EPL TALK: Three key title contenders in 'statement wins'

SINGAPORE — How have your favourite English Premier League (EPL) teams performed over the past week? Yahoo News Singapore looks at the key talking points surrounding the league in this weekly review:

North London derby win continues renaissance of Spurs, Mourinho

WHAT HAPPENED: Derbies are often ferocious and unpredictable, and the form book is often thrown out as neighbouring teams fight tooth and nail with bragging rights on the line.

Yet, Tottenham’s 2-0 win over arch-rivals Arsenal on Sunday (6 December) was totally predictable, and in line with the current contrasting forms of the two teams.

Spurs – top of the EPL table on goal difference – were organised, patient and deadly, scoring two superb goals as they absorbed the Gunners’ attack and counter-attacked with verve and incisiveness from their Dynamic Duo – Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

On the other hand, Arsenal struggled badly, bereft of confidence at their poor start to the season and, despite peppering the Spurs penalty box with 44 crosses, were unable to produce the cutting edge to end their poor scoring run.

Their slump is reaching worrying depths as they are mired in 15th place with 13 points – already 11 points off Spurs – with only 10 goals scored in 11 matches. Only the bottom four clubs have scored fewer goals, a damning statistic to a side with attacking talents such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Willian.

Their rookie manager Mikel Arteta is under immense pressure to turn things around fast, yet is helpless in lifting a mediocre side to overachievement. Many of the current Gunners are not responding to his man-management and are stagnating in development.

By contrast, wily Jose Mourinho is enjoying a superb renaissance in reviving Tottenham’s title-challenging abilities, after Spurs stagnated last season under previous manager Mauricio Pochettino.

He anticipated Arteta would go for broke in this derby, and set up his squad astutely to absorb their opponents’ attack and then hit them on the break. And Spurs followed his tactics to a tee: Son scored with a beautiful curling shot after a lightning-fast counter, and Kane did likewise with a thunderous shot after Son released him following another storming run.

Perhaps Mourinho is the right manager for Spurs after all the initial doubts upon his appointment last year. With Spurs starved of league success for 60 years, they are receptive to his unstylish but utterly effective brand of football and are now proving tougher to beat than anytime in their recent history.

Will Son, Kane and Mourinho lead Spurs to the promised land? They have to deal with a formidable force in defending champions Liverpool, as well as fast-improving Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City. But if the Dynamic Duo can continue their stellar form, they have every chance to battle until the end of the season.

WHAT’S NEXT: Spurs have a somewhat tricky away tie to Crystal Palace, who mauled West Bromwich Albion 5-1 on Saturday and are well-organised in defence. Arsenal, on the other hand, need to win at home to Burnley to put an end to their slump.

Blues seeing rewards of splurging in off-season

WHAT HAPPENED: Slowly but surely, Chelsea are reaping the benefits of their willingness to splurge £220 million (S$390 million) of off-season signings.

The likes of newcomers Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Mendy have massively boosted the Blues’ title-challenging credentials, so much so that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp declared Chelsea as “favourites” for the title because of their deep and talented squad.

And the German may have a point, as Chelsea crossed a potentially tricky hurdle in beating Leeds 3-1 on Saturday. While the new signings did not score, they were key in blending in well with the veterans in the team and seizing their chances to impress.

But are they, like Klopp said, favourites for the title? That is debatable because of one crucial factor – the inexperience of manager Frank Lampard. Both Tottenham and Liverpool have outstanding managers in Mourinho and Klopp respectively, and they have far more know-how in managing teams for sustained title assaults.

This is not to say Lampard has no talent in doing so, but he is in only his third season of being a manager and has yet to prove himself as a league-winning one. It is hard to envision him outwitting either of those two rival managers, or even being as inspirational to his players as Klopp or Mourinho.

Nonetheless, Chelsea are definitely in the running with all their vibrant talents in full flow. Even if they fall short of winning the title, their squad depth will serve them well in the coming seasons and, who knows, Lampard could grow into a good-enough tactician to return the Blues to their title-winning glory days.

WHAT’S NEXT: To stretch their unbeaten league run to 10 matches, Chelsea have to travel to Goodison Park to face an Everton side which have cooled after their hot start to the season. Still, it would be a fascinating clash against their former manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Reds find swagger just in time for easy stretch

WHAT HAPPENED: Amid the twin title-challenging threats in Tottenham and Chelsea, defending champions Liverpool are still chugging along despite dealing with a long injury list and a crammed schedule.

And, as their injury problem is starting to clear up, the Reds put on a show on Sunday at Anfield – where fans are allowed in for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A storming 4-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers was a “statement win”, warning the rest of the challengers that the Reds are not going to bow down to their injury and fixture woes.

And with fans back in the stands, their staggering 65-match league unbeaten home run looks unlikely to be broken.

The win also sets up a stretch of winnable games that stretches to the end of January, when they will face Tottenham away: Fulham away, Spurs at home, Crystal Palace away, West Brom at home, Newcastle away, Southampton away, Burnley at home and Manchester United at home

Things could be looking rosier for Liverpool soon – and more ominous for their rivals.

WHAT’S NEXT: Fulham look incapable of stopping this Reds juggernaut, even at home. With the midweek Champions League against FC Midtjylland a dead rubber because they have already qualified for the knockout stages in top spot, this is by far the easiest week so far in Liverpool’s season.

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