Premier league: A two-horse race already?

With Chelsea’s 3-1 shock defeat to West Ham, the gap between the two Manchester sides and the rest of the pack has widened. Chelsea now trail the league leaders United by 10 points and champions of last season, Manchester City, by seven.

It may still be early days and with 24 matches to go until the end of the season it probably isn’t wise to suggest that the title will be decided between the Manchester rivals. However, considering the consistency both sides bring to the English league as well as the ruthless goal creating and scoring both teams generate, it’s hard to overlook their dominance.

Chelsea have only managed to pick up two points from a possible 15 under Rafael Benitez and that has played a significant role in their table position. The west London team have 26 points but they do have winnable matches coming up against struggling Sunderland and Southampton respectively.

Tottenham’s impressive 3-0 away win at Craven Cottage put them equal on points with Chelsea, whilst West Bromwich Albion’s defeat to Stoke ended their fairy tale run as a result of which they have slipped out of the top four.

Arsenal’s humiliating 0-2 home loss to Swansea meant that they didn’t pick up any points and therefore missed out on the chance to be sixth in the table; instead they remain 10th. Arsène Wenger admitted that the performance of the Gunners was far from acceptable and that the frustration expressed by the booing fans was “understandable”. The Frenchman also said that, after the defeat at Emirates Stadium, he had to do a lot of assessment on the players and the team as a whole.

Next weekend, Manchester United face Manchester City for one of the most intriguing matches of the season and no doubt the outcome will be pivotal for the top three. It could determine whether Chelsea can still catch up, or if it is indeed going to be a battle of Manchester giants.

                                                  Umida Ibrahimova, sports correspondent