What We Learned in the Premier League Feb 12, 2024

Week in Review for the English Premier League

We have officially hit the ides of February and the Premier League fatigue for teams may have started to set in. In a season that has seen more than its fair share of unexpected results, we got what most would consider to be a fairly tame weekend. The weekend lacked any “true” marquee matchups but usually that sets the stage for a bottom half of the table club to make some headlines and steal a result. That may seem like it gives us little to talk about, we’ll find the important nuggets from the weekend that was. 

The biggest disappointment of the weekend has to be Luton Town. A bit harsh, perhaps, but in reality they have been playing at a fairly high level in recent weeks yet produced an absolute turd of a result losing 3-1 at home to bottom dwellers Sheffield United. The stat of the game will tell one story: Luton had 75% possession, 13 corners, 20 shots. Yet the game never felt like one where they would leave with all 3 points after Cameron Archer opened the scoring for the Blades in the 30’ minute. A win would have taken them 4 points above Everton in the relegation battle while also holding a game in hand but they failed to take advantage of a situation where they hosted the worst team in the league while Everton had to travel to the Ethiad. Let’s put a star next to this one and revisit in May when the relegation battle inches toward completion. 

Speaking of Manchester City, Erling Haaland is back. They may have struggled to break through Everton’s low block as the Toffees attempted to sneak a point out of Manchester but like a good neighbor, Haaland was there for a brace out of nowhere. City lacked a single shot on target through the first hour or so of the match but when a loose ball in the box found its way to Haaland, he had no hesitation and firmly slotted the ball into the back of the net giving City a (temporary) stay at the top of the League table for the first time in months. 

Liverpool were quick to respond, nodding in 3 headed goals from each of their 3 forwards securing a rather straightforward 3 points from Burnley. It also brings them one step closer to the return of Mohammed Salah who has yet to record a minute for Liverpool in 2024. From what Klopp has said in recent press conferences, that time could come this weekend at Brentford which would set the stage for another neck and neck finish to the Premier League title race.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention Arsenal at this point. While I continue to dismiss any real claims that Arsenal are in a 3-way title race with City and Liverpool, they did manage to get the most impressive result of the weekend. Arsenal scored 4 times in the first half at West Ham sending their fans fleeing for the exits before the ref could even get the halftime whistle blown. Getting 6 goals in a game is always a positive sign for a club, even if that club has had a defensive record that would make even the Portuguese league blush. The good news for Arsenal is that they don’t play City until March 31 and have just Burnley (A), Newcastle H), Sheffield (A), Brentford (H) and Chelsea (H) to play before then which could give them a decent runway to stack points before they are forced to state their case for Title consideration. 

The race for Champions League qualification maintained the status quo this weekend but Manchester United are starting to creep their way into being a potential contender for that 5th spot which may be enough to get into Europe’s top competition based on the new rules. Their 2-1 win vs Aston Villa has them winners of 3 straight matches and inches them to 5 points back of Emery’s squad. The Red Devil’s goal scoring turn of form is a welcomed sight for their fans as they have struggled all season long with their finishing but the question remains if they left themselves too big of a hole to climb out of with the form the top 5 have been in all season long. The good news for Aston Villa is that their schedule softens up for the next few weeks so they should be able to rebound nicely and perhaps build a bit more of a gap should United slip up, especially with a big Manchester derby looming in the first weekend of March.

Tottenham managed to escape with 3 points of their own to keep pace with the rest of the top 4, needing a 96’ winner from Brennan Johnson to send Brighton home empty handed. The return of Son to the squad should revitalize the squad that once had Title dreams in the opening months of the season but now would be happy to simply secure a return to Europe. Between Son’s returns and Richarlison finally looking settled in London, you would have to be optimistic as a Spurs fan that the Champions League anthem should be making a return to Tottenham Stadium come next season.

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Final Thoughts on Chelsea and Crystal Palace

We’ll wrap this week with a quick comment on the Monday afternoon match featuring Chelsea and Crystal Palace. Chelsea have managed 3 goals and a win at Selhurst Park and have once again broken through to the top half of the table. The unfortunate news is that they have looked dire once again except for a fantastic performance from Connor Gallagher who is likely going to be a necessary sacrifice at the end of the season to avert any FFP penalties from being applied for this fiscal year. The good news is that once the books close in June, they have another $300m supposedly waiting for them to spend as frivolously as they have since Boehly took over the club. 

That closes out the 24th chapter of the EPL season. Next weekend looks to be another middling set of matches highlighted by Chelsea’s trip to Manchester City where squad values and transfer expenditures will be discussed ad nauseum. Until then, we can tide ourselves over with the return of Champions League football midweek which you can get yourselves prepped for by watching the Kicks and Picks Podcast Round of 16 Preview over on our Youtube channel!

If you have a pencil handy, I would recommend taking it out and circling “March 9th” in your calendar. On that day, we will get to watch the match that may very likely end up being the title deciding result for the season. Liverpool will host City needing a win to regain the front foot in the battle for first. Arsenal are still lurking, sure. But they still have trips to both Manchester clubs, cross town rivals Tottenham as well as visits from Newcastle, Chelsea and West Ham still to go which is a far tougher task than the remaining schedules for Liverpool and Manchester City. I’ve said it before in this column and I’ll say it again: the Title race this season will once again come down to a showdown between Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. It’s just the nature of the beast that is the English Premier League. 

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