong position to not only force their way into the top four, but also

give Chelsea a run for their money at the Premier League summit.

Tottenham

Finishing third last season is a sign of the excellent progress made at White Hart Lane under

Mauricio Pochettino, and although Tottenham ultimately fell away after failing to catch

Leicester at the top and allowed fierce rivals Arsenal to leapfrog them into second, they

proved they have the quality to compete at the top. Despite possessing one of the most

promising and talented squads in the Premier League, many wrote off Tottenham’s chances

of competing again after their title rivals made big changes in the summer. Some believed

that Tottenham needed to lift their stringent spending policy and take a real gamble on

bringing world class players to the club, but although Daniel Levy is the sort of man who

would prefer free mode when playing online slots on Lucky Nugget instead of using real

money, they have managed to carry on from where they left off last season despite the

disappointing form from the majority of their summer acquisitions.

Victor Wanyama, the only signing to have made an impact so far this season, has certainly

added strength and defensive stability to a team that play some wonderful, eye-catching

football when they are in full flow, with Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane usually at

the front of everything good about Tottenham. Having one of the best centre-back pairings in

Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, along with England full-backs Kyle Walker and

Danny Rose, has also enabled Tottenham to have the joint-best defensive record in the

Premier League, and with goals often flowing freely at the other end, Pochettino has certainly

found the right balance. They currently sit third, just two points behind Manchester City and

ten behind league leaders Chelsea, with Tottenham’s recent 2-0 defeat at Liverpool ending a

strong run of nine unbeaten. It remains to be seen if they can bounce back from their latest

setback to mount one big push to pick up their first league title since 1961, but given the

overwhelming amounts of money that their nearest rivals have spent, Tottenham have

certainly done themselves proud by putting themselves in serious contention once again