Chelsea FC
Position: 1st/46 points
Goals For: 41
Goals Against: 14
Top Scorer: Diego Costa, 15 goals
Top Assists: Cesc Fabregas, 14 assists
Chelsea started the season and no one believed they would be where they are today. With Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, and Didier Drogba joining the team this season along with Felipe Luis in the back, Chelsea has been unstoppable. With only two losses and four ties to their name, they continue to be at the top of the table, but with Manchester City right behind them. Losing to Newcastle and tying with both Manchester teams along with Sunderland and Southampton gave City the chance to pull within three points, but that will just drive Chelsea to try even harder to win the Barclays League this season.
Manchester City FC
Position: 2nd /43 points
Goals For: 41
Goals Against: 17
Top Scorer: Sergio Aguero, 19 goals
Top Assists: Jesus Navas, 8 assists
With Sergio Aguero on top, Manchester City is the other team in the Barclays League that has been unstoppable this season. Beating their derby rivals Manchester United back in November gave them the advantage they needed to be right behind Chelsea this season. With 7 straight wins from November to December, this is what they needed to be in the running for the title. With a heavy schedule coming up against Chelsea and Arsenal this month, they will need to win both games to be on top of the table. In order to do this, they will need Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic back in the squad to take control of the attacking position.
Manchester United
Position: 3rd /36 points
Goals For: 33
Goals Against: 19
Top Scorer: Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, 8 goals
Top Assists: Angel di Maria, 6 assists
Manchester United struggled in the beginning of the season, losing two games and tying two out of their first five games. Injuries have haunted this team since day one and they have struggled to find the form and chemistry they need to be in the race for the title. Bringing Angel Di Maria, Ander Herrera, Radamel Falcao, Daley Blind, and Luke Shaw seemed to mark a different season than 2013/2014, but injuries have become an issue. A turnaround happened after losing to Manchester City, and they went six straight games with a win and 9 undefeated games before the midseason break. They went from 10th place to 3rd in matter of four games and had just one player injured. Louis Van Gaal hopes to bring new players in during the January transfer window to built an even stronger team and get back into the title race or at least stay in the top four to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Southampton
Position: 4th /33
Goals For: 32
Goals Against: 15
Top Scorer: Graziano Pelle, 11 goals
Top Assists: Dusan Tadic, 8 assists
Southampton started on a run this season. They were a team that everyone was questioning where they came from and how could anyone stop them. With Graziano Pelle as top scorer and help from Shane Long and Jay Rodriguez, they sat comfortably in the top four of the table throughout the first 10 games. But after tying to Aston Villa, everything went downhill from there. They went four consecutive games with a loss, tied one and got six points with a win over Everton and Crystal Palace late in December. For them, they still sit in fourth place and hope to continue there, but will have a tough schedule coming up.
Arsenal
Position: 5th/33
Goals For: 34
Goals Against: 23
Top Scorer: Alexis Sanchez, 16 goals
Top Assists: Alexis Sanchez, 8 assists
Arsenal is the team that continues to struggle in the Barclays League. With losses and a tie against the top four teams, Arsenal continues to struggle to get into the top four. Injuries has been haunting Arsene Wenger as well, but hopes that the second half of the season gets better for them. With Mesut Ozil returning from injury, they hope that their attacking gets much better along with Sanchez, Danny Welbeck, Oliver Giroud and Jack Wilshire at top to convert goals and get into the top four or enter the run for the title once again. Being 13 points away from Chelsea, it seems like there is no hope for Arsenal, but it’s too early to decide what will happen.
West Ham United
Position: 6th /31 points
Goals For: 30
Goals Against: 23
Top Scorer: Diafra Sakho, 9 goals
Top Assists: Stewart Downing, 7 assists
West Ham sat comfortably in fourth place by the end of October along with Chelsea, Man City and Southampton but as we all know, that was to early in the season to see how things were going to end for them. They then dropped seven points in November and seven in December thus putting them in sixth place. West Ham United has been strong this season giving competition to Man City who they beat earlier in September and Liverpool, but lost against Chelsea, Arsenal and Man United but with other teams dropping points they still are in the race for the title. Who knows, West Ham has been slowly building up and could be competition in the years to come if they keep it up.
Tottenham Hotspur
Position: 7th /31 points
Goals For: 24
Goals Against: 24
Top Scorer: Harry Kane, 18 goals
Top Assists: Nacer Chadli, 5 assists
Tottenham has struggled to maintain their players on check and just can’t seem to find the chemistry within each other. They started out strong in the season with 4 straight wins but then dropped 25 points in the next few months. They were able to maintain a good run in December both in the Barclays and Europa League along with the Capital One Cup. They are in the semi-final in the Captial One Cup and should be an easy one. Rumors say that they will also be losing six players, Aaron Lennon, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Kyle Naughton, Younes Kaboul and Emmanuel Adebayor, so who knows what can happen for the team.
Liverpool
Position: 8th /28 points
Goals For: 26
Goals Against: 25
Top Scorer: Steven Gerrard, 9 goals
Top Assists: Jordan Henderson, 5 assists
It has been a depressing season for Liverpool. Losing Luis Suarez hasn’t been easy and replacement, Mario Balotelli has not produced anything for the Reds. To make things worse for the team, Steven Gerrard announced that he would be leaving the team in the summer to join LA Galaxy. They had a bad run in the Champions League and lost all to Chelsea, Man City, Manchester United and other teams that didn’t seem much of a threat to Liverpool. If they want to move up in the table they better find a good attacker or hope that Balotelli steps it up.
Swansea City
Position: 9th/ 28 points
Goals For: 24
Goals Against: 23
Top Scorer: Wilfred Bony, 9 goals
Top Assists: Gylfi Sigurdsson, 8 assists
With a win over Manchester United in the beginning of the season, Swansea fans seemed like this would be a great season for the team. They had three more wins in a row, but then after losing to Chelsea it seemed that they lost the momentum they had. With Wilfred Bony now joining Man City in the January transfer window, it is hard to say how the team will do without their top striker. They will need to find a replacement soon, but there is not much progress for the team so far. They slowly are giving away points and being a strong opponent should not be struggling as much. We will see how the second half of the season goes for Swansea.
Newcastle United
Position: 10th /26 points
Goals For: 22
Goals Against: 28
Top Scorer: Papiss Cisse, 9 goals
Top Assists: Daryl Janmaat, 4 assists
Newcastle is a team that is always questionable at the beginning of the season. They always start strong, but this season was different. They dropped the first five games of the season, no longer are in the Capital One Cup and FA Cup, but were able to beat Chelsea FC at the beginning of December. The season has been so bad that Newcastle sacked Alan Pardew and is looking to find a replacement soon for him, with Remi Garde being an option for the team. Newcastle hope to find a better manager to bring something new to the team and hope that Papiss Cisse, Moussa Sissoko and Remy Cabella to step it up for the team along with goalkeeper Tim Krul to save the team from conceding goals.
Stoke City
Position: 11th /25 points
Goals For: 21
Goals Against: 23
Top Scorer: Jon Walters, 6 goals
Top Assists: Victor Moses, 4 assists
Stoke City struggled to get points this season. With wins over Arsenal, Everton, West Brom, Swansea, Newcastle and Sunderland, this is where they were able to get 18 points but they have not been able to find that chemistry to beat teams that are underneath them. We have seen some impressive work from loanee Victor Moses, Steven N’Zonzi and Marko Arnautovic. Ryan Shawcross and Peter Crouch have found the chemistry to create goals with Shawcross assisting in some of them along with Mame Biram Diouf.
Everton
Position: 12th /21 points
Goals For: 29
Goals Against: 31
Top Scorer: Romelu Lukaku, 8 goals
Top Assists: Leighton Baines, 11 assists
Everton is not the same team we have seen throughout the past few seasons. With Luke Shaw leaving the team for Manchester United this year, their defence has been vunerable in the left back. Marouane Fellaini also left along with David Moyes last season and lost a great center midfielder. But with coach Roberto Martinez, things have been slowly picking up. With attackers like Romelu Lukaku, Samuel Eto’o and Kevin Mirallas, they can be unstoppable and with Gareth Barry and Steven Pienaar in the middle, they have the ability to create some beautiful plays. But they need the help of their defense and goalkeeper Tim Howard to step it up for the team if they want to move up to at least the top six in the table and have a shot at the Europa league next season.
Aston Villa
Position: 13th/21 points
Goals For: 11
Goals Against: 22
Top Scorer: Christian Benteke, 3 goals
Top Assists: Andreas Weimann, 2 assists
A team that can do much better in the field and stop bigger teams then them, Aston Villa has proven themselves to be more than just a small team. They have given competition to the stronger teams in the EPL throughout the seasons, but more this season than any other. Christian Benteke has been in good form but can be better and with French defender, Aly Cissokho and Dutch Ron Vlaar, they can learn to defend much better. American Brad Guzan has looked great in the goalkeeper position and continues to be in great form, to the point where he might be the replacement the USA national soccer team need when Tim Howard retires.
Sunderland
Position: 14th / 20 points
Goals For: 16
Goals Against: 27
Top Scorer: Adam Johnson, 5 goals
Top Assists: Will Buckley, 3 assists
At the Stadium of Light, it has to be tough to face a team like Sunderland there due to their fans and such enthusiasm and motivation the team gets just from the fans itself. They have been great at home, losing only four times but being able to stop Liverpool, Chelsea, Everton and Manchester United all at home and finishing the game with a tie. With Jozy Altidore back in the lineup after an injury sidelined him, Sunderland hopes that he can bring something to the team and help them move up on the team.
Queens Park Rangers
Position: 15th /18 points
Goals For: 21
Goals Against: 34
Top Scorer: Charlie Austin. 13 goals
Top Assists: Leroy Fer, 3 assits
Coming from the second division round, also known as the Skybet Championship League, it can be a bit terrifying for the three teams that enter the English Premier League. Queens Park Rangers has been in the EPL in the past and know how everything works there, but to stay in the Premier League is tough. Currently in their spot, they are safe from regulation but if they continue in their poor form, they might see themselves enter the Championship League once again. Charlie Austin has been in great form for the team with 13 goals in all competitions, but he will need help from teammates to help QPR from falling into regulation at the end of the season.
West Bromwich Albion
Position: 16th /17 points
Goals For: 18
Goals Against: 28
Top Scorer: Saido Berahino, 14 goals
Top Assists: Chris Brunt, 5 assists
Being at the bottom of the table can be scary for most teams and if you are there in the second half, it can be even worse. Throwing games away and losing points is the one thing a team does not want to do. And that is were West Brom is currently. They cannot afford losing or tying any more games but at the form that they are in, who knows what can happen. They just hope that who ever is in the bottom three continue being there so they don’t have to face regulation.
Hull City
Position: 17th/ 16 points
Goals For: 18
Goals Against: 26
Top Scorer: Nikica Jelavic, 6 goals
Top Assists: Stephen Quinn, 3 assists
Hull City only won two games in the first half of the season. Bringing in the ties is what keeps this team alive as well. 18th place Crystal Palace is right behind them with the same points but the goal difference is what is keeping Hull City out of Regulation. The Tigers need to get some points on the table in order for them to survive and continue in the Premier League. Last season they survived from entering regulation and hope that Crystal Palace, Burnley and Leicester continue in poor form in order to stay in the EPL and have another shot at becoming a better team and give the EPL some competition.
Crystal Palace
Position: 18th/16 points
Goals For: 20
Goals Against: 30
Top Scorer: Dwight Gayle, 8 goals
Top Assists: Yannick Bolasie, 3 assists
Another team that is trying to survive from entering regulation, Crystal Palace tries to maintain a good form throughout the second half but it seems like other teams are fighting for the same thing that Crystal Palace is fighting for and that is to stay in the Premier League. With manager Alan Pardew joining Crystal Palace after leaving Newcastle, Pardew hopes to add players to his roster so that they maintain a great spot in the EPL. Those being linked are defender Yaya Sanogo with Jermain Defoe also being linked to the team. Only time will tell were Crystal Palace will be at the end of the season.
Burnley
Position: 19th/16 points
Goals For: 14
Goals Against: 29
Top Scorer: Danny Ings, 6 goals
Top Assists: Michael Kightly, 3 assists
Another team along with Queens Park Rangers that entered the English Premier League back in August from the Championship league, Burnley seems to struggle to get the wins they need to stay in the Premier League. Nothing seems to be working for them and with only two wins in their pocket, they will need more to be able to survive the Premier League. Though they are capable of being a strong team, it seems like Burnley will maintain its position with so much competition going on in the league. Their only hopes: that West Brom, QPR and Hull City drop points as well and get some more wins.
Leicester City
Position: 20th/13 points
Goals For: 17
Goals Against: 31
Top Scorer: Leonardo Ulloa, 8 goals
Top Assists: Riyad Mahrez, 3 assists
The last time Leicester City was in the Premier League was back in the 2003/04 season. The last time they were close to winning the Premier League, the 1928/29 season with Sheffield Wednesday winning it that year. Leicester has not had a great time when they are in the Premier league with almost every season ending in despair. When the foxes beat Manchester United back in September in a 5-3 score, you would think Leicester would be capable of doing the same thing to Chelsea or Manchester City but it went downhill from there putting them in last place halfway through the midseason.
Featured Image Credit: Barclays Premier League