The ‘midas touch’ when it comes to the

The Premier League is where England’s bestfootball clubs battle each week to be crowned the best team in the country, however, it does not only attract a fan base from within the United Kingdom. The competition is so competitive, whetherit be at the top of the table or whether it be the fight for survival, withthree of a possible 20 teams being relegated at the end of the campaign, itattracts a global audience. Football is the main sport for the majorityof the population of Great Britain, and stadiums in the top-flight can almostsell-out all their tickets for each fixture played, however, nearly a furtherone million people tune into the league’s fixtures on television. The Premier League attracts a number of thegame’s best players, with the likes of Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba involved, whilst greats like Cristiano Ronaldo have also featured in the past. The top-flight has been unpredictable inrecent years, with a number of shocks and surprises to have happened over theAugust to May period the games are played in. Two seasons ago saw the extraordinary riseof Leicester City be crowned as champions, when they almost faced being dumpedout of the competition and heading down to the Championship. Last year saw Chelsea take the honours inAntonio Conte’s first year in charge at Stamford Bridge, however, ManchesterCity are returning back to the top of the summit with incredible performances. Pep Guardiola, who is regarded as one ofthe best managers in the world of football, struggled to make an impact in hisfirst season at the Etihad Stadium, however, he has managed to find the bestway for his team to play at a consistent level, with many scared to playagainst them for fear they will concede too many goals.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich bossappears to have the ‘ Midas Touch’ when it comes to the sport, as everything heis involved in turns to a high-quality standard. His team, at the halfway stage of theseason, do not look as though they will be caught this year, sitting 15 pointsclear from second placed Manchester United, with Kevin De Bruyne and RaheemSterling catching the eyes of many. Due to the small geographical area Englandcovers, there are plenty of teams that compete against each other based in thesame city, leaving some of the fixtures with some intensity and passion. Manchester City and Manchester Unitedcontinue to fight out the battles in the north of the country, whilst Evertonand Liverpool have a heated rivalry in the west of the nation. The Red Devils and the Anfield side are themost decorated clubs in the country when it comes to domestic honours and oftenleads to heated exchanges.  London also plays host to a number ofclashes, which are known as local derbies, with no fewer than five teams basedin the capital – although Watford could also be considered.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, TottenhamHotspur and West Ham United are all based in the nation’s capital and allcontest competitive fixtures against each other, with Arsenal and Spurs one ofthe highly anticipated games. Those two sides will meet again inFebruary, whilst later in the month a big Sunday of football see’s some of thebest teams compete against each other. Arsenal will host Manchester City at theEmirates Stadium, whilst Chelsea will travel to the famous Old Trafford Stadiumto take on Manchester United against former manager Jose Mourinho. The title, if it has not already beendecided, could all come down to a huge match on the first Saturday of March, which see’s current holders Chelsea visit Manchester City.