There are now eight teams in the power rankings down from ten as the most interesting battle now comes below the leaders. There are 11 points that separate second place from sixth place, and with the Champions League and Europa League starting back up over the next couple weeks along with the FA Cup, the race for the European spots will be something to watch.
All stats and numbers as of Tuesday, February 6th.
1. Manchester City
EPL Title Odds: -25000
Manchester City still has an 11-point lead atop the table after a 1-1 draw at Burnley in which Danilo scored for the leaders, but they allowed a late equalizer. It is an important time for City, who will host Leicester City on Saturday in the league and then next Tuesday, they’ll head to Basel for the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie. City are also still in the EFL Cup and you have to wonder if all these games will be an issue for them as they already have a slew of injuries. John Stones (knee) and David Silva (abdominal) might be back this weekend, while Leroy Sane (ankle), Gabriel Jesus (knee) and Fabian Delph (knee) definitely won’t.
2. Manchester United
EPL Title Odds: +6000
Manchester United sit in second place after a 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town as Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku found the back of the net. It was much needed after their loss at Tottenham, which was so bad that Paul Pogba was benched for Huddersfield, although he came on as a sub. United will head to Newcastle on Sunday in the league and they might have Phil Jones (illness) back. However, Maroune Fellaini (knee), Daley Blind (ankle), Eric Bailly (ankle) and Zlatan Ibrahimovich (knee) likely won’t be.
3. Liverpool
EPL Title Odds: +15000
Liverpool are in third place, five points behind Manchester United, after a 2-2 draw at home with Tottenham. They got a pair of goals from Mohamed Salah, including one in second-half injury time. But they allowed an equalizer immediately after that and while there was controversy, it was par for the course for Liverpool’s season as their defense came back to bite them. They’ll head to Southampton on Sunday and then visit Porto in the first leg of their Champions League tie on Wednesday, and they don’t have many important injuries to worry about. Joe Gomez (knee) could return this weekend, as could Adam Lallana (muscle). But Lallana might sit another game after getting into trouble in a U-23 game as he tried to choke an opponent.
4. Chelsea
EPL Title Odds: +25000
Chelsea are a point behind Liverpool after a 4-1 loss at Watford as Eden Hazard scored a great goal, but Tiemoue Bakayoko got sent off after 30 minutes. Chelsea have now lost their last two matches by a score of 7-1 and Antonio Conte’s job might be on the line as they host West Brom next Monday, and then Hull City visits Chelsea next Friday in the FA Cup. Marcos Alonso (muscle) could be in action in their next game, but Pedro (ankle), Ross Barkley (hamstring), Alvaro Morata (back) and Andreas Christensen (hamstring) are probably out. Chelsea needs all hands on deck as they also have a huge meeting with Barcelona in the Champions League on the horizon, but they might have to start thinking about what is more important: the Premier League or the Champions League.
5. Tottenham
EPL Title Odds: +25000
Tottenham are a point behind Chelsea after rescuing their draw at Liverpool as Victor Wanyama got them on the board in the 80th minute. Then Harry Kane scored on a penalty in the 95th minute after missing one five minutes earlier. Kane might have been offside before taking the first penalty and the second penalty, won by Eric Lamela, might have been a dive, but Tottenham will take all the points they can. Tottenham has a big week coming up as they host Newport County in an FA Cup replay on Wednesday, and then they host their rivals from Arsenal on Saturday before travelling to Juventus to begin their Champions League tie. Fortunately for Tottenham, they don’t have any major injuries right now.
6. Arsenal
EPL Title Odds: +100000
Arsenal are four points behind Tottenham after their 5-1 rout of Everton at home as Aaron Ramsey had a hat trick. Laurent Koscielny also scored and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang added one on his debut, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan added three assists for Arsenal, and the new signings could be huge for this team as Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan played together at Borussia Dortmund and had a lot of success from 2013 to 2016. Arsenal will need them both to step up as they head to Tottenham on Saturday, and then next Thursday they’ll head to Ostersunds FK to kick off their tie in the Europa League. Petr Cech (calf) and Nacho Monreal (illness) will hopefully be back this weekend, but Danny Welbeck (muscle) is a major doubt.
7. Burnley
EPL Title Odds: +450000
Burnley are nine points behind Arsenal after their home draw with Manchester City as Johann Gudmundsson scored in the 82nd minute. It was a crucial point for Burnley, who will visit Swansea City on Saturday. They have a number of injuries to deal with, led by Phil Bardsley (knee), Steven Defour (knee) and James Tarkowski (groin), all of whom won’t play this weekend. However, Burnley aren’t in any other competitions outside of the Premier League, so they won’t stretch their squad too thin.
8. Leicester City
EPL Title Odds: +450000
Leicester are a point behind Burnley after a 1-1 draw at home with Swansea City as Jamie Vardy found the back of the net. However, Riyad Mahrez continues to sit out as he is unhappy that he wasn’t moved to Manchester City at the transfer deadline and this threatens to be a major issue for the club. Leicester travels to Manchester City on Saturday and the last thing they need is for this Mahrez situation to be hanging over their heads; it doesn’t look good for either the player or the club.
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