English Premier League: The Showmax Pro’s review of the season so far

We’re nine matchdays into a Premier League season that can so far be defined by a jaw-dropping transfer window, the possibility of a three-way title race and the excitement of fans back in the stadium.

How do the big clubs fare in their quarterly report? Here’s what you need to know to influence your choices in games to watch and the information you need to prove that you are also a Showmax Pro.

Stream EPL, La Liga and Serie A, plus more top-flight football on Showmax Pro live. Not a Showmax Pro yet? Find out more about how to stream live sports, news, music and more »

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Chelsea

Being top of the table is the obvious and biggest positive. You also know you’re in a good space when your 100 million pound striker is injured and you can still score seven in a Premier League game. Less than a year into the job, Thomas Tuchel has impressed as a manager with good ideas on how to adapt tactically (as seen in their draw against Liverpool) and how to use all the quality backup at his disposal (as seen in their win against Spurs).

Less than a year into the job, Thomas Tuchel has impressed as a manager.

Prediction

Champions. Apart from the minor question that Tuchel might not know what his best team is and that they fell short against Manchester City recently, in a season where some back-and-forth results are expected at the top, the Blues are the best equipped to add the Premier League title to their UEFA Champions League one.

Manchester City

Currently third on the table and despite all their riches, they did not manage to secure a proper, textbook centre forward in the transfer window despite offering a serious chunk of Emirati wealth at Tottenham for Harry Kane. They did however break some British records signing Jack Grealish, which confirms Pep Guardiola’s ultimate dream of trying to win the Premier League with a team of eleven attacking midfielders.

Prediction

Second. They’ll finish with the best goal difference in the division and will still beat the odd side 8-0, but that lack of centre forward will end up costing them points in certain games where they’ll need what they don’t have to break the deadlock. While everywhere else in the squad looks solid for any eventuality, it could all be a moot point next season when the players all follow serious chunks of Saudi wealth and join Newcastle.

They’ll finish with the best goal difference in the division.

Liverpool

Still all thrills under Jurgen Klopp, everyone’s calling Mo Salah the best in the world, they’ve got much better luck with injuries than last season (so far) and they just beat their big rivals five-nil. It’s a quality squad, albeit with a defence that doesn’t look quite as reliable as two years ago, or at least not as reliable as the two teams mentioned above.

Prediction

Third in a very tight three-horse race. While Liverpool might have the best first eleven in the division, they fall a little shorter when it comes to the squad depth of Chelsea and Manchester City who seem to have roughly 127 world-class players to call on at any given time. This should result in them finishing a bit behind the other two over a 38-game season.

Manchester United

Remember that time when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo and everyone was getting excited about the prospect of a genuine four-way title race? Yeah … that’s not happening.

Prediction

Fourth, which might even seem overly generous right now but it’s where their season will even out. It’s becoming clearer by the day Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not on the same level as Klopp, Guardiola or Tuchel. He’ll either improve results a bit or (and this is way more likely) he won’t last and they’ll bring in someone else who will.

Arsenal

The memes were flowing for Arsenal after losing their first three games without a goal, but a little upturn in results and an emphatic North London derby win has shown that there’s some fire in the old cannon yet. It was always going to be a mammoth task for Mikel Arteta to get the Gunners towards being the club they used to be. While they’re still far from there, are we seeing that the “work in progress” is actually, sort of working?

There’s some fire in the old cannon yet.

Prediction

Fifth. Seems a far cry from how it all looked at the beginning of the season, but some heavy investment has brought a little more depth in certain areas which will even out to them being an improved, but still flawed side from last season.

Tottenham

After seemingly offering just about any manager in Europe a job after dismissing Jose Mourinho, Spurs settled on Nuno Espirito Santo and it all looked to be going along swimmingly when they pulled off an opening weekend win against Manchester City without Harry Kane. Was it all just a good start to the season that papered over some cracks? Hint: the answer is yes.

Prediction

Sixth. Mauricio Pochettino’s feats of consistently getting Spurs into the UEFA Champions League will probably only be truly appreciated in hindsight. The truth is they don’t have the squad that other top clubs possess. Harry Kane will recover from an initial slump and score goals, but it all points to him getting less chances than he used to and they’ll need more than they have to back it up. They’ll have enough to finish ahead of Leicester this season.