This year’s Premier League season is brilliantly unpredictable

This season has been one of the strangest in Premier League history. The likes of Blackpool and Wolves have both achieved remarkable victories at Liverpool’s Anfield.

Sunderland beat league champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. West Brom blew Arsenal away at the Emirates and hammered Everton at Goodison Park.

Unpredictable

This season has also been the most unpredictable Premier League campaign in recent years.

On Wednesday night I sat down fully expecting to watch Liverpool easily turn over Wolves. The visitors however had other ideas, as they shocked the hosts 1-0. This result was typical of how this season has gone.

It’s these sorts of results that have made the Premier League so interesting to watch this season. The bottom half of the table has some unfamiliar names down there. The likes of Everton, Liverpool and Aston Villa are all in the bottom half of the table.

Underachieving

All three are more used to being in top six of the Premier League than the bottom ten. However this season all three have had a poor first half of the season. I have no doubts that the two Merseyside giants will finish higher up in the table.

Villa could be in trouble though. They are currently depending on youngsters and confidence is very low at the Villans. Villa Manager Gerard Houllier isn’t exactly the most popular guy in the Midlands either unless you ask West Brom or Birmingham City fans!

Villa currently find themselves just one point outside the relegation zone with a trip to champions Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. If I was a Villa fan I would be very nervous right now.

Fantastic

The standout team of the Premier League season at the halfway stage has to be Blackpool. The Seasider’s are in eight place in the Premier League table with up to three games in-hand on the teams around them.

I have never hid my admiration for Ian Holloway’s side and they have been fantastic this season. Their attacking approach to the game has proved a breath of fresh air in the Premier League. I think they are fast becoming everybody’s second team.

I was hoping that the Tangerines would stay up and it’s looking like they could be capable of surviving in the Premier League.

Open

The league is so wide open it’s unbelievable. Everton in 11^th are just three points off 18^th placed Fulham. One win could take you up five places in the Premier League table and it’s absolutely fascinating.

The relegation battle will probably go right down to the wire. Blackpool, Blackburn and Bolton were three of the favourites to be relegated at the start of the season, yet they are currently midtable looking securely down at the relegation zone.

In fact the three North West clubs are looking at challenging for a European place instead. They are not safe yet with half of the season till left to run and could still be dragged into the dogfight, it looks unlikely though. With those three unlikely to be relegated other clubs will be in trouble.

Strugglers

The bottom of the Premier League table isn’t clear and cut. Nobody has been cut adrift like in normal seasons. Bottom club West Ham are just two points away from 17^th place and safety that’s how tight it is.

The bottom teams are all showing enough fight to make the relegation places hard to predict. The likes of Wigan, Wolves and West Ham all achieved vital victories over the festive period. I’m not even going to try to predict who will go down.

Title

The top of the Premier League table is just as competitive as the bottom, which is unusual for England’s top flight. Five teams are realistically challenging for the title.

The usual suspects of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are there with the new challengers of Manchester City and Tottenham also battling away at the top. Again it would take a wiser man than me to predict how that race will finish. With no runaway leaders it’s anybody’s title.

Exciting

Before this season started I believe the Premier League had become slightly boring because it was too predictable. This season has restored my faith in the excitement of the Premier League and I just can’t wait to see what happens next.

Is this the most exciting season in recent Premier League history?