The Premier League campaign this year has been unusual compared to recent years. Liverpool and Chelsea have suffered huge declines. Arsenal have become a genuine title challenger after failing to finish in the top four positions last season. Newcastle have also made strong strides towards achieving UEFA Champions League qualification.
But is the league still the most competitive in Europe?
Chelsea spent £323M in the January transfer window.
They are currently:
10 points behind Brighton
14 points behind Tottenham
17 points behind Man United
17 points behind Newcastle
28 points behind Man City
34 points behind Arsenal pic.twitter.com/J8HxJCtJBE— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) April 15, 2023
Smaller clubs challenging for Europe
Teams like Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham have taken advantage of the shortcomings of some of the league’s typically strong teams. Both are in contention to qualify for European football. Brighton is a vastly talented team and their current success has been years in the making.
Fulham’s ability to challenge for the European spots immediately after being promoted is remarkable. Premier League revenue allows all of the clubs to invest heavily, which improves the quality of players and competitiveness in the league.
One-team league?
The most competitive leagues always have a number of teams competing in various areas of the table. The title race is between just Arsenal and Manchester City this season. And in truth, it has been a two-horse race and has always involved City for the past five years.
Pep Guardiola’s side has come out on top in four of the last five league seasons. This year they are again the favourite to defend their crown, offered at 4/9 at Bwin. The leading bookmaker offers competitive odds alongside the Bwin big 8 – free to play daily jackpot game which allows players to win a share of 1,000,000 ZMW if they can answer 8 questions correctly.
The platform also offers odds on the Premier League, including City’s remaining fixtures. Perhaps City will keep on winning, or their dominance could come to a surprising end.
129 years ago today, Manchester City was born! ? pic.twitter.com/CzY5pTVhs3
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 16, 2023
Despite City’s years of dominance in the English top flight they have failed to win the UCL. It poses a huge question of how can England’s leading team not have conquered Europe at least once. Surely the most dominant team in the greatest European league would have claimed the famous trophy within a five-year period.
Over in Spain, Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have regularly exchanged the La Liga title over the last five years. The league is much less predictable in terms of its eventual winner each year. Real Madrid has also claimed three UCL titles in the past five editions of the standard format. Los Blancos have dominated the European stage and have seemingly found it more difficult to find success domestically.
The Premier League certainly remains one of the leading leagues, but it does not stand alone anymore. La Liga has produced a wider variety of title winners in recent years. The overall table is much more competitive in England. The relegation fight is dramatic and the European spots will likely be fought for on the final match day.
La Liga tends to offer more competitiveness at the peak of the table, but the Premier League’s complete package is much stronger than La Liga’s offering. If City’s dominance can be broken then there will be no question over which is the most competitive and most exciting league overall.