Premier League Round-Up: Talking Points

The Premier League is short of only 2 matchdays now as a 9-month journey comes to an end, a few things were confirmed and the champions are all but confirmed as well. Bet Central looks a the talking points from this past weekend’s action.

Southampton Fate Sealed

Southampton were the 1^st team to be relegated this season when they lost 2-0 to Fulham on Saturday. It brought an end to a 10-year stay in the top flight for the Saints whose relegation raised a lot of eyebrows with some of the quality in their squads.

The Saints have been a side with excellent recruitment and were responsible for bringing Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk to the Premier League due to the astute scout network. Owing to the departure of such stars and managerial misfits, Southampton dropped off in recent seasons.

Chelsea Continue To Hit And Miss

After putting an end to the rot that saw them lose 6 consecutive games last week with a win, this week Chelsea could only get a draw and continue to be marred by inconsistencies that have seen them languishing in the bottom half of the table

They came up against a determined Nottingham Forrest side who are fighting for Premier League survival at the moment. Whichever manager will take over from Frank Lampard has a massive rebuilding job on his hands.

Arsenal Need Squad Depth If They Are To Challenge

Arsenal put in one of their worst performances of the season as they lost to a strong Brighton side on Sunday. It was a performance that was plagued by visible fatigue on the Gunners’ part who just looked off in every aspect of play – a far cry from the Arsenal who looked well on their way to the 1^st Premier League title in almost 20 years.

What is clear is Arsenal need to invest in their squad in the off-season, Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard are good acquisitions in January, but additional depth at centre-back, on the wing and defensive midfield is required for next season.

Curtis Jones’ Coming Of Age Season

While Liverpool’s season has been a poor one by their standards, there have been individual positives that have plastered over the cracks at times. The acquisition of Cody Gapko has aided their attack and Ibrahim Konate’s growth at centre-back has been good to see. But the delivery on the promise Curtis Jones has shown this season ranks top.

He showed his qualities by putting in his most well-rounded performance in a Liverpool shirt last night against the struggling Leicester City. He contributed 2 goals on top of his creative quality going forward in the transition. A promising effort going into next season.

Liverpool, Brighton Maintain Top 4 Hopes

Liverpool despite the inconsistencies have gone on an 8-game unbeaten run including 7 consecutive wins and find them just a point off the top 4 behind Man United. It has been a super run for Klopp’s side and it has brought them close to doing what a month ago seemed impossible and Man United will be wary of their big rivals.

Brighton similarly have 2 games in hand on Liverpool while sitting 7 points away from them and if their recent form is anything to go by, those 2 games in hand could well be 6 points. Both teams are putting a lot of pressure on Man United in 4^th place.