The Four Premier League 2021/22 Title Contenders: Evaluation & Head on Head Match-Up

The Premier League is famous for its upsets and underdog stories. It has had 5 different clubs as Champions in the last 9 seasons, 3 of whom have one more than once and including a run of 4 different ones in 4 consecutive seasons. With regards to the rest of Europe's top 5 leagues, 3 different teams have won La Liga, 3 in Ligue Un (although PSG have won 7), 2 in Serie A (8 having been Juventus) and only a single team has won the Bundesliga, with Bayern dominating throughout that time frame. 

This makes the league really fun to watch, but it is also really hard to pick a winner because of it. I have, however, whittled it down to 4 teams who would win the league fairly unsurprisingly. While I think if Leicester can hold on to Tielemans they could have an outside shot at winning, I would be greatly surprised if the next champion was not Chelsea, Liverpool or either of the two Manchester clubs. I will first do a short team evaluation, and then move on to the player-by-player analysis, so please bear with me.

Chelsea

The first title contender is European Champions Chelsea. The club had stages of brilliance and failure in fairly quick succession under Frank Lampard, but they were doing pretty well and his sacking, at least at the time, surprised me. However, the decision to snap up Tuchel before any other teams could hire him was an excellent move, and Chelsea have been a scary prospect to face under him, with their lightning-quick attack outshone only by their dedicated and consistently-brilliant defense. 

I have been quite surprised by how few football fans seem to be tipping Chelsea for the title. Under Tuchel they have had the league's best team defensively and goals have been coming in from pretty much everyone except the keepers. The relatively-new attackers seem to have settled in and they have possibly the best squad depth in the league. While the departure of Olivier Giroud for a really low price is a bit questionable, I'm sure the club had its reasons and he was not necessary for this season.

Liverpool 

While Liverpool have pretty questionable depth, they have one of the, if not the single, best starting 11s in the world. If they do indeed sign a world-class midfielder such as Tielemans their chances will only be improved. They are also the only team to have beaten City to the title in the last 4 seasons. 

With the return of VVD, Gomez, Henderson, etc., they should be really to come back for revenge after their significant fall to 3rd subsequent to their win two seasons ago. Like City, almost all of the team know what it is like to win the title. Konate is adding to their defensive depth and is another Liverpool player who hasn't yet reached the peak of his potential powers. Overall, they are almost certainly going to challenge for the Champion's League and FA Cup as well as their domestic title.

Manchester City 

I mean, this was obvious. While the absence of an obvious center forward choice is definitely gonna be an issue, the current Champions are certain to challenge for the title again. Also, let me say the obvious: while I am a huge Premier League and England fan, the English media loves to overhype certain players. 

So here it is: I'm picking Ferran Torres over Foden for the head-on-head comparison. I think Torres is about just as good as Foden, but there is one important difference: their positions. When not out on the wing, Foden plays in attacking midfield, while Torres is much more suited to playing up front. And I definitely don't want Sterling to be forced out of position. And if you want to know my opinion, he is City's best forward full-stop.

Manchester United 

I am a Liverpool fan, and therefore have had many big arguments with United fans. However, no sensible person who knows anything about football could argue with the fact that the introduction of Sancho and Varane to the team will make a remarkable difference. And this is to a team who finished second last year. 

While there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding next season's starting eleven, I think Solksjaer has earned enough trust so that fans will be confident he will make the right call. I'm not going to lie to you, I think the other three teams are slightly more likely to win it simply because they are less likely to completely flop, but the 15-20 per cent chance they do have should be encouraging to United fans after a long period with little success, domestic and elsewhere.

Head-on-Head Matchups 

To inform you all about how this will work, I will be picking each teams most likely starting eleven and then roughly dividing them up into eleven categories, each of which will have one representative from each club. I will then rank these players based on ability and award points accordingly. I have had to accommodate for the different formations, so I haven't made a mistake if, for instance, a left wing-back finds themselves placed up against left backs. First place in their group will earn 5 points, followed by 3, 2 and 0 for the subsequent players. The categories, elevens, orders and point tallies follow. 

Categories: GK, LB, CB, CB, RB, CDM, CM, CAM, LW, CF, RW 

Chelsea Team (5-1-3-1): Mendy, Chilwell, Rudiger, Silva, Azpilicueta, James, Kanté, Ziyech, Mount, Havertz, Werner 

Liverpool Team (4-3-3): Alisson, Robertson, Virgil, Konate, Alexander-Arnold, Thiago, Fabinho, Henderson, Mané, Firmino, Salah 

City Team (4-3-3): Ederson, Zinchenko, Stones, Dias, Walker, Gundogan, Cancelo, de Bruyne, Sterling, Torres, Mahrez 

United Team (4-3-3): Henderson, Shaw, Maguire, Varane, Wan Bissaka, Fernandes, Rashford, Cavani, Sancho 

Goalkeepers: Alisson, Ederson, Mendy, Henderson 

Left Backs: Robertson, Chilwell, Shaw, Zinchenko 

Center Backs: Van Dijk, Maguire, Rudiger, Stones 

Center Backs: Varane, Dias, Silva, Konate 

Right Backs: Alexander-Arnold, Wan Bissaka, James, Walker 

Defensive Midfielders: Fabinho, Pogba, Cancelo, Azpilicueta (Had to fit him in)

Central Midfielders: Kanté, Gundogan, Thiago, van de Beek 

Attacking Midfielders: de Bruyne, Fernandes, Mount, Henderson 

Left Winger: Sterling, Rashford, Mané, Ziyech 

Center Forward: Cavani, Firmino, Werner, Torres 

Right Winger: Salah, Sancho, Mahrez, Havertz 

Point Tallies: 

Chelsea 21

Liverpool 36

City 23

United 30

There is probably going to be quite a lot to disagree with, so please remember that this is just my opinion and you are perfectly welcome to add yours in the comments. Do you think I have picked the wrong title contenders, or the wrong elevens, or that a player is better than someone I placed ahead of them? Do you think Liverpool will win the league, or get beaten by United (who came second here) or will neither win, rather City or Chelsea or Leicester or someone entirely different? Who knows! Please remember to follow me on social media to keep up with when I post and I will see you guys when next I do that. Have a good day further! Noah XD