It’s a foregone conclusion that Chelsea will win the 2014/15 Premier League title. If you’re a Chelsea supporter, you may disagree partly because you don’t want the team to be jinxed or you don’t want complacency to settle in. However, in a season where Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are all misfiring and suffering from defensive lapses aplenty, it would be nothing short of a miracle if one of those top four sides could topple Chelsea at the summit of the Premier League table.

On top of that, you have a Chelsea side that appears indestructible. There are no weaknesses in this Chelsea side, and their bench is just as awe-inspiring as the team on the pitch. Don’t be surprised if Jose Mourinho’s team have wrapped up the Premier League title before the beginning of April.

If you remove Chelsea from the Premier League table, the battle between the clubs in positions two through twenty is completely riveting.

Sitting in “first place” is Southampton, the surprise team of the 2014/15 Premier League season thus far. The Saints have opened up a gap of four points at the “top” of the table, having won its past four matches in a row.

Defensively, Southampton have been solid as a rock in defense and have a +18 goal difference, which is the best in the league.

Yes, everyone has been saying that Southampton will eventually go off the boil over the course of the next few matches where they play Aston Villa, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United, but given how well Ronald Koeman has been managing his side, there’s no doubt that Southampton will give all of these teams a huge challenge given how well the Saints are playing.

For the neutral, Southampton is the most fascinating team of the season thus far.

In “second place” behind Southampton is Manchester City who have been an absolute train wreck in recent weeks but have been saved by the individual talents of striker Sergio Aguero.

City have been rocked by a combination of factors — a timid manager who has been unable to make important in-game decisions or to have a Plan B. Then you have the injury to David Silva, who is a vital cog in City’s engine, creating chances for the strikers to latch on to. On top of that, you have City’s poor decision to let Alvaro Negredo go on loan to Valencia, who was the ideal link-up man up top for City. And last but not least, and definitely the most important factor, you have a stream of Manchester City footballers who are putting in poor performances week after week but still retaining a place in this City side that lacks any fortitude.

Somehow, they’ve managed to go into the international break in “second place.”

The race for “third place” and a UEFA Champions League position is a riveting battle between five clubs, currently — West Ham United, Swansea City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle United.

All five clubs have suffered patches of inconsistency during the season thus far. Arsenal has been rocked by Laurent Koscielny’s injury as well as inconsistent performances by defensive midfielders Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini. So, what you’re left with is an Arsenal side that has a poor spine as well as lacking the depth in players who are like-for-like replacements.

It seems like a long way to go until the January transfer window, but the Gunners need more depth to ensure that injury problems don’t continue to undermine the team’s ability to perform and win matches.

Both West Ham United and Swansea City have had similar seasons thus far where new signings for both teams have been the difference in helping them score goals. Full credit needs to go to both the Hammers and Swans for a successful summer transfer window where acquisitions such as Enner Valencia, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Federico Fernandez, Diafra Sakho and Alex Song have made such a dramatic impact.

Meanwhile, Manchester United is beginning to get the results they need after scraping wins against Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Everton, as well as salvaging draws against Chelsea, West Brom and Burnley. The Red Devils have seemingly made it through the sticky patch of poor performances during the beginning of the season, but have tricky ties coming up against Arsenal, Hull, Stoke and Southampton.

Newcastle United, on the other hand, are going from strength to strength after four league wins in a row as well as a shock League Cup victory against Manchester City. The Toon Army should see continued acceleration up the table as they next play QPR, West Ham and Burnley.

The next eight places in the Premier League table are separated by just four points from Stoke City in “eighth place” to Aston Villa in “fifteenth position.” Sandwiched between Stoke and Aston Villa are unlikely clubs Everton, Liverpool, Spurs, West Brom, Sunderland and Hull City.

Last but not least, the clubs at the bottom of the table are Crystal Palace, Leicester, QPR and Burnley.

The fact that no Premier League managers have been sacked thus far this season demonstrates how competitive this league is from the bottom all the way up to second place in the league.

Over the next several weeks, the Premier League table will see gaps open up near the top and bottom of the table, but the sheer quantity of clubs in the middle pack who are just a handful of points away from the top five and, conversely, from the relegation zone, shows how exciting the league is if you remove Chelsea from the equation.

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