Premier League Mid-Season Review: Who wins the title and who stays up?
As we pass the halfway mark of the Premier League season, the title race and the relegation battles are starting to intensify.
Let's look at the different teams hunting for the title, the surprise packages of the season, and the teams who have the best chance of survival.
Treble winners, Manchester City look to be back on track to win their fourth Premier League title in a row, having won their last two games after drawing two and losing one in the four previous Premier League games.
Pep Guardiola's men tend to mount a title challenge late on in this season, having overtaken Arsenal last year when the 'Gunners' were eight points clear in January. With Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland returning, they must be the favorites to do it again.
Is it going to be the same old Arsenal in this campaign? The 'Gunners' were top at Christmas again this season, but losses to Fulham and West Ham have stopped Arsenal fans from dreaming once again.
This month will be key for Arsenal if they are serious about challenging for the title, needing a striker desperately in this transfer window. Bukayo Saka is the club's top scorer with six Premier League goals. A return that is not good enough if they want to beat City.
Jurgen Klopp can't believe his luck that Liverpool are potential title contenders, having rebuilt their entire midfield, but with Allison, Virgil Van Dijk, and Mohammed Salah back to their best, Liverpool can dream of a title again.
Liverpool is the current leader of the Premier League, losing only one game all season thanks to their impeccable defense. However, with Salah going to the Africa Cup of Nations, the rest of Liverpool's attack must step up to keep the challenge on.
Aston Villa have been the biggest surprise at the halfway point of the campaign, sitting in second on 42 points, winning 13 games and losing four.
Since Unai Emery came into the job, he has got the whole squad firing, with Ollie Watkins being a revelation, scoring nine goals already in the league. For 2023, Villa had the second-best record in the league, gaining 85 points in 42 games. Can they win the league?
With nearly $1 billion spent and the average age of the team being 23, Chelsea has yet again looked sub-par under new manager Mauricio Pochettino. With the investments they have made, the fans would have expected a better return than tenth so far.
Young star Cole Palmer is starting to find his feet, and big-money signing and Bundesliga top scorer Christopher Nkunku is now back from injury, giving Chelsea fans renewed hope that they could finish in the top six.
Since sacking Steve Cooper and bringing in Nuno Espirito Santo, Nottingham Forest look rejuvenated and are steering themselves away from the bottom three after beating Newcastle and Manchester United in the last two.
With a front three of Morgan Gibbs White, Anthony Elanga, and Callum Hudson-Odoi, which is spearheaded by the now inform Chris Wood, Forest can look above them in the table and not below.
Very few people give Luton Town a chance at staying up in the Premier League this season but after huge wins against Newcastle and Sheffield United, Rob Edwards looks to have got his players competing against the best.
By utilizing a more direct approach, Luton Town will give themselves the best chance of staying up if they can continue to feed Starman Elijah Adebayo with set pieces and crosses, the tactic that scared Manchester City and Arsenal earlier this season.