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Team P W D L F A W D L F A GD PTS
1 Arsenal 25 11 2 0 29 8 7 4 1 23 10 34 60
2 Man Utd 25 12 1 0 31 3 6 3 3 18 9 37 58
3 Chelsea 25 8 4 0 23 8 8 2 3 15 9 21 54
4 Everton 25 7 2 3 23 11 6 3 4 17 12 17 44
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5 Liverpool 24 5 6 1 26 9 6 4 2 14 8 23 43
6 Aston Villa 24 7 2 4 20 16 4 6 1 23 15 12 41
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7 Man City 25 9 3 1 21 11 2 5 5 11 17 4 41
8 Blackburn 25 5 4 4 13 13 5 5 2 19 18 1 39
9 Portsmouth 25 3 7 2 15 10 7 1 5 20 16 9 38
10 West Ham 24 5 4 3 15 12 5 2 5 14 10 7 36
GAP
11 Tottenham 25 6 2 4 33 22 1 6 6 12 19 4 29
12 Newcastle 24 5 4 3 16 17 2 2 8 11 25 -15 27
13 Bolton 25 5 4 4 17 11 1 3 8 9 23 -8 25
14 Middlesbrough 24 3 4 5 13 18 3 3 6 8 19 -16 25
15 Wigan 25 5 2 5 15 14 1 3 9 9 26 -16 23
16 Sunderland 25 6 3 3 15 13 0 2 11 9 32 -21 23
17 Reading 25 6 1 6 14 19 0 3 9 16 33 -22 22
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18 Birmingham 25 3 4 5 13 14 2 2 9 11 23 -13 21
19 Fulham 24 2 5 5 16 21 0 5 7 7 21 -19 16
20 Derby 25 1 3 8 8 21 0 3 10 5 31 -39 9
A pretty large 7 point gap has formed between 10th and 11th placed clubs.
Looking at the clubs above, they're all capable of finishing in the 5th/6th spots.
Of the teams below the gap, its fair to say that Spurs have massively underachieved this season and I wouldn't be surprised if they managed to sneak into the top 8 or so. 6th will be a bridge too far though I think.
Of the rest below the line, Newcastle and Middlesbrough stand out.
Boro haven't really invested toom much in the squad in the last couple of years, and losing Yakubu and Viduka was a huge blow for them. Alves is a step in the right direction though and they have a fantastic youth academy which seems to be constantly churning out players with EPL potential.
Newcastle have been underachieving this season, like Spurs, but unlike spurs they lack a lot of quality, especially in central midfield. I expect Ashley will give Keegan a fair sum to address this in the summer though.
So, at the moment, the gap that has formed, probably isn't a true reflection on team quality.
Aside from the teams I've mentioned below the line though, is there any chance for the other teams?
None have any real standout player that you'd value at over £10m. They generally don't have particularly highly regarded managers. If they manage to stay up this season, along with next seasons promoted teams they'll be regarded as relegtion candidates.
So, is there a noticeable gap now forming in the EPL?
Of all the teams above the gap, there aren't any that I could imagine slipping up next season and having to fight it out to stay up. They all have good depth, quality across the pitch and one or two stand out players that would command large transfer fees.
1 Arsenal 25 11 2 0 29 8 7 4 1 23 10 34 60
2 Man Utd 25 12 1 0 31 3 6 3 3 18 9 37 58
3 Chelsea 25 8 4 0 23 8 8 2 3 15 9 21 54
4 Everton 25 7 2 3 23 11 6 3 4 17 12 17 44
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5 Liverpool 24 5 6 1 26 9 6 4 2 14 8 23 43
6 Aston Villa 24 7 2 4 20 16 4 6 1 23 15 12 41
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7 Man City 25 9 3 1 21 11 2 5 5 11 17 4 41
8 Blackburn 25 5 4 4 13 13 5 5 2 19 18 1 39
9 Portsmouth 25 3 7 2 15 10 7 1 5 20 16 9 38
10 West Ham 24 5 4 3 15 12 5 2 5 14 10 7 36
GAP
11 Tottenham 25 6 2 4 33 22 1 6 6 12 19 4 29
12 Newcastle 24 5 4 3 16 17 2 2 8 11 25 -15 27
13 Bolton 25 5 4 4 17 11 1 3 8 9 23 -8 25
14 Middlesbrough 24 3 4 5 13 18 3 3 6 8 19 -16 25
15 Wigan 25 5 2 5 15 14 1 3 9 9 26 -16 23
16 Sunderland 25 6 3 3 15 13 0 2 11 9 32 -21 23
17 Reading 25 6 1 6 14 19 0 3 9 16 33 -22 22
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18 Birmingham 25 3 4 5 13 14 2 2 9 11 23 -13 21
19 Fulham 24 2 5 5 16 21 0 5 7 7 21 -19 16
20 Derby 25 1 3 8 8 21 0 3 10 5 31 -39 9
A pretty large 7 point gap has formed between 10th and 11th placed clubs.
Looking at the clubs above, they're all capable of finishing in the 5th/6th spots.
Of the teams below the gap, its fair to say that Spurs have massively underachieved this season and I wouldn't be surprised if they managed to sneak into the top 8 or so. 6th will be a bridge too far though I think.
Of the rest below the line, Newcastle and Middlesbrough stand out.
Boro haven't really invested toom much in the squad in the last couple of years, and losing Yakubu and Viduka was a huge blow for them. Alves is a step in the right direction though and they have a fantastic youth academy which seems to be constantly churning out players with EPL potential.
Newcastle have been underachieving this season, like Spurs, but unlike spurs they lack a lot of quality, especially in central midfield. I expect Ashley will give Keegan a fair sum to address this in the summer though.
So, at the moment, the gap that has formed, probably isn't a true reflection on team quality.
Aside from the teams I've mentioned below the line though, is there any chance for the other teams?
None have any real standout player that you'd value at over £10m. They generally don't have particularly highly regarded managers. If they manage to stay up this season, along with next seasons promoted teams they'll be regarded as relegtion candidates.
So, is there a noticeable gap now forming in the EPL?
Of all the teams above the gap, there aren't any that I could imagine slipping up next season and having to fight it out to stay up. They all have good depth, quality across the pitch and one or two stand out players that would command large transfer fees.
because their main ambition next season will be qualifying for Europe.
.
